Smokers should eat their green leafy vegetables. As was mentioned earlier on this blog, these vegetables contain the compound folic acid known as folate. Studies have shown that smokers who took fairly high doses of folic acid had much less lung cell damage than those who didn't. Don't wait for the damage to be done. Make green leafy vegetables a part of your everyday diet!
My late husband was an invalid due mostly to COPD, so I was always looking for ways to help him breathe easier. As his disease advanced there are still small ways to help him. I had always blamed years of smoking for his disease, which is true, but I never really considered his diet. I discovered that diets high in processed foods can impair the lungs. My husband had always preferred processed foods over fruits and vegetables and changing his mind at age 74 was not easy. Diets that lean heavily on fruits and vegetables not only reduce the risks of COPD but can improve the respiratory system in those who have it. I worked on this with my husband which did make his breathing easier, and I hope this information will help you eat to protect your lungs.
If you are diagnosed with lung cancer, ask the doctor which type of cancer you have. There are two main types of lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer (your doctor may use the tern NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer. NSCLC is the most common and it has subtypes, listed below.
Have you ever stopped to think about your lungs and how they work? Honestly, until later in life, I never had. Then my late husband was diagnosed with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) and my daughter became an RRT (Register Respiratory Therapist). At that point lungs came into my focus. It is easy to go about life, breathing easy, and never thinking about those breaths. But once the lungs are damaged and not working properly, life becomes complicated as breathing becomes difficult. My advice to you is this, please take care of your lungs. There is a picture below looking inside the lungs. After the picture, you will find information about the numbers.
Even in 2021 with all we know about the dangers of smoking, almost 40 million American adults still smoke cigarettes. In addition to that approximately 4.7 million students say they use at least one tobacco product weekly and that includes e-cigarettes. This is not good when you consider the damage this does to lungs. Lungs are vital to life. We all know we need a brain and heart to live but without the lungs we are also in trouble. If you are one of the above statistics it would be to your advantage to stop using tobacco products. Your doctor is a good place to go for help. You can also visit smokefree.gov for helpful information.
We've all heard the saying, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." But have you ever heard you should eat a carrot a day? Actually, a carrot a day is a very good idea. Studies show that a carrot a day could cut lung cancer risk in half, probably due to their high vitamin A content which is vital to promoting lung health. Carrots are also rich in beta-carotene which is associated with preventing not only lung cancer but also cancers of the mouth, throat, stomach, intestines, bladder, prostate, and breasts. Find a way to work more carrots into your diet to reduce your cancer risks.
