Healthy California
Are you ready to take control of your health and create lasting, positive change? This podcast dives deep into the root causes of poor health and explores simple, practical steps to improve your well-being from every angle.
To achieve true health, we need balance in all areas of life, including:
✅ Physical health – Nutrition, movement, and disease prevention
✅ Mental health – Managing stress, mindset, and emotional well-being
✅ Environmental health – How our surroundings impact our health
✅ Financial health – Money habits that support a stress-free life
✅ Social health – Building strong, supportive relationships
✅ Spiritual health – Finding purpose, connection, and inner peace
Each episode will provide insightful discussions, expert interviews, and actionable tips to help you live a healthier, more fulfilling life.
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Healthy California
The Breath of Life - COPD
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Today we're diving into a condition that affects more than 15 million Americans and remains one of the most underdiagnosed chronic diseases: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Once labeled a "smoker's disease," COPD is now understood as a complex inflammatory condition, and according to the WHO and ALA, it's the 4th leading cause of death worldwide and 6th in the U.S.
The new GOLD 2026 guidelines shift the conversation toward disease activity, emphasizing inflammation, early detection, and strategies to move patients into a low‑disease‑activity state. Because at its core, COPD is not just about damaged lungs, it's about systemic inflammation and the body's ability to exchange the breath of life.
We break down the why and the how: from emphysema and chronic bronchitis to the leading causes, tobacco, vaping, environmental exposures, and the often‑missed genetic condition Alpha‑1 antitrypsin deficiency. We explore the ripple effects of COPD, including hyperinflation, CO₂ retention, cardiovascular risk, and the emotional toll of "air hunger."
You'll learn the essentials of prevention, physical therapy, pulmonary rehab, and lifestyle strategies that truly move the needle. From anti‑inflammatory nutrition and Mediterranean‑style eating to the surprising benefits of higher‑fat, lower‑carb patterns for CO₂ reduction, we cover the tools that help lungs and lives function better.
References
- Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD). (2026). Global Strategy for the Diagnosis, Management, and Prevention of COPD.
- U.S. Pharmacist. (2025). Updated GOLD 2026 Report Broadens COPD Treatment Guidance.
- American Lung Association. (2026). Nutrition and COPD: Guidelines for Lung Health.
- Chest Physician. (2026). The link between exacerbations and cardiovascular health.
- Mayo Clinic. (2024). COPD: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Lifestyle Management.
- www.copdfoundation.org
Thank you for listening to Healthy California.
If you have tried all my suggestions and are still having trouble with your health, and would like an appointment with me, please email me, text, or call me via the contact information below.
My contact:
Linda Brown, MPT, Doctoral Candidate Functional Nutrition
916-426-2543
linda@heal-throughfood.com
Today, we are diving into a topic that affects over 15 million people in the U.S. alone.
It remains one of the most underdiagnosed conditions.
We are talking about chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD.
It's no longer just a smoker's disease or just a diagnosis of bad lungs.
And it's the leading cause of cancer worldwide.
The latest 2026 GOLD report, GOLD stands for Global Initiative of Obstructive Lung Disease.
The latest GOLD report, 2026, now views COPD through the lens of disease activity.
I like this because we're being proactive.
We're not waiting for the symptoms and then doing something about it.
Remember, most chronic diseases are inflammatory diseases.
I've said that multiple times.
Most chronic disease or inflammatory diseases, and this is one of them.
We'll go into that in a minute.
So we're talking about our lungs, the breath of life.
We shouldn't take it for granted.
Why do we get it? How do we get it?
To manage COPD, we have to understand what it is, actually.
COPD is an umbrella term that usually covers emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
So emphysema and bronchitis fall under the umbrella COPD.
Emphysema affects the little tiny air sacs in our lungs.
And with bronchitis, It's a long-term inflammatory process of our airways.
So the airways are like the duct system.
So the bronchi get inflamed, and that would be bronchitis.
And so how do we get that? How do we get COPD?
I said just a second ago that it's not just a smoker's disease.
However, smoking is 90% of the causes.
So smoking is a thing. And this includes secondhand smoking.
Elastin is a protein in those alveoli that helps keep its shape.
So it helps those little cells to expand and recoil with each breath, expand and recoil.
That's the whole purpose of those alveoli.
Air comes in, oxygen comes in, CO2 comes out.
And when that doesn't happen, the whole system can break down.
So smoke damages the elastin, which damages the recoil of each of those air sacs.
And then nicotine itself, nicotine in cigarettes, paralyzes the cilia in the airways.
So the nicotine paralyzes the cilia.
So cilia is these fine little hairs, and they help remove things out of the air.
And that's why we cough sometimes, because the cilia is moving things out.
So we don't have a filter system when the nicotine paralyzes the cilia.
And then from the cigarettes, we also have tar.
So tar coats the inside of the lungs and physically damages the alveoli.
And this promotes chronic inflammation.
So tar, promotes chronic inflammation and impaired exchange.
So think about air coming in, CO2 leaving, and that being coated with tar.
Well, how is air going to come in and how is CO2 going to leave?
It doesn't, or it has a very difficult time.
So, you know, we don't get enough air and then we don't get rid of our CO2 either.
And not getting rid of our CO2 puts us at risk for lots of disease processes.
It makes our blood acidic, actually.
Let's talk about vaping for a second.
So there's a lot of research now on vaping because it's been around a little while at this point.
And so there's a lot more research on the long-term damage of vaping.
