The Lungs and Climate Change

The Lungs and Climate Change:

Leading up to Earth Day on April 22, Cedars-Sinai is posting a weekly story and video that investigates the various ways climate change is impacting our bodies. This week's topic: The Lungs and Climate Change.

Newswise — LOS ANGELES (March 5, 2020) -- From California to Australia, wildfires are growing in frequency and ferocity. Climate scientists draw a direct line from rising global temperatures to a wildfire season that now lasts nearly the entire year.

The impact wildfires have on the quality of the air we breathe is one of the most apparent effects of climate change. The lungs can be a window to our overall health and Cedars-Sinai experts are seeing the impact of environmental changes on the health of patients. 

"During the wildfires we often see exaggerated wheezing, cough, runny nose, congested eyes and overall shortness of breath," said Zab Mosenifar, MD, pulmonologist and the Geri and Richard Brawerman Chair in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Cedars-Sinai. 

Mosenifar explains that people don't have to live next to the fire's edge to be impacted. Small particles from a major burn can travel very long distances, eventually landing in the small airways of our respiratory system, causing irritation and inflammation.

"Emergency Department and clinic visits have been on the rise, especially by patients who already have a chronic lung disease like asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)," said Mosenifar.

Mosenifar also said that new research suggests that infants and young children may be particularly vulnerable to lung damage-and immune system disruption-even if they live far from the burn. 
But the lung specialist believes there is still time to reverse course. Mosenifar is a long-distance runner who, at the age of 70, has completed 100 marathons. Air quality is always on his mind.
"When our family first moved to Los Angeles 45 years ago, I would see a massive brownish yellow haze that hovered over the city as I ran," recalled Mosenifar. "But the city and the state took bold actions to improve the environment. Now, when I come over a hill and down into the city it is so clear. I am confident that we can make changes if we take the right steps to fight the impact of climate change now, so it will be a better, healthier world for our children and grandchildren." 
In the meantime, Mosenifar suggests focusing on creating a lifestyle that can help each of us avoid exposure to bad air particles from wildfires or other toxic sources. One thing he advocates is changing exercise habits.

"I run at 5 a.m. because the air is cleaner," said Mosenifar, "and I try to be around green spaces, trees and plants which can also filter bad particles and carbon dioxide."
Read more on Discoveries: Breathing Room

Best Food For Healthy Lungs

Best Food For Healthy Lungs

Story at-a-glance

• Lung function tends to peak around the age of 30, after which it starts to decline. The rate of decline varies depending on factors such as smoking, exercise, exposure to pollutants, medical conditions and diet
• Anthocyanins, a type of flavonoid, have been shown to improve symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and help slow the gradual decline in lung health associated with aging
• Recent research shows those in the highest quartile of anthocyanin intake, compared to those in the lowest quartile, had a significantly reduced annual decline in three lung function measurements over time
• Polyphenols — plant compounds that give fruits, vegetables and berries their vibrant colors — also lower your risk of hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, erectile dysfunction and cancer, and boost bone and brain health
• Vitamin C has been found to reduce the health risks to babies born of mothers who smoke, and nanoparticles derived from tea leaves have been found to destroy up to 80 percent of lung cancer cells
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•  By Dr. Mercola
  Flavonoids are a group of polyphenols, phytonutrients found in most fruits and vegetables. There are more than 6,000 unique flavonoids, but as a group, they’re most well-known for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects and have been found to lower the risk of many chronic conditions rooted in inflammation. Anthocyanins,¹ specifically — found in red-blue plant pigments that give berries and other foods their red, blue and purple color — have been shown to:
  
  • Improve blood sugar control
  • Normalize blood pressure and enhance capillary strength
  • Lower oxidative stress and inflammation
  • Inhibit platelet formation
  • Prevent buildup of arterial plaque
  • Increase NAD+ levels
  Previous animal studies have shown anthocyanins reduce the production of mucus and inflammatory secretions in animals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Some of the latest research suggests the plant compound can also help slow the gradual decline in lung health associated with aging.
  

  Anthocyanins Protect Lung Health

  The study² in question analyzed data from 463 British and Norwegian adults who participated in the second and third European Community Respiratory Health Surveys. The average age was 44. The data included dietary information and a spirometry test, which measures the volume of air you can forcefully exhale in one second (FEV1), the total volume of air you can exhale after taking a deep breath (FVC) and the ratio of the two (FEV1/FVC).
  According to lead author Vanessa Garcia Larsen, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Human Nutrition Division of the Department of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, lung function tends to peak around the age of 30, after which it starts to decline.
  The rate of speed of that decline varies depending on factors such as smoking, your exercise level, exposure to pollutants and the presence of other medical conditions. Your diet also plays a significant role. Processed foods in general, and processed meats in particular, have previously been linked to a more rapid decline in lung function.³
  Here, those in the highest quartile of anthocyanin intake, compared to those in the lowest quartile of intake, had a significantly reduced decline in all three lung function measurements. In the highest quartile of anthocyanin intake, FEV1 declined at an average rate of -9.8 milliliters per year (mL/yr) compared to -18.9 mL/yr for those in the bottom quartile of anthocyanin intake. FVC declined at a rate of -9.8 mL/yr compared to -22.2 mL/yr.
  On average, the annual decline of FEV1/FVC among those consuming the highest amounts of anthocyanins was just -0.02 per year. No association between anthocyanin intake and lung function was found among smokers, however. According to Garcia-Larsen:⁴
  

  "Our study suggests that the general population could benefit from consuming more fruits rich in these flavonoids like berries, particularly those who have given up smoking or have never smoked. For smokers, quitting remains the best thing they can do to protect their health."
  

  Flavonoid-Rich Diet Has Many Other Health Benefits as Well

  Aside from protecting your lung function with age, polyphenols — the plant compounds that give fruits, vegetables and berries their vibrant colors — have numerous other health benefits as well. This includes lowering your risk of “middle-age spread,” the weight gain around the midsection that is so common with age.
  In one study,⁵ which included more than 124,000 people, those with the highest flavonoid intake had the least weight gain with age. Certain types of flavonoids were more effective for weight maintenance than others, particularly after the researchers accounted for fiber intake. Anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins and total flavonoid polymers (found in tea and apples) showed the most significant effect after adjusting for fiber.
  Overall, for each standard deviation above average in terms of flavonoid consumption, the study participants gained one-tenth to three-fifths of a pound less over four years. This might not sound striking, but you can consider it the icing on the cake, as this is just one of many benefits. Other health benefits associated with higher intake of flavonoids include: