The Best Diet for COPD Patients

A healthy diet can play an important role in the management and treatment of COPD.

By Krisha McCoy, MS

Medically reviewed by Lindsey Marcellin, MD, MPH

Finding the right diet can be tricky for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD), since they need to eat a healthy diet and maintain their optimal weight to keep COPD symptoms in check.

COPD: The Impact of Body Weight

For COPD patients, maintaining a healthy weight is important for controlling symptoms.

"If you're overweight, you have to carry more of your weight around," says Barry Make, MD, co-director of the COPD program at National Jewish Health in Denver and professor of medicine at the University of Colorado. Having more weight to carry around can increase shortness of breath, which is one of the primary symptoms of COPD.

With that said, it’s even more crucial for COPD patients not to be underweight. "Being overweight is bad, but being underweight is probably even worse in COPD patients," says Dr. Make. "A lot of COPD patients want to lose weight, but we tell them not to lose too much." According to Make, losing too much weight when you have COPD is associated with a poorer prognosis, or worse long-term outlook. In addition, not weighing enough can zap your energy, making it difficult to adhere to your COPD management plan.

COPD: Nutrition Tips

Talk with your COPD medical team about the nutrition plan that is best for you. They may recommend that you see a nutritionist, who can work with you to develop a meal plan to best meet your needs and monitor your progress along the way.

In general, people who have COPD should consider the following to maintain an optimal weight:

• Monitor calories: If you are overweight, you can lose weight by eating fewer calories. But don't eat so few calories that you feel fatigued and hungry all of the time. If you need to focus on maintaining your body weight, talk with your medical team or nutritionist about the foods you should be eating to keep the weight on.
• Avoid fad diets: "Fad diets are not appropriate for COPD patients," says Make. Make recommends that COPD patients eat a healthful, balanced diet instead of going on fad diets to control weight.
• Focus on protein: Work with your medical team and/or nutritionist to determine the amount of protein you need. "A lot of people do not get enough protein in their diet," says Make. Make says that protein is particularly important for COPD patients who are exercising as part of their pulmonary rehabilitation plan.
• Watch your portions: "We tell our COPD patients to eat small meals frequently, rather than large meals," says Make. Eating several small meals throughout the day instead of two or three large meals can help lessen shortness of breath.
• Get balanced: Focus on consuming fruits, vegetables, dairy products, whole grains, and lean proteins.
• Limit salt: Consuming excessive sodium can lead to fluid retention, which can worsen your shortness of breath.
• Remember your oxygen: If your medical team recommends it, use supplemental oxygen during and after meals to aid in digestion.

A healthy diet is an important part of a COPD patient's treatment plan. Eating the right foods can help manage your symptoms, make you feel better overall, increase your energy level, and give your body the fuel it needs to fight infection. It takes energy to breathe when you have COPD, so feed your body well.

http://www.everydayhealth.com/health-report/chronic-obstructive-pulmonary-disease/diet-for-copd-patients.aspx

11 Ways to Make Mealtime Easier With COPD

COPD may make it difficult to get needed nutrition. Being strategic with meal planning and food preparation can help you work around the fatigue and shortness of breath you feel.

By Madeline Vann, MPH

Medically reviewed by Lindsey Marcellin, MD, MPH

Struggling with COPD, specifically the fatigue and shortness of breath that come with it, can leave you struggling to prepare and eat even the simplest meals. Yet it's possible to bring joy and nutrition back to your daily menu, despite COPD symptoms.

"For people with COPD, it's challenging and exhausting to eat and take a breath at the same time," explains registered dietitian Carol Wolin-Riklin, MS, RD, an instructor in the department of surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Medical School.

As tiring as it can be to eat, people with COPD still want to enjoy mealtime. A survey of 81 people with COPD showed that the majority wanted more information on what to eat and how to manage their symptoms.

COPD and Diet: A Primer

"When you have a hard time eating, every bite should provide nutrition," advises Wolin-Riklin.

Here is a brief outline of a healthy COPD diet:

• Calories. Living with COPD symptoms takes so much energy that you may need to increase your diet's calorie count to 3,000 or more a day. Work with a dietitian to figure out exactly how many calories you need.
• Protein. People with COPD often experience muscle wasting because of the way their bodies use protein. As a result, higher-protein diets are advised, as long as you don't have other conditions that this would negatively impact, says Wolin-Riklin. Check with your doctor first, especially if you have any illnesses that affect the kidneys. Nut butters, smoothies or shakes with protein powders, chicken, and fish are all easy-to-prepare protein sources.
• Fruits and vegetables. Eat as many as possible and in a rainbow of colors to get various nutrients. If you don't want to chew raw veggies, steam them, puree them for soups, or try low-sodium vegetable juices.
• Healthy fats. Opt for foods with omega-3-fatty acids, such as cold-water fish, like salmon and sardines, and healthy fats such as olive oil. These are good sources of additional calories and may also help cut down on inflammation overall.
• Fiber. Aim for 25 grams of fiber daily. You might need to take fiber supplements to reach that amount.
• Limited carbohydrates. You need some carbs, but eating too many can increase the carbon dioxide in your blood. Stick with six to eight servings throughout the day.

