COPD and Nutrition
Good nutrition is essential in the management of COPD. It won’t cure COPD, but the right food can help you feel better, make your body stronger and help to fight infections. Keeping a healthy body weight supports your lungs as they work. Good nutrition gives your body the energy it needs do the work of breathing and staying active. Good nutrition can help you have a better quality of life. Food is the fuel your body needs in order to perform all activities, including breathing. By choosing a wide variety of nourishing foods you are getting all of the building blocks or nutrients needed for health and wellbeing. There are no good or bad foods, but how you combine them together each day and each week is important. • Vegetables, salad and fruit contain antioxidants, which fight harmful free radicals and can help support your immune system. • Cereals, breads, potatoes, pasta and rice provide valuable energy to our bodies. • Milk, yoghurt and cheese products contain calcium, which is essential for healthy bones. This is especially important if you take steroids as they increase bone loss. • Meat, poultry, fish, eggs, beans and nuts contain protein which is important to build and maintain muscle. • Fats, spreads and oils are high in energy and provide vitamins, such as vitamin D which we need to absorb calcium.
• Confectionary for example: cakes, crisps, fizzy drinks provide very little nutrition other than sugar, fat and empty calories. Many people with COPD can experience a poor appetite. It is very common to feel full more quickly and you can be put off by certain foods. When you have COPD your body needs extra energy just to breathe and even more energy to fight an infection. Tips which may help a poor appetite: • Eat little and often: choose smaller meals and snacks. • Try to eat something, no matter how small, at every mealtime. • Avoid drinking for a half hour before and during meals as this can make you feel fuller more quickly. • Try to eat a protein food twice daily e.g. cheese, meat, chicken, fish, eggs, beans, pulses or nuts. • Add extra butter, cream or cheese to foods, this increases the calories but not portion size. • Try to have a pint of full fat milk each day – or a white coffee, hot chocolate or other milky drink. • Use ready meals, tinned and frozen foods which require no preparation time. • Stop smoking or try in particular to avoid it just before meal times as it can reduce your appetite .
Health
Other issues which may affect your food and nutrition • Dry mouth – due to oxygen usage, medications – sip water, suck ice cubes, avoid caffeine • Bloating and trapped wind due to gulping air whilst eating – Take your time, smaller bites • Reflux or Indigestion – common in people with COPD, eat slowly, eat small amounts, reduce alcohol • Constipation - stay hydrated, eat well and include fibre in your diet • Coughing whilst eating – eat slowly, eat softer foods, don’t talk and eat What can I do? • Eating a variety of foods in the portions that suit you best is a good place to start. • Ask your healthcare professional to refer you to a dietician or contact the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute (INDI) which will has a list of registered dieticians in Ireland www.indi.ie • Contact the COPD adviceline at 1800 832146 or nurse@asthma.ie • Download our COPD & Me Booklet on our website www.copd.ie A COPD diet is meant to be followed for a lifetime and following these diet guidelines consistently can help you manage symptoms along the way.
Senior Times | July - August 2022 | www.seniortimes.ie 71
