Former smokers who consume more fruits, tomatoes, herbal tea and vitamin C may benefit from a slower decline in both forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC), according to a new study published in the ERJ.
Researchers collected diet and nutrition data from 680 participants from Germany, Norway and the UK using questionnaires and performed spirometry on participants to test their lung function; the same data was collected from participants at a 10 year follow-up.
Possible confounders including age, height, sex, BMI, socio-economic status, physical activity and total energy intake were controlled for in multivariable analyses.
The key findings showed that a higher total intake of fruits was associated with a slower FEV1 decline, and intake of apples, bananas, tomatoes, herbal tea and vitamin C was associated with a slower FVC decline.
Further, the data showed that decline in both FEV1 and FVC was slowed in the whole sample, and particularly in ex-smokers, when participants had a higher intake of tomatoes; ex-smokers with a diet high in tomatoes and fruits had around 80 ml slower decline over the ten-year period.
The authors believe the study suggests that dietary factors might play a role in preserving ventilatory function in adults by slowing down a decline in lung function, particularly in ex-smokers.