Foods to Help Your COPD

If you have been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), you’re most likely using a portable oxygen concentrator to cope with this respiratory condition. Believe it or not, what you eat can also play an important role when it comes to managing your COPD. Those with COPD have a higher calorie requirement because of the effort needed to breathe – the muscles used to breathe can burn up to 10 times more calories than someone who doesn’t have this condition.¹ Our team of professionals at Oxygen Always can recommend foods to help with your COPD.

Go Nuts!

A type of food to incorporate into your COPD meal plan are nuts and nut butters, but only if you’re not allergic. Nuts are a high-calorie, healthy snack that can fuel the energy needed to breathe. Some COPD patients have a low body mass index (BMI), which is an indicator of poor nutrition that puts them at a higher risk for death. You can find a variety of nuts in trail mixes, which are good to bring along while you’re running errands or partaking in other daily activities. While eating trail mixes on-the-go, bring your portable oxygen concentrator like the AirSep Freestyle 3, Inogen One G2, or Oxlife Independence, to manage your COPD even better.

Lean Protein

Most COPD patients suffer from protein deficiency, so it’s crucial to stay on top of your protein intake for your COPD meal plan. Fish, chicken, eggs, and most dairy are healthy sources of protein that should be included in the foods to help your COPD. If you need protein on-the-go, you can always create a smoothie with protein powder from most nutrition stores.

Low-Fat Milk

Get the protein, calcium, vitamin D, and some fat needed for your calorie requirement by drinking lower-fat milk. If you’re adding milk to your COPD meal plan, make sure it’s not skim milk. Another alternative for milk is full-fat yogurt you can use in a smoothie.

Fruits & Veggies

Of course, no COPD meal plan would be complete without fruits and vegetables. Whether frozen or fresh, a generous serving of fruits and veggies can only benefit your COPD. They contain fiber, vitamin A, minerals, and other essential nutrients to help manage your COPD. If you’re too exhausted to prepare these foods, you can always buy your vegetables precut, making them easy to steam.

If you have any more questions regarding foods to help your COPD or other portable oxygen concentrators, feel free to contact our professional staff anytime. Our customer service team is available 24/7, 365 days a year.

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