Eating Your Vegetables May Help Copd
Everyone knows that eating a balanced diet with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables is important to developing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. But a study published by Johns Hopkins Medical School also shows that eating certain vegetables, broccoli in particular, is now linked to lung health in patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). How are the two connected?
The lungs contain several antioxidants to help defend against inflammation. Researchers studied the levels of NRF2-dependant antioxidants, as well as their regulators KEAP1 and DJ-1. The KEAP1 inhibits the NRF2 from working, while the DJ-1 regulates it. In the case of a patient with COPD, their NRF2 levels are significantly lower than that of a person with healthy lungs. The severity of COPD can be measured by how low their NRF2 levels are, which usually mean the KEAP1 levels are higher and DJ-1 levels are much lower than average.
The study found that naturally occurring substances found in broccoli can help keep NRF2 levels from disappearing or even increase them, which in turns helps prevent their COPD from becoming too severe. By increasing these levels in the lungs, some researchers believe that this also can restore detoxifying enzymes to the lungs, which help counteract the harmful effects of cigarette smoke. COPD is a disease that results from years of cigarette smoking.
If you are suffering from COPD and don’t have a healthy diet, now is a great time to start. Be sure to work closely with your doctor because of your limitations. There’s never a bad time to lose weight, and quick weight loss, when done safely, is a great way to keep you motivated. Just remember to eat a sensible diet with plenty of broccoli, and if hunger is a problem for you consider using a natural appetite supplement like hoodia to help curb cravings. The goal is not starvation, but to help improve your condition you will need to make some changes to see results.
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