11 Tips to Make Mealtimes Easier

Struggling to eat the same way you did before COPD symptoms took over simply won't work. Instead, try these strategies:

• Select prepared foods. If you don't have someone to cook for you, Wolin-Riklin suggests buying prepared foods as much as possible. Prepared foods do not have to be expensive — consider choices like hot, store-roasted chicken instead of roasting one yourself. Check whether your household qualifies for a Meals on Wheels program or another service that delivers prepared hot meals.
• Rethink dinnertime. "Find the time of day you feel best, and make that your biggest meal," advises Wolin-Riklin. For most people, that's early afternoon. It's fine to spend the rest of the day enjoying healthy snacks or eating liquid meals, such as smoothies or shakes with added protein or nutrient powders.
• Freeze extras. If you have leftovers or muster up extra energy to cook at certain times, freeze meal-sized portions you can easily reheat on a day you're feeling tired.
• Avoid carbonated beverages. Fizzy drinks will make you feel uncomfortable and bloated, putting pressure on your lungs and airways from below. Gas-producing foods, such as beans, may also make you uncomfortable unless you take an over-the-counter supplement such as Beano at the beginning of the meal.
• Choose low-salt foods. Look for low-salt labels, or make sure caregivers don't add salt to foods they prepare for you. Too much salt (you want only about 1,500 milligrams a day) can cause fluid retention, which adds to COPD symptoms.
• Eat small but frequent meals. Wolin-Riklin says this approach, which should result in five or six mini-meals, will help you feel less tired while eating and get consistent energy and nutrition through the day. Keep small high-calorie snacks, such as peanut butter and apple slices or cheese and crackers, on hand when you're out of the house.
• Ease your chewing. A number of people get in the habit of eating large mouthfuls quickly, but people with COPD do best with small bites of easy-to-chew foods. Instead of thinking of this as restrictive, consider that chewing small bites slowly helps you appreciate the flavor of your meal.
• Sip liquid throughout the day. It's important to get enough fluids — water, juices, smoothies, and soups. Try sipping 6 to 8 cups of water and possibly meal-replacement drinks like Boost or Ensure, over the course of the day instead of drinking a lot of fluid at one time.
• Wear your oxygen. If you have been prescribed oxygen, wear your nasal cannula while you eat. This allows you to breathe and eat at the same time more easily, says Wolin-Riklin.
• Eat sitting up. You'll breathe more easily while you eat and swallow more safely if you eat sitting up rather than reclining in bed or a chair.
• Be dairy-aware. Some people feel like dairy increases their mucus production. If this sounds familiar, try a milk alternative like soy or almond milk.

If you make these adjustments and still have difficulty eating and breathing at the same time, talk with your doctor or your pulmonary rehabilitation team to get some more ideas about how to cope.

http://www.everydayhealth.com/health-report/chronic-obstructive-pulmonary-function/mealtime-easier-with-copd.aspx

The chia craze

By Lauren EverittBBC News Magazine 

Many people in the UK won't have heard of the chia seed, but if regulators give their backing this US superfood craze could be on the way.

Goji berries, kombucha, wheatgrass, acai berries. It seems rarely a year passes without at least one new health-food frenzy.

Everything from handfuls of strange seeds to bacteria-infested yoghurts to espresso-style shots of odd-tasting green juices are touted as a shortcut to wellbeing.

Chia will soon be joining the list. So what exactly is it?

Chia, or Salvia hispanica L., is a member of the mint family from Mexico and South America. The flowering plant can sprout in a matter of days, but chia's appeal is in the nutritional punch of its tiny seeds.

With more omega-3 fatty acids than salmon, a wealth of antioxidants and minerals, a complete source of protein and more fibre than flax seed, the seeds have been dubbed a "dieter's dream", "the running food", "a miracle", and "the ultimate super food", by advocates and athletes.

To some the seeds taste utterly bland, but to others there is a slight nutty flavour. It also can seem expensive compared with other seeds and nuts.

What's in 100g of chia?

