The high temperatures, extreme droughts, and raging wildfires make the summer season a nightmare for those that live in the western portion of the United States and even into the Midwest and the East. These fires create excessive levels of smoke and soot which negatively impact air quality, making prioritizing your health leading into fire season something you can’t ignore. These poor environmental conditions can make breathing extremely difficult, and exacerbate many pre-existing conditions including asthma, inflammatory disorders, COPD, and allergies—increasing the importance of health boosting changes for many at-risk populations.
Thankfully, there are many dietary and supplemental actions you can take to support your body through wildfire season and beyond.
Eat Vitamin D Rich Foods
Most people are well aware that vitamin D is an important nutrient for maintaining overall health, though many may be surprised to learn that its important functions directly impact the body’s resiliency during fire season. For example, getting adequate levels of vitamin D is essential for keeping both the lungs and immune system functioning optimally and research has shown that optimal vitamin D decreases the frequency and amount of severe asthma attacks in those diagnosed with asthma (a population that is extremely at-risk during this season). In addition, vitamin D also helps to fight and decrease inflammation throughout the body which is especially useful as exposure to extreme amounts of smoke, ash, and other particles significantly increase inflammation levels and damage the mucosal lining in the lungs. Direct exposure to sunlight is the best way to ensure that you are getting enough vitamin D though that is often not possible during fire season due to dangerous air quality. Instead, frequent consumption of vitamin D rich foods and potentially a vitamin D3 supplement is recommended to boost your levels during this time.
Top food sources of vitamin D include:
- Salmon
- Egg yolks
- Sardines
- Mushrooms (when exposed to UV light)
- Some fortified foods like dairy, breakfast cereals and orange juice, although the form of vitamin D added to these foods is not as bioavailable as those in animal based products
Looking for a vitamin D supplement to boost your stores? We recommend Seeking Health's Vitamin D3/K2 blend.
Eat Antioxidant Rich Foods
Antioxidants are nutrients that help to fight inflammation and protect your cells against damage from high levels of free radicals—unstable molecules that cause significant harm to our bodies when they begin to outnumber our antioxidants and their levels become too high. Too many free radicals impair the body’s ability to handle stress and inflammation, including stress created by exposure to wildfires. Before and during fire season, it is important to prime your body by limiting the many lifestyle factors that increase your risk of excessive free radical formation and oxidative stress including chronic stress, cigarette smoke, alcohol, high blood sugar levels, infection, and a processed diet.
Exposure to excess smoke from wildfires increases the stress placed on the body, which increases the amount of vitamins and minerals required to keep you healthy. The best way to increase the amount of nutrients you’re getting by consuming a whole foods diet that is naturally rich in antioxidants. This means choosing as many brightly colored fruits and vegetables as possible to ensure you’re getting a wide variety of different antioxidants. Flavonoids, a specific type of antioxidant, may provide additional lung protection when compared to other types of antioxidants so choosing foods rich in these is likely a great place to start.
The top food sources of antioxidants, specifically flavonoids, include:
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Green tea
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Black tea
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Red Cabbage
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Kale and other leafy greens
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Brussels sprouts
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Onions
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Properly prepared beans and legumes
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Apples
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Berries
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Dark chocolate
Looking for an antioxidant supplement to boost your stores? We recommend Pure Encapsulation's AntiOxidant Formula for a great blend of natural antioxidants.
Consume Adequate Cysteine and N-Acetyl-Cysteine (NAC)
Cysteine is an amino acid that is considered semi-essential while N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) is the supplemental form of cysteine. Cysteine is not classified as an essential amino acid as the body is able to produce it from other amino acids like methionine and serine. This acts as a backup for keeping levels high when dietary intake is low.
