Posted by Cathy-WI on 5/13/2008, 11:02 pm
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If you're anything like me, with a memory retention time of approximately 37 minutes, reminders like this help keep me on the right track. So with that in mind, here are some guidelines for healthy eating to help you cope with COPD.
• Don't eat large meals – they will leave you feeling short of breath.
• Eat three small meals and three snacks every day – it is much easier for your body to deal with this.
• Avoid food with high fat and sugar contents, as they produce extra carbon dioxide, which makes your lungs work extra hard. These include fried or heavily spiced foods and a number of green vegetables.
• Extra weight makes your lungs work harder, which makes breathing more difficult. Lose those extra pounds.
• Drink lots of water. You should drink six to eight glasses of beverages (not including tea and coffee) each day to keep mucus thin and easier to cough up. Limit caffeine as it may interfere with some of your medications.
• Include high-fiber foods such as vegetables, cooked dried peas and beans (legumes), whole-grain foods, bran, cereals, pasta, rice and fresh fruit in your diet. Fiber helps move food along the digestive tract and may reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood.
• Limit your salt intake. Eating too much salt causes the body to keep or retain too much water, causing breathing to be more difficult. Use herbs to flavor food and don't add salt while you are cooking.
• Increase your potassium intake, especially if you are taking diuretics. Potassium is found in oranges and bananas, potatoes, asparagus and tomatoes.
• Eat slowly. Take small bites and chew your food slowly, breathing deeply while chewing.
• Choose foods that are easy to chew.
• Try drinking liquids at the end of your meal. Drinking before or during the meal may make you feel full or bloated.
• Eat while sitting up to ease the pressure on your lungs.
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