3. Bell Peppers
Did you know that bell peppers are actually one of the richest sources of vitamin C out there? In fact, they deliver more vitamin C than the popular glass of OJ.
A cup of green bell peppers gives you a little bit more vitamin C than your daily requirement. To be more specific, it provides approximately 95 mg of the vitamin and, as per the National Institutes of Health recommendations, we need about 90 mg of this vitamin daily.
Vitamin C is crucial for smokers since it acts as an essential antioxidant in the human body. Why? Because cigarette smoke has a negative effect on the number of antioxidants stored in your body. That’s why all health authorities recommend smokers to consume an extra 35 mg of vitamin C daily.
Studies suggest that those who smoke and get a higher vitamin C dose per day have proper lung function than smokers who take a lower vitamin C amount.
Therefore, eating only one medium-sized red bell pepper daily is essential for keeping your lungs healthy since it delivers about 169% of the vitamin C daily requirements.
4. Pumpkin
Pumpkins can brag about having a variety of plant compounds that not only keep your lungs healthy but promote better overall health. However, there are some that really stand out. Lutein, beta carotene, and zeaxanthin are the best when it comes to maintaining lung health due to their anti-inflammatory effects.
Numerous studies pointed out the benefits of carotenoids. The higher the blood levels of carotenoids, the better the lung function. Smokers, in particular, should definitely eat more carotenoid-rich foods such as pumpkin.
New evidence suggests that those who smoke have about 25% lower concentrations of carotenoids than those who don’t, so aiming to get as mush carotenoids as possible is important for lung health, especially when you’re a smoker.
