\n I know so many individuals who have succumbed to them this year, and who have been really poorly.\n<\/p>\n
\n There are various parts of our body that we take for granted till they go wrong.\n<\/p>\n
\n Our eyes are a classic example, but lungs are definitely another.\n<\/p>\n
\n And something I read this week made me realise that those of us in our 60s, 70s, and 80s should be more aware of our lungs and what we put them through, and make more effort to care for them properly.\n<\/p>\n
\n Just as our skin becomes less moist and resilient as we grow older, and our muscles can become somewhat flabby \u2013 particularly those we don\u2019t use as much as we did \u2013 our lungs too can show their age.\n<\/p>\n
\n According to the excellent website of the American Lung Association, what tends to happen is that they lose some of their elasticity and therefore become less efficient at expanding and contracting.\n<\/p>\n
\n Their function is also impaired if our ribs and breathing muscles become less robust.\n<\/p>\n
\n Also, our immune systems can suffer as we advance in years which means we\u2019re more likely to contract infections.\n<\/p>\n
\n So, all of us need to take on board that normal ageing alters our lung capacity and health.\n<\/p>\n
\n There are some special factors, however, that are likely to accelerate decline.\n<\/p>\n
\n The first of course is smoking.\n<\/p>\n
\n If you\u2019re still a smoker, I\u2019m sure you know that you\u2019re putting yourself in real danger, so I\u2019d like to point out that it\u2019s always worth giving up, no matter how old you are.\n<\/p>\n
\n Here are some facts from a variety of experts that may inspire you: In under an hour of giving up smoking, your heart rate and blood pressure will lower.\n<\/p>\n
\n Within days, the levels of carbon monoxide in your blood will return to normal.\n<\/p>\n
\n In less than three months, your circulation and lung function will improve.\n<\/p>\n
\n And in just one year, your risk of having a heart attack will halve.\n<\/p>\n
\n The second problem some of us face is that a chronic condition such as asthma often worsens with age.\n<\/p>\n
\n But simply leading a sedentary lifestyle or being obese can also make your lungs much more vulnerable.\n<\/p>\n
\n Then there is the location of the work we do or did.\n<\/p>\n
\n For example, individuals in agriculture know that if they don\u2019t wear protective clothing and masks, they can be prone to farmer\u2019s lung, which is a serious allergic reaction caused by breathing in mouldy dust from hay, straw, and grain.\n<\/p>\n
\n But just like the brain that I wrote about a fortnight ago, we can develop tactics that help our lungs to improve their condition and withstand age better, so I am finishing this week with five tried and tested strategies.\n<\/p>\n
Eat well.<\/p>\n
\n Consume fruits and lots of plant foods which are rich in fibre and full of vitamins, such as blueberries and red peppers.\n<\/p>\n
\n Make sure your diet contains plenty of protein, especially if it\u2019s rich in Omega-3 fatty acids; good sources are oily fish like tuna and salmon, and walnuts.\n<\/p>\n
\n Avoid sugary drinks and processed foods and only consume alcohol sparingly.\n<\/p>\n
\n Above all, keep hydrated by drinking plenty of water.\n<\/p>\n
\n This is important as it thins out the mucus lining in the airways and lungs making breathing easier.\n<\/p>\n
Exercise.<\/p>\n
\n You may need to avoid anything too hectic if you have dodgy knees or hips, but basically do all you can to keep active.\n<\/p>\n
\n Walking is good for increasing lung expansion.\n<\/p>\n
\n Dance of all kinds is great.\n<\/p>\n
\n Singing too is really beneficial.\n<\/p>\n
\n There are many terrific choirs in Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex.\n<\/p>\n
\n Why not join one?\n<\/p>\n
\n Also, yoga, Pilates, and Tai Chi are all helpful to the lungs because deep and effective breathing is very much part of the sessions.\n<\/p>\n
\n Try working out initially by watching a YouTube online.\n<\/p>\n
\n And then you could progress to a real class.\n<\/p>\n
\n No one has to travel far to find a good one these days in our region.\n<\/p>\n
Make sure your vaccinations are up to date \u2013 Covid, pneumonia, flu jabs, etc.<\/p>\n
\n You may also be offered a vaccine to prevent RSV.\n<\/p>\n
\n This stands for Respiratory Syncytial Virus and is responsible for many chest conditions that require treatment in hospital.\n<\/p>\n
Practise deep breathing.<\/p>\n
\n This can really help your lungs as well as your stress levels and sleep.\n<\/p>\n
\n All you do is to stand or sit quietly for at least five minutes and breathe in through the nose to the count of seven and out through pursed lips to the count of 11.\n<\/p>\n
\n This gets us out of the habit of shallow breathing and encourages us to fully empty our lungs with every breath.\n<\/p>\n
\n Do a session twice daily if you can.\n<\/p>\n
Fresh air is good for us, but you may want to avoid exceptionally cold or hot days.<\/p>\n
\n And in cities and towns take a route away from traffic if you can and walk in parks where the air is cleaner and healthier.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I know so many individuals who have succumbed to them this year, and who have been really poorly.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":516867,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[59,102,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-516866","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-gb","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/516866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=516866"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/516866\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/516867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=516866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=516866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=516866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}