Healthy Health
Bad Foods for Your Lungs
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| Lungs X-Ray |
The lungs are essential organ for human life because they are constantly working to bring in oxygen and remove carbon dioxide.
If, you are truly want to improve your overall health it's important to take good care of your respiratory system.
One way to do so, is to monitor the foods that you consume in your diet.
Unfortunately, many of the foods that we eat are actually very bad for the health of our lungs and that is exactly what we're going to highlight about in this article, be sure to hang around until the end because there's one food that almost everyone eats that is actually very very bad for the health of your lungs.
So, if you're ready let's get into it the first food that we should mention is white bread.
White Bread
White bread has become a staple of the diets of hundreds of thousands of people.
Unfortunately, white bread isn't good because when it's broken down into its refined condition, it turns into a simple carbohydrate.
This basically means that it has had most of its nutrients dripped away simple carbohydrates not only have significantly less nutritional value they can lead to an increased inflammatory response as well increased inflammation.
Makes it more difficult for blood to flow throughout the body this is significant because that is how oxygen is transported throughout the body via red blood cells.
The lack of blood flow, can increase the amount of stress that is placed on your heart and lungs, so instead of white bread and refined carbohydrates, you can opt for whole wheat and whole grains instead.
The next food that isn't good for your lungs is processed meat.
Processed Meat
The purpose of processing meat is to prolong the shelf life and or to improve the taste, but to do so, companies load the meats up with sodium compounds called nitrites.
Nitrites are reportedly not supposed to be harmful to our bodies, however some studies suggest that they ultimately could lead to certain types of cancer.
Also, increased amounts of sodium, can increase the body's inflammatory response and as we discussed this, puts more stress on the heart and lungs.
Some of the most common examples include hot dogs, ham bologna salami and canned meats, I get it.
We, all like to enjoy a tasty hot dog, every once in a while just try to do it in moderation.
Next, we need to talk about burgers.
Burgers
Some studies found that eating burgers can increase the occurrence of wheezing.
People with asthma, if they eat more than one per week, there are a couple of reasons that burgers can affect breathing.
First they are often made with processed meat which we just touched on, secondly burgers are high in saturated fat content.
Especially, ones from fast food restaurants studies found that diets high in saturated fat can exacerbate symptoms related to copd and asthma.
Now, again i'm not suggesting that you should never eat another hamburger but if you do have asthma or other breathing related conditions, it may be worth considering.
Next up, is whole milk.
Whole Milk
Whole milk and other dairy products in general, have been shown to have negative impacts on the respiratory system, through the process of breaking down the components found in dairy products it, results in an increased production of mucus an increased buildup of mucus in the lungs has all sorts of detrimental effects including difficulty in breathing decreased oxygenation and an increased risk of a lung infection.
If, possible try to opt for an alternative to whole milk such as almond or coconut milk.
The next food that we need to discuss may shock you and it is broccoli.
Broccoli
Broccoli in and of itself is not an unhealthy food, in fact - broccoli is loaded with tons of nutritional ingredients.
The only downside is as it's broken down during digestion, it gives you gas and too much trapped gas in the body has an indirect effect on the lungs, because it can limit the space in the thoracic cavity which means that the lungs do not have as much room to expand this results in smaller inhaled tidal volumes which means your body isn't getting the full amount of oxygen that it needs moving right along.
The next food that we should mention is salt.
Salt
Salt or sodium is found in almost every food that we eat it's important to know that sodium isn't always bad in fact sodium is necessary for our bodies to function properly.
Too much salt intake causes dehydration and leads to inflammation in the body and as we touched on earlier this leads to increased stress on the respiratory system, so if you have an underlying respiratory condition or illness that affects the respiratory system you should definitely monitor your sodium intake and keep it limited.
Next up, is soda.
Soda
Sodas are potentially bad for your lungs for three reasons first they're loaded with sugar, second they contain carbonation and third, they contain caffeine.
Drinking soda over time can lead to tooth decay which causes increased bacteria in the mouth to form, this can lead to increased acidity in the body which can inadvertently affect the ventilatory response of the lungs carbonation can lead to heartburn which leaves a painful sensation in your chest.
Can affect your breathing and caffeine can cause an increased heart rate and blood pressure, which makes the heart and lungs work harder than normal, all in all try to drink a lot of water and limit the amounts of sodas that you consume.
The next food that negatively affects your lungs is fried foods.
Fried Food
Let's face it fried foods are delicious that explains why they are so heavily consumed by most people.
Unfortunately, there are several reasons why fried foods are bad for the cardiopulmonary system.
For starters, the oil that the food is fried in is usually extremely high in saturated fats which can put a strain on both the lungs and cardiovascular system.
Also, most fried foods are breaded which means that they contain simple carbohydrates which leads to inflammation as previously mentioned and most importantly fried foods are extremely high in calories which ultimately leads to gaining weight.
As you know, obesity puts a strain on the lungs and makes it more difficult to breathe.
It also, increases the risk of a heart attack as well.
So, do your heart lungs and waistline a favor and limit the amount of fried shoes that you eat.
So, moving right along and this one may surprise you but the next one that we need to talk about is coffee.
Coffee
If, you're like me and I hate to admit it you're probably very reliant on drinking coffee.
The first thing I do every morning after rolling out of bed is fix a nice warm cup of dark roast coffee.
It's delicious and it gives me a much needed energy boost. Unfortunately, a recent study found that the overconsumption of coffee has been linked to lung cancer, in both smoking and non-smoking individuals the cause is unknown at this time and more research is needed in this area but this did come as a surprise to me.
When I learned about the study in general as long as you don't overdo it, drinking coffee in moderation is probably okay now that i mention it most things are most likely okay in moderation but to be safe try to limit your coffee consumption to 2 cups or less per day.
It is the turn of your's, do me a huge favour, really helps support the blog and I greatly appreciate it.
As I have a tons of other articles on my blog, that i think you will enjoy i hope you like the tips that were shared in this highlights, may be you're now one step closer to eating healthier foods and taking better care of your lungs and respiratory system just one final reminder to always check with your doctor for medical advice and treatment.
This artucle is for informational purposes only - and I want to know which of these foods do you eat too much of and which foods will you be cutting back on moving forward let me know down in the comment section below please.
Thank you so much for going through the article (highlights) all the way to the end have a blessed day and as always breathe easy my friends.
Ramzeen
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