Increase your lung capacity - with nutrition?

Myprotein.com Sports Scientist Ross Edgley explores how you could improve your lung capacity, and therefore running times, all from the comfort of your kitchen

Experts have long known that your lung capacity (VO2 or maximal oxygen uptake) is a main determinant of your aerobic fitness (your ability to maintain a steady work rate for a prolonged period of time)

As far back as 1985, research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine showed that lung capacity was a potential predictor of performance in elite middle distance runners training for the 1984 Olympic Games (W L Kenney and J L Hodgson, 1985.) Now obviously a well-designed training program would be the best and most effective way to improve your lung capacity, but research shows that certain foods can also increase your ability to inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. Here we explore how you could improve your lung capacity, and therefore running times, all from the comfort of your kitchen.

Firstly a little bit about your lung capacity and sports performance: It’s measured using something called your VO2 max, or maximal oxygen uptake, and it’s essentially the maximum amount of oxygen that an individual can utilize during intense or maximal exercise. As previously stated an athlete’s VO2 max is the one factor that can determine their capacity to perform sustained exercise and is linked to aerobic endurance. Put simply the higher your V02 max, the better your cardiovascular fitness. It’s measured in millimetres of oxygen per kilogram of bodyweight per minute and the highest ever recorded VO2 max is 94 ml/kg/min in men and 77 ml/kg/min in women, both were cross-country skiers (Astrand P-O and Rodahl K. 1986). Elite athletes usually have a V02 of 70 ml/kg/min and the average person has a VO2 Max of around 35 ml/kg/min.

So how can you improve your lung capacity through food?

Well according to The University of Maryland Medical Centre, people who suffer from chronic lung diseases are often deficient in a number of antioxidants and vitamins and that ensuring you have a sufficient supply in your diet could greatly help to reduce the amount of stress on your lungs and increase your lung capacity. Specifically mentioned throughout a lot of studies is Vitamin C (a powerful antioxidant). In fact in one study conducted at Cornell University, it was found that dietary vitamin C may protect against the loss of pulmonary function i.e. your ability to inhale and exhale air.

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Also it has been suggested by The American Lung Association that people who suffer from any type of lung disease should consider having a higher protein diet since protein can help to support the muscles within the respiratory system and help them to expand and contract effectively. Eggs, dairy products, milk and certain meats have all been suggested as great sources of protein and can all help to indirectly improve lung capacity.

Lastly the University of Maryland Medical Centre recommends consuming a lot of fish such as salmon, herring, rainbow trout and tuna since they are high in omega-3 fatty acids which have been shown to reduce inflammation in the lungs, which in turn will increase your lung capacity. This idea was later supported by the Linus Pauling Institute that discovered consuming omega-3 fatty acids can help reduce inflammation in people who suffer from asthma.

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In conclusion, whilst the Vitamin C, sufficient protein and Omega 3 won’t give you the lung capacity of an elite cross-country skier, they can certainly help to take care of one of the most important organs for any endurance athlete; the lungs.