CAN A PLANT-BASED DIET CURE COPD?

According to the American Lung Association (ALA), as many as 24 million Americans may be living with COPD. Most people think this condition is incurable and whoever gets it has to live with it. If medication can’t, can a plant-based diet cure COPD?

What does COPD stand for? COPD means chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It’s a respiratory condition that largely affects smokers, but there’s evidence that diet may also play a role.

Even if the diet does not directly cause COPD, it does play a vital role in its treatment. A plant-based diet contains all the right ingredients to potentially cure this disease. However, we have yet to learn more about it.

What is COPD?

COPD or CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISORDER is a chronic lung disease that hinders breathing. In other words, it makes it hard for you to breathe normally.

There are two conditions or events that usually result in COPD: emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

Emphysema is a lung condition where the walls and fibers of the alveoli (air sacs) are damaged. The airways get damaged, which is why it impairs the outflow of air from the lungs.

Chronic bronchitis involves inflammation of the bronchial tubes. They get narrow and often get blocked by mucus produced by the lungs. This results in coughing when you try to clean your airway.

COPD Signs and Symptoms

COPD symptoms don’t become apparent immediately. Damage to your lungs may keep happening in the background. The usual signs and symptoms of COPD are:

Shortness of breath, especially when active
Chest tightness
Chronic cough
Wheezing
Respiratory infections
Weight loss
Inflamed legs, ankles, or feet

Not all COPD patients get all the symptoms at once. The severity also varies, which makes it tricky to self-diagnose whether you have COPD or not. Also, some symptoms like respiratory infections and weight loss don’t occur until later.

COPD Risk Factors

While most scientists and health experts attribute smoking to be the de-facto cause of COPD, there are other risk factors as well. One-third of the COPD patients are non-smokers, so smoking alone does not cause all the cases, especially in the west.

Smoking

Chemicals and irritants from tobacco smoke can lead to COPD. Usually, it occurs as a result of long-term smoking. The more you smoke and the longer you’ve been smoking, the higher the risk of COPD gets.

Even secondhand smoke can increase the risk of this condition.

Exposure to Fumes

In the developing world, in particular, exposure to dangerous fumes from burning fuel has been associated with a risk of COPD. Long exposure to chemical fumes from heating in houses usually results in this condition.

Genetics

About 1% of the cases of COPD are a result of a protein deficiency, which is genetic, according to Mayo Clinic. Low levels of alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAt), which your liver produces, can result in COPD. The basic function of this protein is to protect the lungs.

There may be other genetic reasons at play as well, given a considerable percentage of COPD patients are non-smokers and don’t fall in the AAt deficiency category. However, there’s not much scientific proof about this.

COPD vs. Asthma

COPD and asthma are often confused for each other, mainly because the symptoms are similar. However, these are different lung conditions, even though the symptoms like shortness of breath, coughing, and wheezing is common.

Asthma is usually triggered by certain environmental factors, while COPD is a consistent condition. These triggers include dust, smoke, pollen, pet hair, cold wind, physical activity, mold, and some medications.

Asthma is actually a risk factor of COPD. People with asthma who smoke have a very high risk of COPD. According to a paper from Respiratory Research, 40% of COPD patients also have asthma.

Treatment of COPD

COPD is generally seen as irreversible, so the treatment a patient receives is only to relieve the symptoms and slow down its progression. This condition can lead to some severe complications, which is why it’s important to treat it right away.

Quitting Smoking

As most people get COPD because of smoking, it only makes sense to quit smoking. However, it’s easier said than done. Trying to quit smoking if you’ve been smoking for a long time can be difficult.

You can join a program to quit tobacco. Alternately, you can first try reducing the number of cigarettes you’re smoking per day, to get better control of your addiction.

Medications

People with COPD usually have to rely on medication to ease their symptoms. This includes bronchodilators. This medication is administered through an inhaler or nebulizer and helps relax the airway muscles.

Medications can only go so far as to suppressing symptoms and making it easier to breathe. They don’t normally cure the disease or reverse the damage done to your lungs and airways.

People with COPD also opt for oxygen therapy sometimes if the shortness of breath gets worse. This portable machine provides necessary oxygen to your lungs and blood that shortness of breath reduces.

Lifestyle Changes

In addition to quitting smoking, certain lifestyle changes can also benefit a person with COPD. This is all the more relevant for those rare non-smokers with COPD. Diet and exercise may help with managing symptoms and stopping the condition from getting worse.

Your doctor may not necessarily recommend these lifestyle changes. So it’s up to you to find out what can help you with your particular condition. A plant-based diet is inherently rich with foods good for your lungs and your overall health.

Can a Plant-based Diet Cure COPD?

Before we talk about a cure, it’s important to talk about the prevention of COPD. As this video by Dr. Michael Greger explores, a plant-based diet is known to promote good lung health and function. So it’s safe to assume that it can also prevent COPD.

A study published in BMJ looked at data from over 120,000 people. The study followed the participants for years and monitored the diagnosis of COPD.

