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8 Meal Tips for Patients with COPD
People diagnosed with COPD or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease should know expert tips on what to eat in COPD. COPD is a chronic lung disorde, and eating the wrong kinds of foods can worsen its symptoms. To help you, here is a list of expert tips on what to eat in COPD.
- To begin with, it is important to stick to a diet plan that is rich in fat but low in carbohydrates. When you cut down your intake of carbohydrates, the body produces less carbon dioxide, making it beneficial for people with COPD. A ketogenic diet focuses on lower carb intake, and studies have shown that COPD patients respond better to a low-carb, high-fat diet instead of simply a high-carb diet.
- A COPD patient must include more proteins in meals. One can choose from pastured poultry, eggs, fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, herring, and grass-fed meat.
- Complex carbs are harder to digest, keeping one feeling full for hours. Instead of eating refined carbs, choose complex carbs like quinoa, beans, lentils, potatoes with skin, oats, and bran. Such foods are loaded with fiber and greatly improve digestion and blood glucose management.
- Eating more fresh vegetables and fruits is beneficial for COPD patients and is one of the most advised expert tips on what to eat in COPD. These food are loaded with fiber, antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins. Non-starchy veggies, with the exception of corn, potatoes, and peas, are low-carb and will be a nutritious addition to your diet. Potassium-rich foods are highly beneficial for lung problems because deficiency of potassium triggers breathing problems. You can choose from tomatoes, dark leafy greens, avocados, asparagus, beet, oranges, and bananas, all know for being replete with potassium.
- Eating healthy fats is recommended to COPD patients. This is especially helpful to people who want to follow a high-fat diet, but cannot have fried foods. Instead, they can snack on seeds, nuts, avocados, olives and include fatty fish, coconut, and cheese in their meals.
- Cheese is another healthy and nutritious dietary addition to the diets of people with COPD. You can add cheese to vegetables, potatoes, and rice for a tastier and nutritious meal. Cheese is an excellent source of calcium and protects the bones from degenerating because of COPD medication. However, you should avoid eating processed cheese.
- COPD patients must drink lots of water and non-alcoholic fluids to clear their lungs. This also helps to keep the mucus thin and facilitates easy breathing.
- Vitamin D deficiency can aggravate symptoms of COPD; so, add vitamin D-rich foods like salmon, eggs, mackerel, and tuna to your diet.