Some of the books describe COPD as chronic emphysema or chronic bronchitis; other books say it isn’t COPD unless you have both. Although there isn’t an awful lot written about COPD the exact definition doesn’t seem to matter in what you can do about it.

Emphysema is described as a loss of elasticity of the alveoli or lining of the lungs. The alveoli are the small air sacs that hold the oxygen on inhalation and the carbon dioxide on exhalation. When they lose their elasticity the person is unable to take a deep breath, or to exhale it completely. This makes breathing difficult. The already partially filled air sacks cannot take in as much oxygen, and since they don’t completely empty that don’t take out as much carbon dioxide as healthy lungs can.

Bronchitis has been described as having fluid in your airways. This usually gives the sufferer a phlegm filled cough. If the fluid moves into the lungs it is then described as pneumonia. A chronic sufferer of bronchitis would never completely get rid of the phlegm, therefore would have the feeling of breathing through water all the time.

Many people have developed emphysema from smoking cigarettes, or being around someone who does. Other causes can be breathing in any type of pollution, particularly any type that is of a particulate nature. Working in factories with a lot of ‘dust’ in the air, or even outdoors in a dusty atmosphere can damage the lungs. A friend of mine felt he his lung damage was due to a chlorine spill in the aluminum factory where he worked. If you smoke quit. If you live with someone that smokes try to get them to quit. If they won’t then you need to take measures to protect yourself from their smoking.

Whether you have one or the other or both nutritionally your needs would be the same. Because not being able to breathe well would leave you tired you would struggle to keep a quality exercise routine as a part of your life. This would make over eating a significant possibility. Carrying extra weight would add to the strain on your lungs and make it that much harder to breathe. On the other hand many people with severe COPD find it difficult to eat because even the act of eating interferes with their attempts to breathe. In those cases malnutrition can add to the decline of the body and the strength of the sufferer. In either case good nutrition, without a lot of excess calories is a must.

Another ‘must’ is a good anti-oxidant. Studies show that people who take between 200 to 800 units of Vitamin E and a minimum of 500 milligrams of Vitamin C every day have healthier lungs than those that don’t. Anti-oxidants in general would be of help to someone with limited lung function. My favorite anti-oxidant is Enriching Gifts Metabolic Complete . This is because it is a well rounded group of anti-oxidants that is more potent than taking Vitamin E or C on their own.

Because of the increased nutritional needs of someone with COPD a good multivitamin would seem a natural supplement. The best I have ever found is the Enriching Gifts Complete Vitamins Plus . These were formulated to include every vitamin and mineral needed by the human body in the optimal amounts for the average person. For me this is one of the daily building blocks for healthy living.

Another daily building block for me is the Enriching Gifts Plant Enzymes . This is even more important with COPD because there is some evidence that those suffering from it may have a lack of the enzyme responsible for maintaining the elasticity of the alveoli. The article that mentioned this enzyme did not give the name, but one of the benefits of the Enriching Gifts Plant Enzymes is that it takes some of the work of creating digestive enzymes off the body. Even if it doesn’t have that particular one in the mix it might enable the body to create more of what it needs.

People with COPD tend to get repeated respiratory infections. A strong immune system would help in this area. The Enriching Gifts Plant Enzymes starts the process of building a strong immune system. The Enriching Gifts Sterol Max takes it one step further. Plant sterols feed the immune system, allowing the body to build more and stronger white blood cells to fight off infection.

There is a type of massage like treatment called ‘Trager Work’ that can greatly improve lung function. Another therapy that has been shown to be helpful is acupuncture or acupressure. Practitioners of these therapies would focus on points labeled Lung 9 (located on the thumb side of you inner forearm between your wrist bone and your wrist crease) and Spleen 6 (located four finger-widths above your inner anklebone on the back inner border of your shinbone). Stimulating these points has been shown to make breathing easier.

As with all conditions that put a strain on the body the keys to better health are proper nutrition, supplementation and exercise.

Nature’s Medicines by Gale Maleskey and the Editors of Prevention Health Books, copyright 1999 by Rodale Inc.

Blended Medicine Combining Mainstream and Alternative Therapies by Michael Castleman copyrighted 2000 by Michael Castleman.

Understanding Normal and Clinical Nutrition, Fifth Edition by Eleanor Noss Whitney, Corinne Balog Cataldo and Sharon Rady Rolfes. Copyrighted 1998 by Wadsworth Publishing Company.