If you’ve recently been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), then you should have in mind that eating a healthy diet won’t cure COPD but it can help your body fight off infections, including chest infections that may lead to hospitalization. Eating healthfully can make you feel better, too.

Your doctor may likely advise you on need to improve your eating habits. Your doctor may even have referred you to a registered dietitian to create a personal diet plan. Just follow these healthy diet tips.

Top 5 Diet Tips

Eat a balanced diet
A healthy diet includes a variety of foods. Try to include these in your daily diet:

Low-fat protein foods, such as lean cuts of meat, poultry, and oily fish like salmon, sardines, and mackerel.
Complex carbohydrates are also high in fiber, which helps improve the function of the digestive system. These includes whole-grain bread, bran, brown rice, lentils, quinoa, beans, and oats.
Some fresh fruits and vegetables which contains essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber, which will help to keep your body healthy.
foods containing high levels of potassium, including bananas, oranges, avocado, dark leafy greens, tomatoes, asparagus, beets and potatoes
Know What to Avoid
Certain foods contain too much fat, or are low in nutritional value which can lead to gas and bloating. Foods to avoid or reduce include:

Salt
Excessive salt intake leads to water retention, which may affect your ability to respire. Avoid adding salt to your cooking, instead make use of unsalted herbs and spices to flavor food. Check with your dietician or healthcare provider about low-sodium salt substitutes. They may contain ingredients that could adversely affect your health. In spite of what many people believe, most sodium consumption doesn’t come from the salt shaker, but rather what’s already in the food. Be sure to check the labels of the foods you buy and avoid any containing more than 300 milligrams of sodium per serving for snacks, and more than 600 milligrams for whole meals.

Some Fruits
Fruits like apples, stone fruits like apricots and peaches, and melons may cause bloating and gas in some, which may lead to breathing problems in people with COPD. However, if these foods aren’t a problem for you, you can include them in your diet.

Some Vegetables

There’s a long list of vegetables known to cause bloating and gas. What matters is how your body works. You can continue to enjoy vegetables like burssels, beans sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, leeks, corn, peas, onions, scallions and leeks, if they don’t cause a problem for you. Soybeans may also cause gas.

Dairy Products

For some people, dairy products such as milk and cheese cause phlegm to become thicker. However, if dairy products don’t affect your phlegm, then you can continue to consume them moderately.

Chocolate

Chocolate contains caffeine, which may affect with your medication. Check with your doctor to find out if you should avoid or limit your intake.

Fried Foods

Foods that are fried or greasy can cause gas and indigestion. Heavily spiced foods can also cause discomfort and may affect your breathing. These foods should be avoided.

Watch What You Drink
People with COPD should drink lots of water throughout the day. Around six to eight (8-ounce) glasses of noncaffeinated beverages are recommended per day. Adequate hydration keeps mucus thin and makes it easier to cough up.

Avoid drinking caffeine because it could interfere with your medication. Caffeinated drinks include coffee, tea, sodas, and energy drinks.

Ask your doctor about alcohol. You may be advised to avoid or limit alcoholic beverages, as they can interact with medications.

Watch Your Weight
People with chronic bronchitis have an affinity to be obese, while those with emphysema have an inclination to be underweight. This makes diet and nutrition assessment an important part of COPD treatment.

Underweight

Some symptoms of COPD may include lack of appetite, feeling unwell, or depression. These can cause you to become underweight. If you’re underweight, you may feel weak and tired or be more susceptible to getting infections. COPD requires you to use more energy when breathing, so you may need up to 10 times more calories daily than a person without the condition.

If you’re underweight, you need to include healthy, high-calorie snacks in your diet. Items to add to your grocery list include:

eggs
milk
avocado
oats, quinoa, and beans
cheese
nuts and nut butters
granola

Overweight

When you’re overweight, your heart and lungs have to work harder, making breathing more difficult. Too much body weight may also increase the demand for oxygen. Your doctor or dietitian can advise you on how to achieve a healthier body weight by following a healthy eating plan.

Be Prepared
COPD can be a challenging condition to live with, so it’s important to make food preparation a straightforward and stress-free process. Make mealtime easier, encourage your appetite if you’re underweight, and stick to a healthy eating program by following these general guidelines:

Try eating five to six small meals per day, rather than three large ones. Eating smaller meals means may help you avoid filling up your stomach too much and give your lungs enough room to expand, making breathing easier.
Don’t skip breakfast, morning meals will boost your energy levels for the whole day.
Choose foods that are quick and easy to prepare to avoid wasting your energy. Sit down when preparing meals so that you aren’t too tired to eat. You may also order a meal home delivery service.
Sit up comfortably in a high-backed chair when eating to avoid putting too much pressure on your lungs.
When making a meal, make a bigger portion so that you can freeze some for later and have nutritious meals available when you feel too tired to cook.
Source: http://www.healthdiary365.com/2018/05/30/top-5-diet-tips-for-people-with-copd/