Your lungs are forgiving, but not infinitely so. Treating them with care can keep them healthy.

Oxygen is the stuff of life, necessary for survival. And the only way to bring this precious gas into your bloodstream and all the living cells of your body is through the lungs.

You breathe in and out of these two essential organs close to 25,000 times a day, taking in oxygen and letting go of the waste product of carbon dioxide, seldom thinking about your lungs until they have problems.

The thing is, you want to treat your lungs with respect, because once they start giving you trouble on a chronic basis, there’s probably no going back.

“Once you’ve damaged your lungs, essentially you can’t repair them,” explains Norman H. Edelman, M.D., chief medical officer of the American Lung Association in New York City.

When Lungs Are Unhealthy
“A very telling symptom of lung disease is shortness of breath,” says Edelman. “People are great at denying they’re short of breath—they explain it away, saying they’re putting on a little weight or getting older. But you shouldn’t wait to have it checked out. If you’re lagging behind on the golf course, or can’t carry a bag of groceries up a flight a stairs, you should see your doctor.”

Other common early signs of lung disease include:

• Trouble breathing
• Feeling like you’re not getting enough air
• Decreased ability to exercise
• A cough that won’t go away
• Coughing up blood or mucus
• Pain or discomfort when breathing in or out

These may only be signs of a temporary condition, but if they’re something more serious, you’ll want access to immediate treatment.

Seven Ways to Love Your Lungs
To keep your lungs healthy for a lifetime, follow these rules.

1. First and most important, stay away from tobacco smoke. If you smoke, quit. And avoid inhaling secondhand smoke.

   Smoking paralyzes the fine hairs known as cilia that line the airways of the lungs and serve to push mucus and contaminants out of your lungs, protecting you from infection. When you stop smoking, the cilia start functioning again; but if you smoke enough cigarettes over a long period of time, the cilia are destroyed.

   However, no matter how long you’ve smoked, there are immediate benefits from quitting. Ask your doctor about the best way to quit; or call 800-QUIT-NOW (784-8669) or visit www.SmokeFree.gov for information on how to quit smoking. The American Lung Association offers an excellent smoking-cessation program; visit www.lungusa.org.

2. Try to avoid exposure to air pollution. Don’t jog next to a highway, for example, and try to stay indoors when outside air quality is poor.

   “Air pollution does appear to impact the lungs, particularly pollution from automobiles, diesel exhaust, wood-burning fireplaces, and power plants,” says Edelman.

3. Have the recommended flu or pneumonia shots. Influenza and its complications kill as many as 35,000 Americans a year.
4. Lead a healthy life. Aim for a well-balanced diet rich in fruits and vegetables.

   “There’s some evidence that eating foods with antioxidants has a modest protective effect against lung disease,” Edelman explains.

   Although it can’t restore lung capacity if you already have lung disease, regular exercise can enable you to function better by conditioning the heart and muscles.

5. Avoid allergens if you have asthma. Clean any indoor air pollutants from your home, as well as dust mites or mold.
6. Wear appropriate protective gear while working. If your job requires you to work around chemicals, fumes, asbestos, or other toxic substances, be sure to consistently wear a face mask or other protective gear that meets Occupational Safety & Health Administration standards.
7. Test for radon. The second leading cause of lung cancer, radon gas is naturally found in soil and rocks in many areas of the country. To measure the level of any radon gas in your home, consider purchasing a kit for that purpose from a hardware store, or contact an expert who can do it for you.

Just remember this: Your lungs are affected by what they take in.

“Your lungs have a big capacity; they’re forgiving, but they’re not infinitely forgiving,” Edelman stresses. “If you keep inhaling bad stuff into your lungs over time, you’ll have problems that won’t get better. Try not to abuse your lungs.”

Lung Health Resources

• For more information about maintaining lung health, call the American Lung Association at 800-LUNG-USA (586-4872), or visit www.lungusa.org.
• To receive lung health information by e-mail, visit www.lungusa.org and sign up for one of the e-newsletters of the American Lung Association.
• To learn more about COPD, check out Natural Therapies for Emphysema and COPD: Relief and Healing for Chronic Pulmonary Disorders, by Robert J. Green Jr., N.D., Healing Arts Press, 2007, $14.95; or COPD For Dummies, by Kevin Felner, M.D., For Dummies, 2008, $19.99.
• For complete information about COPD , asthma, and other lung diseases, visit the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at www.nhlbi.nih.gov.
• To learn more about preventing lung cancer, consider the book Avoiding Cancer One Day at a Time: Practical Advice for Preventing Cancer, by Lynne Eldridge, M.D., and David Borgeson, M.S., M.P.T. Beaver’s Pond Press, 2006, $19.95.
• If you think you may be at risk for COPD, visit the National Lung Health Education Program at www.nlhep.org and click on “Resources for Patients.” You can download a PDF file of a helpful booklet, Save Your Breath, America!
• For facts about the flu vaccine, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at www.cdc.gov/flu.

Polly Turner spoke with Norman H. Edelman, M.D., chief medical officer of the American Lung Association in New York City.

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