At the of this BMJ study, the researchers found that those who ate less meat and processed food and ate more healthy grains, nuts, polyunsaturated fats, and omega-3 fats had a lower risk of COPD. Again, not all of these cases were of smokers getting COPD.

Diet maybe even more important for the prevention of COPD in smokers, those who find it difficult to quit. Similarly, those who already have COPD conditions can benefit greatly from a plant-based diet. This diet fights inflammation, which is one of the primary underlying causes of difficulty in breathing.

Another major contribution of a plant-based diet for treating COPD is by way of antioxidants. We already know that a host of plant-based foods (fruits, berries, and vegetables, in particular) are rich in antioxidants. These antioxidants fight inflammation in your body, including that in the lungs.

A study from the European Respiratory Journal found that a dietary move to higher antioxidant foods contributed positively to balancing oxidative stress and reducing inflammation. It emphasized on including fruits with Vitamin C, E, and beta-carotene.

Plant-based Diet Can Save You

Even if a plant-based diet does not cure your COPD, it has the potential to reduce the mortality rate. In other words, it can stop the disease from worsening and reduce the risk of the usual COPD complications.

A large study involving 3000 men in Europe showed that a plant-based diet could effectively reduce the mortality rates in COPD patients. The study, which was published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, followed these individuals for 20 years.

What to Eat to Treat COPD?

If a plant-based diet is good for COPD, what exactly should you eat? For starters, the whole diet is essentially good for people with COPD. However, there are some foods you would want to take more to fight your condition.

Fruits

Fruits really are nature’s bounty. They are good for the prevention and treatment of virtually every major disease in the world right now. And COPD is not different.

According to NutritionFacts.org, adding a serving of fruits to your daily intake can reduce the risk as well as treat COPD for those who have it. According to the study from the European Respiratory Journal, just 100 grams increase in fruit can lower your chances of dying from COPD by 23 percent.

Citrus fruits, in particular, are great for this pulmonary disease. You need a lot of Vitamin C and E in your diet.

Soy

Soy is also good for reducing shortness of breath. You should consume soy milk, as well as tofu in your meals. Perhaps, it’s the anti-inflammatory properties of soy that help with improving your breathing.

Soy also provides you with protein, which is yet another important nutrient for your respiratory muscles. Some experts recommend eating lean proteins, but there are plenty of alternative meat options in a plant-based diet.

Whole Grains

Fiber is a savior when it comes to lung function. Many studies have shown that a daily intake of fiber benefits the lung function. For those who are in the early stages of COPD, fiber from cereals and fruits can slow the progression of the disease.

The American Lung Association recommends eating 20 to 30 grams of fiber every day.

Is COPD Deadly?

You know a condition is deadly if it makes the top five causes of death in the country. As of 2017, COPD, along with other respiratory diseases, was the number four leading cause of death in the US. The world over, it killed 3.2 million people in 2015.

What makes COPD dangerous is that it’s a progressive disease that often results in even more dangerous diseases. As it gets severe, it raises the risk of lung infections, lung cancer, high blood pressure, and even heart disease.

Moreover, COPD can also cause depression and social anxiety in the patient. This disease affects one’s ability to work, exercise, and even take stairs. The constant difficulty in breathing, coughing, and wheezing can make other people distant. Even though it’s not contagious, not everyone knows that.

COPD and Heart Failure

There’s still a need for more research about this, but COPD’s complications also include heart disease. However, the underlying cause is a lack of oxygen reaching the heart. When your heart doesn’t get enough oxygen, it exerts more pressure, and the result is pulmonary hypertension.

This condition can damage your heart, along with the lungs that are already getting worse. This can dramatically affect the overall health of a person and increase the risk of death. This is why it’s extremely important to nip it in the bud and do damage control.

FAQs

With COPD what is life expectancy?

COPD, if not treated properly, can reduce a person’s life expectancy. According to a study by the Journal of COPD, different stages of COPD have different life expectancy impacts.

A smoker with stage 1 COPD has a life expectancy of 14 years (0.3 years reduction).
Those in stage 2 COPD have a life expectancy of 12.1 years (2.2 years lower).
Finally, those in stage 3 COPD only have 8.5 years of life expectancy (5.8 years lower)

For those who quit smoking or never smoked in the first place, life expectancy is a bit higher than those still smoking with COPD.

How is COPD diagnosed?

COPD may be diagnosed through symptoms, a physical exam, or diagnostic tests. For the physical exam, the doctor listens to your breathing and lungs closely. That may not be as conclusive as diagnostic tests.

Doctors can see COPD on chest x-ray or a CT scan, as these diagnostic tests give detailed information about your lungs. Other tests include spirometry and arterial blood gas tests.

Wrap Up

Can COPD be reversed? Can a plant-based diet cure COPD? Yes, there’s a high possibility that you can cure COPD with a plant-based diet. However, it has not to be proven scientifically. At the very least, it’s your best chance for survival.

COPD patients also need protein and healthy fats to improve their lung health. There is no better source of natural protein and healthy fats than those found in leafy greens, legumes, whole grains, and moderate use of avocado and nuts and seeds.