Eating these two fruits could help repair the lungs of ex-smokers, says study

Stock up now if you used to smoke...

Photo: pixabay 

If you're a former smoker worried about the damage that cigarettes could have caused to your lungs, then you might want to start adding two fruits to your diet...

According to new research by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a diet high in apples and tomatoes may help repair the lungs of ex-smokers.

The researchers found that adults who ate more than two tomatoes or more than three portions of fresh fruit every day experienced a slower decline in lung function compared to those who ate less than one tomato or less than one portion of fruit a day, respectively. They concluded this after monitoring 650 adults over a 10-year period.

'This study shows that diet might help repair lung damage in people who have stopped smoking,' says lead author Vanessa Garcia-Larsen in the European Respiratory Journal.

'It also suggests that a diet rich in fruits can slow down the lung's natural ageing process even if you have never smoked.

She continued: 'Lung function starts to decline at around age 30 at variable speed depending on the general and specific health of individuals.

'Our study suggests that eating more fruits on a regular basis can help attenuate the decline as people age, and might even help repair damage caused by smoking.'

Source: Prima By Francesca Rice 21 Dec. 2017