Healthy Diet Reduces Risk Factors for Lung Diseases: Study

A regular diet of fruits, fish and dairy products is beneficial for patients suffering from lung diseases, according to a study.

Eating a healthy diet helps keep heart diseases, blood pressure, diabetes and cancer at bay. People suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) often experience chest pain, breathlessness, cough and fatigue due to lung inflammations and blockage. Researchers from the U.S. and Europe found grapefruits, bananas, fish and cheese help improve the lung function in COPD patients within 24 hours after eating.

Their study examined data from the Evaluation of COPD Longitudinally to Identify Predictive Surrogate Endpoints Study (ECLIPSE) involving 2,167 people with the breathing condition to determine the risk factors associated with the disease. The participants' diet patterns and food habits were recorded at least eight times during the entire period of three years. The subjects individually reported the amount and type of food they consumed in the last 24 hours. Furthermore, the research gave each participant a six minute walk test to see their lung capacity and factored in variables like sex, age, BMI and smoking habits.

It was observed people who reported consuming bananas, cheese, grapefruits or fish had notable improvements in the overall lung function and emphysema or progressive damage to air sacs in the lungs. These participants also had decreased levels of inflammation causing compounds like  white blood cells and C-reactive protein.

"This study demonstrates the nearly immediate effects a healthy diet can have on lung function in a large and well-characterized population of COPD patients," said Corinne Hanson, study author and researcher, in a news release.

"It also demonstrates the potential need for dietary and nutritional counseling in patients who have COPD."

The authors believe changing eating habits controls the production of certain bio markers of COPD and further investigation is needed to understand the role of the diet on respiratory illnesses.

"Diet is a potentially modifiable risk factor in the development and progression of many diseases, and there is evidence that diet plays a role in both the development and clinical features of COPD," said Hanson.

The findings were presented at the 2014 American Thoracic Society's International Conference.