After entering winter, the cold climate causes people to spend more time indoors. To keep warm, office buildings, homes, school classrooms, and other public places are often kept in a sealed state, causing indoor air to be continuously polluted. The spread of various viruses and bacteria also significantly increases the incidence of respiratory diseases. Common winter respiratory diseases include the common cold, influenza, acute viral upper respiratory tract infections, and lung infections. Children under 5 years old, the elderly, and patients with chronic diseases are the primary groups affected. In addition to frequently opening windows for ventilation to maintain indoor air circulation and reducing visits to crowded public places, these groups can also prevent respiratory diseases by adjusting their diet.
Supplementing foods rich in vitamin A and beta-carotene. Medical research shows that children and the elderly with recurrent respiratory infections have vitamin A levels in their serum that are below normal in about 70% of cases. A deficiency in vitamin A can impair the function of the respiratory tract epithelium and immunoglobulins, easily leading to prolonged respiratory infections.
In daily diets, attention should be paid to providing foods rich in vitamin A for children and the elderly. Animal liver, egg yolks, and dairy products are the richest sources of vitamin A. Beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A, is mostly found in orange-yellow plants, such as carrots, sweet potatoes, corn, and persimmons. Additionally, many dark green vegetables, such as spinach, kale, chives, and pea shoots, also contain relatively high amounts of carotene. After humans ingest carotene from plant-based foods, it is converted into vitamin A in the liver and intestinal mucosa for use by the body.
Beta-carotene in vegetables like carrots and kale is easily soluble in fat. In the small intestine, it combines with fat particles and bile and is absorbed along with fatty acids. Therefore, it is best to cook these vegetables with oil to facilitate the body's full utilization.
Supplementing foods that nourish yin and moisten the lungs. You can eat more foods that have the effect of nourishing yin and moistening the lungs, such as tremella (snow fungus), lily, lotus seeds, pears, lotus root, radish, water chestnuts, Chinese yam, soy milk, and honey. For example, you can have lily tremella and lotus seed soup, red jujube and lily congee, honey radish soup, or honey snow pear soup. You can also stir-fry carrots, celery, and lily together.
Drink water proactively. Food is the paramount necessity for people, and water is the first necessity for food. Proactively drinking water is also very important for preventing respiratory diseases. It is best to drink 6 to 8 glasses of water proactively every day. Do not wait until you are thirsty to drink water. Thirst indicates that the body's water balance has been disrupted, and the body's cells are dehydrated to a certain extent, with the central nervous system sending a signal to replenish water. Drinking a glass of water first thing in the morning is especially important. After a night of sleep, urination, skin evaporation, and breathing through the mouth and nose, a significant amount of water is lost, and the body is already in a dehydrated state. The mucus in the small bronchi becomes thick and difficult to cough up, and can even cause blockage, leading to lung and bronchial inflammation. Drinking water in the morning can effectively relieve dehydration of the respiratory tract. It is best to drink plain water in the morning, or you can add a small amount of honey.