Getting adequate amounts of cysteine and NAC are important for many reasons, though most notably these amino acids are especially important for addressing chronic respiratory conditions and the production of glutathione (one of the most important antioxidants for your health). When we’re specifically considering how to support the lungs in preparation for exposure to high amounts of wildfire smoke, supplementing with NAC has been shown to decrease symptoms commonly associated with respiratory distress including wheezing, coughing and restricted breathing, by thinning and breaking up the mucus in the bronchial tubes as well as decreasing inflammation. NAC may also boost immune function and the ability to fight off respiratory illness, another important factor for strengthening your body’s resiliency against damage from wildfire smoke.
Top food sources of cysteine include:
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Chicken
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Turkey
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Full fat yogurt
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Cheese
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Whole eggs
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Sunflower seeds
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Legumes
Looking for a NAC supplement to boost your levels? We recommend this NAC by Allergy Research Group.
Prioritize Hydration
Adequate hydration is essential for all aspects of health, and is especially important to consider when minimizing the impact of wildfire smoke. Drinking enough water helps to thin the mucus that lines your lungs and airways, which prevents it from getting too sticky. When this mucus becomes too sticky, the cilia that line the lungs are unable to move it, meaning it will continue to build up. This increases your risk for illness and respiratory problems, making it difficult to fight off any inflammation or illness related to excess smoke. Water is also essential for maintaining healthy blood flow to and from the lungs, as well as ensuring your lungs receive enough oxygen to function!
Dehydration can occur quickly if you are not careful. Even as little as a 2% decrease in hydration levels can lead to uncomfortable symptoms including headaches, fatigue, joint pain, and poor concentration. To make it a bit more complicated, hydration isn’t just about the amount of water you drink but also whether you have the right nutrients (like electrolytes) to maintain the correct fluid balance in and out of the body’s cells.
In general, we recommend consuming at least ½ of your body weight in ounces of water with an additional cup of pure water per diuretic beverage or hour of intense exercise.
Are you consuming adequate amounts of water, but looking for natural ways to increase your hydration status before, during and after fire season? We recommend Pure Encapsulations Electrolyte/ Energy Formula.
Supporting your lung health before, during, and after wildfire season is essential for minimizing the potential negative side effects. Our trained nutrition professionals are ready to support and guide you on this journey. Click here to schedule a one-on-one!
About the Author
Emily Alexander, M.Ed, FNTP—Emily is a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner with Curated Wellness. She is passionate about supporting others in their journey to improve their relationship with food and their body through gentle nutrition, and is a firm believer that understanding the bio-individual components of nutrition is one of the best ways to do so. Emily completed her Master’s of education in health education and promotion with a concentration in eating disorders, and draws from both her educational background and life experience to help her clients improve their energy, understand their bodies, boost their athletic potential, and break down diet myths one at a time. Read more about Emily.
The information presented on this website is intended for educational purposes only. Statements within this site have not been evaluated or approved by the Food and Drug Administration. This content is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any specific condition or disease, nor is it medical advice and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical expertise. Readers of this content are advised to consult their doctors or qualified health professionals regarding specific health conditions or concerns. One should always consult a qualified medical professional before engaging in any dietary and/or lifestyle change or new health program. Curated Wellness does not take responsibility for any health consequences of any person or persons following the information in this educational content.
For reference
1. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(17)30306-5/fulltext#seccestitle10
2. Garcia-Larsen, V., Thawer, N., Charles, D., Cassidy, A., van Zele, T., Thilsing, T., Ahlström, M., Haahtela, T., Keil, T., Matricardi, P. M., Brożek, G., Kowalski, M. L., Makowska, J., Niżankowska-Mogilnicka, E., Rymarczyk, B., Loureiro, C., Todo Bom, A., Bachert, C., Forsberg, B., Janson, C., … Burney, P. G. (2018). Dietary Intake of Flavonoids and Ventilatory Function in European Adults: A GA²LEN Study. Nutrients, 10(1), 95. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10010095
3. Sadowska, A. M., Verbraecken, J., Darquennes, K., & De Backer, W. A. (2006). Role of N-acetylcysteine in the management of COPD. International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 1(4), 425–434. https://doi.org/10.2147/copd.2006.1.4.425
4 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S095461111630141X
