Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) balanced diet

COPD or chronic pulmonary disease is also called chronic obstructive airway diseases. It is a group of diseases in which the main symptom is the pathological reduction of airflow in the airways which is not fully reversible. This means that there is a reduction in airflow which causes air to be trapped in the lungs.


There a numbers of diseases that fall under COPD and these are chronic bronchitis, emphysema and a variety of other lung disorders. The main cause of a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is smoking. But it can also be caused by irritants like solvents and other harmful environmental pollutants.


The symptoms include shortness of breath ,wheezing, a persistent cough accompanied by the production of phlegm or sputum which may contain blood and usually comes from the damage caused to the blood vessels in the airways. Severe symptoms include a bluish discoloring of the lips and fingers (which is caused due to a lack of oxygen in the blood).

A good way to build lung strength is to improve the overall health of your body. Therefore it is important to maintain a well balanced diet and also to make provisions for the extra calories used up due to a difficulty in breathing. A symptom of this disorder is also dyspnea and increased production of sputum which leads to a loss of appetite. Therefore keeping good oral hygiene and consumption of fruit juices will help increase the patient's appetite thus helping to build stronger lungs. Make sure to exercise well as to allow your lungs to work them out properly and hence become stronger. Holding your breath and the practice of deep breathing techniques will also help exercise your lungs and make them stronger. When breathing focus on pushing your diaphragm in an outward direction, this allows you take in more air and hence is better exercise for the lungs.