Nola who has COPD will have different dietary needs. Many people who have COPD don’t eat enough nutrients, this means they are more likely to become malnourished (Nguyen et al., 2019). This may put Nola at risk for developing a weaker immune system, (Calder, 2013). Especially as she is 55kg as this class as underweight (NHS, 2023). This can make Nola more susceptible to catching a common cold (rhinoviruses), which is not ideal for her as recovery may take longer, as well as her COPD symptoms becoming worse (Papi et al., 2007). Eating well also will help reduce her symptoms as much as possible, giving Nola better quality of life.
This is why the correct diet is crucial for Nola and people with COPD ensuring Nola is eating the correct way will make her stronger and able to deal with her condition better. Nola needs to meet specific macronutrient and micronutrient requirements. When this is not met she may experience fat loss and cachexia which further justifies the importance of her nutritional intake, helping to mitigate the likeness of cachexia development (Remels et al, 2012).
Energy requirements is 30kcal per kg of body weight or in extreme cases to elicit weight gain 45kcal per kg of body weight. (Collins et al., 2019). This means Nola needs to eat 45kcal per kilogram of her bodyweight, so she should aim for 2500kcal each day to help her gain weight and reach a healthy BMI.
Nola must consume 1-1.2g of protein per kilogram of body weight, as she ages this may increase 1.5g, this is to sustain muscle. (Collins et al., 2019). Nola will need the upper end of this as she is exercising on a regular basis, meals such as her breakfast wrap. Its important to consume higher amounts of protein when exercising because it will stimulate muscle protein synthesis (Cintineo et al., 2018). As well as inhibiting
Vitamins are important within Nolas diet, she needs to focus on consuming specifically vitamin A, C and E are associated with improvement of COPD symptoms, as well as being anti-inflammatory and protective against symptoms progressing (Tsiligianni and van der Moler., 2010). Førli et al (2002) found that higher vitamin D levels were associated with better lung function in COPD patients. Nola can include fortified food products to imcrease her vitmain D (Benedik., 2021).
Extra information
It is also important to minimize gas, Nola must be conscious of the amount of high fibre foods she consumes as this will cause discomfort and pain, however she needs to consume fibre to prevent constipation (Norden et al., 2015) Fluid intake is also important to maintain a high level of hydration this will help to keep Nolas mucus thinner and easier for her to expel (Henderson et al., 2018).
References
Benedik, E. (2021) ‘Sources of vitamin D for humans’, International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research.
Calder, P. C. (2013) ‘Feeding the immune system’, Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 72(3), pp. 299-309.
Cintineo, H. P., Arent, M. A., Antonio, J. and Arent, S. M. (2018) ‘Effects of protein supplementation on performance and recovery in resistance and endurance training’, Frontiers in nutrition, 5, pp. 83.
Collins, P. F., Yang, I. A., Chang, Y. C. and Vaughan, A. (2019) ‘Nutritional support in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): an evidence update’, J Thorac Dis, 11(Suppl 17), pp. S2230-s2237.
Henderson, A. G., Anderson, W. H., Ceppe, A., Coakley, R. D., Button, B., Alexis, N. E., Peden, D. B., Lazarowski, E. R., Davis, C. W. and Fuller, F. (2018) ‘Mucus hydration in subjects with stable chronic bronchitis: a comparison of spontaneous and induced sputum’, COPD: Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, 15(6), pp. 572-580.
Nguyen, H. T., Collins, P. F., Pavey, T. G., Nguyen, N. V., Pham, T. D. and Gallegos, D. L. (2019) ‘Nutritional status, dietary intake, and health-related quality of life in outpatients with COPD’, International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pp. 215-226.
Nordén, J., Grönberg, A., Bosaeus, I., Forslund, H. B., Hulthén, L., Rothenberg, E., Karlsson, J., Wallengren, O. and Slinde, F. (2015) ‘Nutrition impact symptoms and body composition in patients with COPD’, European journal of clinical nutrition, 69(2), pp. 256-261.
Papi, A., Contoli, M., Gaetano, C., Mallia, P. and Johnston, S. L. (2007) ‘Models of infection and exacerbations in COPD’, Current Opinion in Pharmacology, 7(3), pp. 259-265.
Remels, A. H. V., Gosker, H. R., Langen, R. C. J. and Schols, A. M. W. J. (2012) ‘The mechanisms of cachexia underlying muscle dysfunction in COPD’, Journal of Applied Physiology, 114(9), pp. 1253-1262.
Tsiligianni, I. G. and van der Molen, T. (2010) ‘A systematic review of the role of vitamin insufficiencies and supplementation in COPD’, Respir Res, 11(1), pp. 171.
van Loon, L. J. C. (2013) ‘Role of dietary protein in post-exercise muscle reconditioning’, Nutritional Coaching Strategy to Modulate Training Efficiency: Karger Publishers, pp. 73-83.