Achieve healthy lungs

Want to score a Century?
Our Vedas declare: A man lives to be 100. The word in Sanskrit for a 100-year old man is shatayuh. We may or may not live up to the standards prescribed by our ancient scriptures but we would surely want to be able to blow out all the candles on our birthday cake when we are 75. But to be able to play a lengthy (or shall we say, a lung-thy) innings, we need to take action now.

The truth in your breath
If we ask: you already know how to breathe, right? You will invariably say: of course, I do. You are probably wrong even though you do it every moment, every day, without even thinking about it. Experts believe that most people have breathing technique which is not as healthy as you might think.

Most of us breathe too shallowly, too quickly. Our lungs and heart would greatly prefer longer, slower, deeper breaths. This is true for general health, and it is also true for managing stress. Deep breathing helps dissipate the fight-or-flight reaction so many of us experience when we're stressed. It sends a signal to our brain to slow down, which results in hormonal and physiological changes that slow heart rate and lower blood pressure.

Breathe easier with greater lung power
Here are some ways by which you can breathe freely by paying more attention to your lungs:

* Inhale slowly and deeply through the nose. A healthy inhale takes about five seconds.
* Exhale slowly through the mouth. Empty your lungs completely. Good breathers focus more on thorough exhalation than on inhalation.
* Engage your diaphragm for good breathing. With a good inhalation, your lungs puff up as your diaphragm drops. With a good exhale, your diaphragm rises pushing your lungs up to expel carbon dioxide. If you don't feel this muscle moving, deepen your breaths even more.
* Work toward breathing just six or eight deep breaths per minute. Most of us breathe more than 20 times a minute.

Achieve healthy lungs
Here are some ways that will have you doing less huffing and puffing and protect your lungs from damage and disease:

Do you snore? If the answer is yes, make an appointment with a sleep specialist and get checked for sleep apnea. The condition, in which you stop breathing dozens or even hundreds of times during the night, can actually damage your lungs nearly as much as smoking.

Walk around a little. The kind of exercise that makes your heart beat faster, like climbing stairs, riding a bike, or walking briskly, is very important for keeping your heart and lungs in good shape. Walking about 15 minutes at a time, three to four times a day, can improve breathing in people with emphysema, a lung disease.

Add supplements in your diet. Walnuts and fish-oil supplements have Omega-3 fatty acids which reduce inflammation. Most lung-related problems, including asthma, are related to inflammation.

Breathe only through your nose. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Our nasal passages are designed to filter the air and regulate its temperature and humidity. If you breathe in through your mouth, everything — dust, coldness, etc. — goes straight on into the lungs.

Enforce a no-smoke zone in your house. And avoid smoky bars and smoking areas in restaurants. It doesn't seem fair, but second-hand smoke you breathe from these sources can damage your lungs just as much as the smoke from your own cigarette.

Fruits and vegetables a day; keeps the doctor away. Studies have found that high amounts of antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables, including vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium, and beta-carotene, meant better lung function — even in smokers!