8 Tips to Keep Your Lungs Healthy
When you think about it, the lungs are incredible organs. From the moment of birth, they never stop working. In adulthood, the average person takes anywhere between 12 and 20 breaths per minute. That’s over 17,000 breaths per day. Each inhale brings in precious oxygen that gets transported to almost every single cell of the body.
Despite how important the lungs are, it’s easy to take them for granted until something goes wrong or a respiratory illness puts them at risk.
While one of the most obvious ways to take good care of your lungs is to not smoke or vape, there are many ways you can support and maintain lung function so that your lungs can support you through a long and healthy life.
1. Stay Active
Regular physical activity is one of the best strategies to keep your lungs healthy and strong. When you exercise, your cells require more oxygen to produce energy in the form of ATP. To deal with the increased demand for oxygen, you breathe faster, and your heart rate increases.
Regular exercise gradually causes your lungs and cardiovascular system to adapt. The lungs get better at expanding, and muscles that help you breathe get stronger (1). In turn, these changes make your lungs more efficient at taking in oxygen and breathing out carbon dioxide.
And you don’t have to be a top athlete to reap these benefits, any activity that gets you moving and elevates your heart rate will make a difference.
2. Get More Food-Based Antioxidants
Oxidative stress is a nemesis of good health. It plays a large role in nearly every disease, accelerates physical aging, degrades healthy cells, and can trigger cell mutations. What does this have to do with lung health?
Unknowingly, you constantly inhale invisible environmental pollutants present in the air outside and your home. Many of these pollutants cause oxidative damage when they come into contact with your lung cells (2).
As such, you must keep oxidative damage under control. Getting plenty of antioxidants in your diet is one of the best ways to protect your lungs from oxidative damage. This means you should eat a wide variety of organic fruits, veggies, and herbs.
If you find you have a difficult time getting 7 to 9 servings of organic vegetables every day, a green juice powder can give you a much-needed boost.
