Geschatte leestijd: 3 minutenYour diet as a medicine against lung damage caused by smoking. According to researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, it’s possible by including lots of tomatoes and apples in your diet.
Diet and Lung Function
If you’ve quit smoking, you can work on repairing the damage done to your lungs with your diet. Research from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health shows that the natural decline in lung function over a 10-year period is smaller in former smokers who eat lots of tomatoes and fruit, especially apples. This suggests that certain substances in this food help in repairing lung damage.
The study found that adults who eat on average more than two tomatoes or three servings of fruit per day have a smaller decline in lung function than those who eat less than one tomato or one serving of fruit. This effect was only seen in fresh fruit and fresh vegetables and not in processed foods containing vegetables and fruits.
The research is part of the Ageing Lungs in European Cohorts (ALEC) Study funded by the European Commission and led by Imperial College London. The findings were published in the December issue of the European Respiratory Journal.
But even people who have never smoked benefit from such a diet, at least in terms of their lungs.
This study shows that diet might help repair lung damage in people who have stopped smoking. It also suggests that a diet rich in fruits can slow down the lung’s natural aging process even if you have never smoked
Garcia-Larsen, assistant professor Bloomberg School’s Department of International Health
Garcia-Larsen, the lead researcher of the study, believes that dietary advice should be given to at-risk groups for lung diseases such as COPD.
For the study, the diet and lung function of more than 650 adults in 2002 were examined and again 10 years later. The participants were from Germany, Norway, and Great Britain. They filled out questionnaires about their diet and underwent spirometry, a lung function test that measures how much oxygen the lungs can take in. Two standard measurements were made: Forced Exhaled Volume in 1 second (FEV1) and Forced Vital Capacity (FVC), the maximum amount of air someone can inhale in 6 seconds.
Among former smokers, the relationship between diet and lung function was the strongest. Former smokers who ate a diet high in tomatoes and fruit had an 80 ml smaller decline in function over 10 years. A saving effect on the lungs was also seen in current smokers with such a diet compared to smokers who ate little tomatoes and fruit.
Lung function starts to decline at around age 30 at variable speed depending on the general and specific health of individuals. Our study suggests that eating more fruits on a regular basis can help attenuate the decline as people age, and might even help repair damage caused by smoking. Diet could become one way of combating rising diagnosis of COPD around the world.
Antioxidants and Vitamin E
The explanation is likely to be found in the antioxidants in tomatoes and fruit. Several studies have shown a positive effect of antioxidants on lung function.
Another explanation can be found in the vitamin E in tomatoes and fruit. However, studies on this relationship show different results.
References
- Vanessa Garcia-Larsen, James F. Potts, Ernst Omenaas, Joachim Heinrich, Cecilie Svanes, Judith Garcia-Aymerich, Peter G. Burney, Deborah L. Jarvis. Dietary antioxidants and ten-year lung function decline in adults from the ECRHS survey. European Respiratory Journal, December 2017 DOI: 10.1183/13993003.02286-2016
- Hanson C, Rutten EP, Wouters EF, et al. Diet and vitamin D as risk factors for lung impairment and COPD. Transl Res 2013; 162: 219–236.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
- Garcia-Larsen V, Amigo H, Bustos P, et al. Ventilatory function in young adults and dietary antioxidant intake. Nutrients 2015; 7: 2879–2896.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
- Tabak C, Smit HA, Heederik D, et al. Diet and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: independent beneficial effects of fruits, whole grains, and alcohol (the MORGEN study). Clin Exp Allergy 2001; 31: 747–755.CrossRefPubMedWeb of ScienceGoogle Scholar
- Mehta AJ, Cassidy A, Litonjua AA, et al. Dietary anthocyanin intake and age-related decline in lung function: longitudinal findings from the VA Normative Aging Study. Am J Clin Nutr 2016; 103: 542–550.
