New research suggests that these may protect your lungs.
If you want to protect your lungs, quitting smoking is a no-brainer. However, what you put on your plate may also help: A new study, published in the European Respiratory Journal, suggests that eating certain types of vegetables may help improve lung health.
In the study, the researchers asked 680 people, including people who never smoked, former smokers and current smokers, about their eating habits, and then performed spirometry, a test that measures lung function based on inhalation and exhalation. They then repeated the lung function test 10 years later. The researchers found that the more apples, bananas, and tomatoes the former smokers consumed, the slower their lung function declined during that time period.
This is important since the researchers explain that aging and smoking are the main established factors responsible for the decline in lung function.
So why are these foods so important to lung health? Probably due to its antioxidants, the researchers believe. Tomatoes, for example: are a rich source of lycopene, an antioxidant that can help reduce inflammation in the airways, which can improve lung health.
Another group of antioxidants, known as flavonoids, may also be responsible. These compounds, found in high amounts in many fruits and vegetables, can also have anti-inflammatory effects, helping you breathe easier. This may help explain why apples and bananas were also associated with less decline in lung function.
The relationship between the preservation of lung health and the consumption of tomato, banana and apple was more evident in ex-smokers, compared to those who never lit a cigarette. The researchers add that this suggests that such antioxidants could contribute to lung restoration, helping to mitigate the damage to lung tissue caused by smoking.
This is not the first time that scientists link what you put on your plate to lung health: Last March, researchers discovered that people who ate foods that contained large amounts of carotenoids, the plant pigments responsible for the tones orange, red or yellow, they were less likely to develop lung cancer. And the effect was even more pronounced in ex-smokers: Men who once smoked and ate more lycopene, for example, cut the risk of developing lung cancer by 52 percent.