• Energy: 330kcal
• Protein: 20.7g
• Fat: 32.8g
• Carbohydrate: 41.8g
• Fibre: 41.2g
• Calcium: 714mg
• Iron: 16.4mg
• Niacin (B3): 613mg
• Thiamine (B1): 0.18mg
• Riboflavin (B2): 0.04mg

Source: National Science Research Institute

In the UK, the seeds are only currently allowed for sale as a bread ingredient, but over the next few weeks, the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes is poised to allow chia seeds in a wide variety of products including baked goods, breakfast cereals and nut and seed mixes.

Elsewhere in the world, chia-seed products have been springing up over the past few years. In 2011, 72 new chia products hit the market and 28 new chia foods are already out this year, according to research group Mintel. Compare that with only seven new chia products for all of 2006 and you get a sense of its growing popularity.

The US is particularly infatuated with the seed, introducing 21 new chia items in 2011 and 13 in 2012. It's in sweets, snack foods, seasonings, yogurt and even baby food.

To chia cheerleaders the seeds do no wrong. They claim chia reduces inflammation, improves heart health, and stabilises blood sugar levels. A few tablespoons are touted as remedying just about anything - without any ill effects

Health food crazes

• Gojii berries: prounced go-gee, the Himalayan fruit is hyped as a "fruit Viagra" and "cellulite-busting" superfood
• Kombucha: the fermented tea is touted as a tonic for digestion problems, hair loss and other ailments
• Acai berries: pronounced ah-sih-ee, advocates claim the palm tree fruit cleanses the colon, prevents cancer and boosts weight loss
• Wheat grass shots: the concentrated juice made of young wheat plant shoots is purported to have curative properties, particularly for digestion
•  
• So is this new superfood all it's cracked up to be?
  "In terms of nutritional content, a tablespoon of chia is like a smoothie made from salmon, spinach and human growth hormone," writes Christopher McDougall in Born to Run, the bestselling book about an ultra-distance running tribe in Mexico who fuel their epic jaunts with the seeds. The book is credited with shining the spotlight on chia as food for athletes.
  "If you had to pick just one desert-island food, you couldn't do much better than chia, at least if you were interested in building muscle, lowering cholesterol, and reducing your risk of heart disease; after a few months on the chia diet, you could probably swim home," McDougall adds.
  Wayne Coates, co-author of Chia: Rediscovering a Forgotten Crop of the Aztecs, agrees. The University of Arizona professor started experimenting with the seeds in South America more than 20 years ago as part of project to identify alternative crops for farmers in Argentina. He then started cultivating the seeds commercially.
  "I hate to call it a miracle food because there are too many miracles that turn out not to be, but it almost is. Literally, you could live on this stuff because it's pretty much everything you need," Coates says.
  
  
  Elisabeth Weichselbaum of the British Nutrition Foundation admits she hadn't heard of chia, but she says the foundation doesn't buy into the idea of a single superfood.
  "It is true that some foods are higher in vitamins and minerals, but no single food provides us with everything we need. So the best way to be healthy is to eat a variety of foods," she says.
  As an avid runner, Coates relies on the seeds to power his way through 50 and 100-mile races.
  "I actually carry it in a film canister on my runs, I down a half a canister and wash it down with water."

  How chia is eaten

  
  • Mixed in couscous
  • Added to bread or muffin mix
  • Sprinkled over salad
  • Chia gel - seeds are soaked in water to form a gel-like substance added to jelly, jam, yoghurt or salad dressing
  • Agua fresca de chia - seeds are stirred with water, lime juice and sugar to make a cold drink
  Source: AZChia
  Jeffrey Walters of the chia producer Omega 3 Chia is also a firm believer. He says the company has received inquiries from the United Nations World Food Programme to bump up the nutrient content of their rice dole.
  Walters says he has also been contacted by schools looking to sneak nutritional value into canteen fare and doomsdayers searching for a nutrient-dense food to stockpile in the event of a catastrophe.
  David Nieman, director of the Human Performance Lab at Appalachian State University, has analysed the nutritional content of chia and its impact on health in a series of studies. Nieman says the seeds "as a nutritional package are wonderful", but they're no "magic pill".
  "If you grind it up and sprinkle it on cereal and put it in yogurt, or put it in juice then you are giving yourself a nutritional boost. You're definitely adding to your mineral, fibre, protein, and omega-3 intake, but will it magically cure disease or take away risk factors? It's almost like a cult following for some of these chia people, they claim everything under the sun.
  "But after 10 to 12 weeks we don't see anything happening to disease risk factors in free-living people."
  Walters says business has doubled each year for the past four years.
  In the UK, chia is permitted in bread products at concentrations up to 5%, according to the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes.
  But that's set to change. The ACNFP recently released a largely positive draft opinion on the expanded use of chia seeds in other foodstuffs.
  Walters has already seen a drive toward the UK market. One of his clients requested a huge quantity of chia for UK products for 2013.
  Health food chain Holland and Barrett already offers whole and milled chia seeds online, ostensibly as a bread ingredient.
  "Interest in chia has been building for the last two years, but it is only in the last six months that the product has been readily available in the UK," according to Holland & Barrett's nuts and seeds manager Douglas Thompson.
  Although the hype may be new in the UK, the seeds have been around for hundreds of years. The Aztecs replied on chia as a staple food and revered it enough to use for religious ceremonies and medicinal purposes, according to Coates.
  "It disappeared for 500 years and the only place you could find it is in a few little villages in Mexico and Guatemala," Coates says.
   
