Could a healthy diet attenuate COPD risk in smokers?

Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food. Hippocrates The predominant risk factor for COPD in high-income countries is cigarette smoking,1 but not all smokers develop COPD.2 It has been hypothesised that a diet rich in antioxidants may counteract the deleterious oxidant effects of smoking and hence prevent COPD.3 Although most studies that have linked dietary antioxidant foods and nutrients to COPD have been cross-sectional,3 a few cohort studies have also reported associations between higher intake and a slower decline of lung function or a lower incidence of COPD.4–7 In Thorax,8 using longitudinal data from 44 335 men in the Cohort of Swedish Men, Kaluza et al investigated the association between total fruit and vegetable consumption and incident COPD, according to smoking habits. COPD was ascertained through patient and...
Source: Thorax - Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Tags: Press releases Editorial Source Type: research