Vaping used to be considered a better alternative than smoking, but it's actually not.
So that's how it's caused, the smoke, the nicotine, the tar, and then vaping.
And then we also have environmental factors.
Environmental factors like air pollution.
Air pollution can come from dust, chemicals, things at your workplace.
We know that childhood infections or delayed lung maturation can set the stage for COPD later.
And they may not see the effects of it until later in their life.
So I'm saying that because children nowadays can be protected from the things in the air.
And that includes environmental things like smoke from forest fires, right?
Because that's a thing here in California now is the fire season.
So we need to protect ourselves.
We need to protect our children from these long-term effects.
And then another cause is genetics.
there is a rare condition called alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.
It's rare, but it's still important.
However, 10% of people with COPD are undiagnosed.
So there's still people out there that don't have the diagnosis.
It's just like 1% of people who have COPD.
Well, it's important because it's a once in a lifetime test. It's a gene test.
So why not take the test? It's inexpensive.
If you have family members that have had COPD, then just get checked for it.
If your doctor orders it, will be covered by your insurance because it is inexpensive.
It's literally the breath of life.
And then the other thing that causes COPD is environmental triggers.
So that's just something to think about.
If you have a chronic cough, please get it checked out. A chronic cough is never normal.
So it's an obstruction of the airflow.
When you can't expel carbon dioxide, this leads to hyperinflation of your lungs.
So your lungs kind of stay puffed up and you get that big barrel chest.
And it makes it harder to take the next breath.
If your lungs are already expanded, how do you get another breath in there?
And then your systemic effects is crucial, meaning system-wide.
If you can't get rid of the CO2, the body becomes acidic because that's what CO2 does in the blood.
So this is something to pay attention to.
That's something you don't want to get to.
You don't want to get to that severe CO2 buildup.
So if you have unexplained headaches, tiredness, shortness of breath, go get that checked out.
And then if we're weak, it makes breathing even harder because it takes muscles to breathe.
And then there's this, the mental health, right?
So the other thing you can do is go see your physical therapist, right?
I'm a physical therapist. I'm always going to say go see your physical therapist.
Of course, prevention is always the best medicine.
It's always going to be the best medicine in everything.
That's the gold standard. It's never too late to stop the clock.
It's the only intervention proven to slow the decline of lung function.
Even in 2026, with all our new drugs, quitting is still the gold standard.
Prevention is still the gold standard.
You can get HEPA filters for indoor air.
So the indoor air filters, wearing the masks. So this is the primary prevention.
Because that's what the body does with food.
I promise you that, is not going to help you heal.
So you need to be on an anti-inflammatory diet.
And also, like a Mediterranean diet has been shown to improve all sorts of inflammatory processes.
Anti-inflammatory diet, you can look that up on the web. You can look up Mediterranean diet.
And then of course, exercise. Exercise is something that is good for everything.
So there's many different reasons why exercise is good for the body.
Exercise. If you don't know what you can do, go to your physical therapist.
And then there's also inhalers.
Oxygen is usually used for more advanced stages. So don't get to that.
You can use inhalers, which manage daily symptoms if you already have symptoms.
And it's never too late to quit. Quitting at any stage can improve lung function.
And it can also just stop it from progressing because COPD is a progressive disease.
So you want to stop that progression.
And I can't say this enough, the best medicine is prevention.
So COP diet strategy would again include the Mediterranean diet.
can focus on whole grains, lean proteins, healthy fats.
Studies show that this pattern helps preserve lung function, the Mediterranean diet.
I mentioned that a little a minute ago.
Lower the carbs, increase the fats.
Also, another thing you can do is eat more protein.
COPD often leads to pulmonary cachexia, which just means muscle wasting.
And this can keep your breathing muscles strong.
And also can just help your muscles from not wasting away, because you need muscle.
and potassium is vital for lung function.
Also focus on omega-3s, your SMASH fish. SMASH stands for salmon, mackerel, anchovies, and sardines.
Omega-3s, so your SMASH fish, your walnuts, they all fight systemic inflammation.
So keeping your gut healthy requires you having a good fiber diet.
There needs to be a good ratio between your potassium and your sodium.
And I more likely see people low in potassium than high in sodium.
Think about increasing your potassium first.
And then limit foods that are gas producers.
Not eating to the point of fullness and eating things that are less gas producing.
So your checklist. Your checklist would be
COPD is a marathon, not a sprint.
You can go to your doctor or your physical therapist and do a spirometry test.
Spirometry tracks your forced expiratory volume.
So you just breathe into this contraption and you can test what your lung function is.
And then of course, your genetic testing.
If you feel like you need to, again, it's real simple.
And if you have family members, then I would say go do it.
It's a really inexpensive test and you only have to do it once to see if you have the gene or not.
Check your lung health if you have a persistent cough.
Your checklist also would include exercise. Go exercise.
It's beautiful outside right now.
And then get on an anti-inflammatory diet.
So in hydrate, hydrate, drink 6 to 8 glasses of water.
And then of course, I like to end on a Bible verse.
So this verse reminds me that breath itself is a gift from God. So protect every breath.
We only have a numbered amount of breaths in our life, so protect it.
So if you know of someone who is managing COPD, send them this podcast.
It's a, what, 20, it's less than 30 minutes.
And I want to say thank you for breathing with me today.
Stay active, stay nourished, stay informed, and stay healthy, California.
Thank you for joining me today.