Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Bronchitis Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND Bronchitis is one of those things that you may have heard of but what exactly is it? You’ve probably heard some people say they have acute bronchitis while other people have chronic bronchitis. Is there a difference? What cause’s …
Respiratory
Invite Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Amanda Williams, MPH.
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There are 11 main systems within the human body. This includes things like the circulatory system, the cardiovascular system, the digestive system, the immune system, the integumentary system, the muscular system, the endocrine system, the nervous system, the reproductive system, the renal system, the skeletal system and the respiratory system.
Today, I want to focus on the respiratory system in particular because we are in the midst of a pandemic. A lot of people know that with COVID-19, this is respiratory-borne, so we have to pay attention to the care that we are actually taking of our respiratory system during this time. I want to focus in on some science behind different nutrients and why these nutrients happen to be so beneficial when it comes to our respiratory system.
About the respiratory system
We know that the respiratory system is a network of different organs and tissues that help us breathe, so when we think about lungs, clearly that is part of the respiratory system, but also the airways, blood vessels and muscles that are all interconnected and work synergistically together to make sure that we can move oxygen throughout the body. When we breathe air in, we have to go through this filtration system through the lungs, but we also have to be able to allow for oxygenation to make its way out to the tissues.†
When we look at the long-term implications of COVID-19 and the major thing that most people focus in on is the respiratory implications and having that acute respiratory distress syndrome, which is what generally leads people to have to go onto ventilators. About 40% of COVID-19 patients will develop acute respiratory distress syndrome, and 20% of those cases fall into the severe category. It’s that severe category that may require oxygenation or even mechanical ventilation to maintain the ability of the respiratory system to do what we need it to do. When we see these different patterns with COVID-19, we also have to be aware of the long-term implications, even for someone who might have a mild case of COVID-19.†
We want to make sure that we are doing everything in our power to make sure that the respiratory system itself is functioning at its peak performance and making sure that we don’t have an excessive amount of an inflammatory response going on and doing damage. One of the areas that they’re starting to recognize now that there’s been enough COVID cases throughout the world is the development of fibrosis and pulmonary fibrosis in particular.†
Tune into the full podcast episode to learn more about how COVID-19 is impacting respiratory health.
Nutrients for supporting the respiratory system
We know that there are many different nutrients out there that have shown that they can be very targeted when it comes to pulmonary fibrosis. There was a study that was published in The Pulmonary Medicine Journal in May 2020 looking at pulmonary fibrosis and that COVID-19 link. They were looking at the different evidence showing the overall risk factors in terms of development of fibrosis in the disease itself. This is something that I think people need to be cognizant of because there are COVID long-haulers, people who are still exhibiting symptoms even after having maybe a mild case of COVID-19.†
One of the areas that they’re starting to really hone in on is the extreme amount of damage that may have been caused within the respiratory system. In looking at that, we can see that the respiratory system is not defined as just the lungs themselves. We have the airways, the blood vessels, the musculature, all of these areas that could potentially be impacted due to COVID-19 exposure and have a real problematic effect moving forward.†
The Proven Health Benefits of Omega-3s for Respiratory Health – InVite Health Podcast, Episode. Listen Now >>
We know that there’s a lot of research out there looking at idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and we know that certain nutrients like NAC that have been looked at as being a potential treatment in the setting of pulmonary fibrosis. In The Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine Journal back in 2019, they were looking at NAC specifically. NAC has this powerful antioxidant capacity to it and does a lot in terms of support for the respiratory system, especially for the lungs themselves. NAC is a very very powerful way for you to support your respiratory system. When we look at ways to be proactive as opposed to being reactive. For someone who has not been exposed to COVID-19 but still has concerns and wants to make sure that they’re doing what they can to maintain overall respiratory health, NAC is a really important nutrient to consider having on board.†
Learn more about NAC by listening to the full podcast episode.
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Vitamin D literally unites your immune system, helping it work in a more balanced way and making it very important during cough and cold season and in the protection of your lungs.
In today’s episode, Jerry Hickey, Ph. focuses on the importance of Vitamin D for the health of your lungs and your overall respiratory health.
New research published in the European Respiratory Journal in July 2019 suggests that air pollution may contribute to the aging process and adds to evidence that breathing in polluted air can harm your lungs.
Though it is understood lung function naturally declines as we age, researchers set out to determine the impact air pollution plays on lung health and examine whether pollution exposure was linked to changes in lung function.
Anna Hansell is Professor of Environmental Epidemiology in the Centre for Environmental Health and Sustainability at the University of Leicester, UK, reported, “There are surprisingly few studies that look at how air pollution affect lung health. To try to address this, we accessed more than 300,000 people using data from the UK Biobank study to examine whether air pollution exposure was linked to changes in lung function, and whether it affected participant’ risk of developing COPD.” COPD is a long-term condition linked to reduced lung function that causes inflammation in the lungs and a narrowing of the airways, making breathing difficult.
An air pollution model was used to estimate the levels of pollution that people were exposed to at their homes when they enrolled in the UK Biobank study between 2006 and 2010. The pollutants the researchers investigated included particulate matter, fine particulate matter, and nitrogen dioxide. Using spirometry and detailed health questionnaires, researchers conducted simple tests used to help diagnose and monitor certain lung conditions by measuring how much air can be breathed out in one forced breath.
Professor Hansell explained: “In one of the largest analyses to date, we found that outdoor air pollution exposure is directly linked to lower lung function and increased COPD prevalence. We found that people exposed to higher levels of pollutants had lower lung function equivalent to at least a year of aging.
According to Archana Gogna, MS, CNS, MBA, we live in an increasingly polluted environment, loaded with toxins; the soil we grow our food in is often nutrient-depleted and many consume processed, factory-made foods supplying scant nutrients. Ironically, our bodies wind up requiring even more vitamins and minerals to effectively metabolize nutrient-depleted foods. Add that depletion with less time spent outdoors, minimal exercise, prescription drugs and medications, and chronic stress, and the result is that many individuals are truly nutritionally deficient. “For these reasons, healthcare professionals are advising their patients to start taking a safe, reliably-made, high-quality multivitamin mineral formula on a daily basis to fill the nutritional deficits in their diet.”
