Is Intermittent Fasting For You?
It’s National COPD Month, which means bringing awareness to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, a progressive lung disease that makes it difficult to breathe.
COPD is often caused by long-term exposure to lung irritants, like smoking or pollutants. Conditions includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. We encourage prevention, which includes refraining from smoking and protecting yourself against pollutants. If you are customarily around construction, you can wear a mask when working with materials and chemicals. You can check the air quality where you live through various apps and websites. Fresh air is always beneficial for the lungs, but if you see the air quality is poor, try to limit your time outdoors that day.
The reality is, difficulty in breathing can severely impact your quality of life. Some early symptoms include shortness of breath, chronic cough, and frequent respiratory infections. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, we recommend contacting your doctor to look into the situation before the symptoms get any worse. Early detection can help manage the disease and slow the disease as well.
Some alternative ways to help alleviate symptoms:
~Practice breathing exercises where you focus on inhaling and exhaling through your nose. Inhale to the count of 4-6, pause and exhale to the count of 4-6. Continue for a certain number of breaths as you close your eyes or focus on one spot. It is also helpful to breath in steam to ease any pain and make your breathing even out.
~Adopt a nutritional diet with anti-inflammatory foods. This includes fruits and vegetables rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and fiber (oats, brown rice, quinoa). This helps to fight the inflammation and oxidative stress. Omega 3 fatty acids like fatty fish (salmon), flaxseeds, and walnuts help with decreasing inflammation and supporting lung function. Healthy fats like olive oil reduces inflammation as well. Avoid processed, fried foods, excessive salt, carbonated beverages and acidic foods. These foods can put pressure on the lungs and irritate your airways.
~Relieve symptoms with supplements like magnesium to help with muscle relaxation, vitamin D for immune function, vitamin C that also supports immune health and reduces inflammation, and vitamin E that may protect the lung cells from damage, and anti-oxidants that support immune health and reduce inflammation
~Try herbs like ginseng that may reduce fatigue, eucalyptus oil that can help open up the airways and ease your breathing, and lobelia that may help relax muscles in the respiratory tract
~Focus on mind and body therapy like yoga, meditation and biofeedback. These can all help improve lung capacity with focused breathing, reduce tension and stress by relaxing the mind and being mindful, and when it comes to biofeedback, it helps to control heart rate and muscle tension.
~Acupuncture stimulates nerves and reduces inflammation
~Utilize essential oils like peppermint, eucalyptus and lavender to calm your mind, relax your muscles and reduce your stress.
If you know someone with COPD, being supportive and offering to participate in certain activities with them like yoga and other mind calming activities might be helpful for them to not only feel the support, but stay active and social in a positive way.
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