  
  
   American footballer Ray Rice is one of the athletes advocating chia
  But even before Coates and his team picked up on the seeds, chia had something of a cult following in the US.
  Until recently, most Americans would recognise it as the cheesy Christmas gift of choice circa 1990. The Chia Pets, terracotta figurines which spout chia in place of hair, grow from the same seeds.
  As with any other "miracle food", it's important not to see chia as a panacea, says Dr Catherine Ulbricht, founder of the Natural Standard Research Collaboration.
  "People think with natural therapies that they can take as much as they want because it's natural, but they do have potential side effects just like any therapy," she says.
  "Anything that can have an action in your body can also have a reaction. Nothing is 100% spot-on all benefit."
  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17476690
  
  
  

10 Best Foods for Your Heart

10 Best Foods for Your Heart

By Alana Brager, Life2PointOh.com 

Did you know that heart disease is the number one killer of women in the United States? Scary! Luckily, we have tasty ways you can keep that heart of yours pumping longer!

1. Oatmeal contains a certain element of fiber called beta-glucan, which has been shown to reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol. It also contains a special antioxidant called avenanthramides, which prevents free radicals from attacking good cholesterol and helps reduce the risk of heart disease. Oatmeal also helps keep your arteries clear and contains calcium, omega-3's and fiber, which have been proven to stabilize blood sugar. Just skip the instant oats, since they're loaded with hidden sugars and sodium!

2. Salmon is the premiere source of omega-3 fatty acids, which are healthy fats that the human body cannot produce on its own. Omega-3's are known to minimize symptoms of inflammatory diseases and reduce blood pressure. Salmon is very high in protein, low in cholesterol and also contains astaxanthin, a very powerful antioxidant that's converted to vitamin A in the body.

3. Avocados contain oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat that may help lower bad cholesterol. They're high in potassium, which can help ward off high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. They also contain a heart healthy fat that contains lycopene, a potential cancer-fighting agent.

4. Olive Oil oil is full of monounsaturated fats, which can help lower your risk of heart disease and help normalize blood clotting. The antioxidants found in olive oil can also help protect against some cancers while boosting your HDL (good) cholesterol.

5. Nuts, like almonds and walnuts, are full of monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats, a fat that's mostly found in plant based foods and oils. They are also full of protein and omega-3's, which are great for the heart. About a handful a day is enough to do the trick.

Heart Healthy Month may be coming to a close, but it’s vital that you follow healthy practices year-round to prevent heart disease. Here’s Part 2 of our list of foods that make your heart happy! 

6. Berries are full of powerful antioxidants called polyphenols, which have been known to lower the risk of heart disease. Studies have shown that eating a moderate amount of berries may increase HDL (good) cholesterol and reduce blood pressure. They’re also rich in disease fighting phytochemicals that can help prevent heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

7. Legumes, or beans, are incredibly low in fat and contain no saturated fat or cholesterol. Beans are a high plant based protein that also have fiber, iron, folic acid and the heart healthy omega-3’s. Red and black beans also contain eight types of flavanoids, which reduces the risk of a stroke.

8. Spinach is an antioxidant rich super food that’s high in vitamins A, C and K, all of which are good for your bones and heart. It has been shown to lower the risk of some cancers while also being incredibly rich in fiber and folate, a water soluble B vitamin that’s important for building and maintaining healthy cells.

9. Soy is a nutrient dense, heart healthy food. It contains B-vitamins, unsaturated fats, calcium, zinc and fiber. It’s cholesterol free and a healthier, leaner protein, compared to meat. Soy is a complete protein, meaning it contains all of the essential amino acids that the body cannot produce. Studies have shown that soy protein could lower LDL (bad) cholesterol, which can help prevent heart disease.

10.  Tomatoes are packed with vitamins and lycopene, which has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease. When lycopene is combined with other antioxidants found in tomatoes, such as beta-carotene or vitamin c, the body works to neutralize free radicals that could damage cells. Studies have shown that tomato products prevent the oxidation of LDL (bad) cholesterol.

http://life2pointoh.com/2012/02/heart-healthy-foods/