Why Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Is More Likely Than You Think

10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): More Likely Than You Think

COPD is not so much one disease, as rather a collection of similar (and often overlapping) diseases. The main defining characteristic is that they are progressive lung diseases. Historically the most common have been chronic bronchitis and emphysema, though Long COVID and related Post-COVID conditions appear to have been making inroads.

Lung cancer is generally considered separately, despite being a progressive lung disease, but there is crossover too:

COPD prevalence is increased in lung cancer, independent of age, sex and smoking history

COPD can be quite serious:

Life expectancy and years of life lost in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Findings from the NHANES III Follow-up Study

“But I don’t smoke”

Great! In fact we imagine our readership probably has disproportionately few smokers compared to the general population, being as we all are interested in our health.

But, it’s estimated that 30,000,000 Americans have COPD, and approximately half don’t know it. Bear in mind, the population of the US is a little over 340,000,000, so that’s a little under 9% of the population.

Click here to see a state-by-state breakdown (how does your state measure up?)

How would I know if I have it?

It typically starts like any mild respiratory illness. Likely shortness of breath, especially after exercise, a mild cough, and a frequent need to clear your throat.

Then it will get worse, as the lungs become more damaged; each of those symptoms might become stronger, as well as chest tightness and a general lack of energy.

Later stages, you guessed it, the same but worse, and—tellingly—weight loss.

The reason for the weight loss is because you are getting less oxygen per breath, making carrying your body around harder work, meaning you burn more calories.

What causes it?

Lots of things, with smoking being up at the top, or being exposed to a lot of second-hand smoke. Working in an environment with a lot of air pollution (for example, working around chemical fumes) can cause it, as can inhaling dust. New Yorkers: yes, that dust too. It can also develop from other respiratory illnesses, and some people even have a genetic predisposition to it:

Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency: a commonly overlooked cause of lung disease

Is it treatable?

Treatment varies depending on what form of it you have, and most of the medical interventions are beyond the scope of this article. Suffice it to say, there are medications that can be taken (including bronchodilators taken via an inhaler device), corticosteroids, antibiotics and antivirals of various kinds if appropriate. This is definitely a “see your doctor” item though, because there are is far too much individual variation for us to usefully advise here.

However!

There are habits we can do to a) make COPD less likely and b) make COPD at least a little less bad if we get it.

Avoiding COPD:

  • Don’t smoke. Just don’t.
    • Avoid second-hand smoke if you can
  • Avoid inhaling other chemicals/dust that may be harmful
  • Breathe through your nose, not your mouth; it filters the air in a whole bunch of ways
    • Seriously, we know it seems like nostril hairs surely can’t do much against tiny particles, but tiny particles are attracted to them and get stuck in mucous and dealt with by our immune system, so it really does make a big difference

Managing COPD:

  • Continue the above things, of course
  • Exercise regularly, even just light walking helps; we realize it will be difficult
  • Maintain a healthy weight if you can
    • This means both ways; COPD causes weight loss and that needs to be held in check. But similarly, you don’t want to be carrying excessive weight either; that will tire you even more.
  • Look after the rest of your health; everything else will now hit you harder, so even small things need to be taken seriously
  • If you can, get someone to help / do your household cleaning for you, ideally while you are not in the room.

Where can I get more help/advice?

As ever, speak to your doctor if you are concerned this may be affecting you. You can also find a lot of resources via the COPD Foundation’s website.

Take care of yourself!

Don’t Forget…

Did you arrive here from our newsletter? Don’t forget to return to the email to continue learning!

Recommended

  • 4 Ways Vaccine Skeptics Mislead You on Measles and More
  • Wanna read more?
    Dive into better reading habits: Kindle ergonomics, bedtime chapters, audiobooks on the move, and the joy of a reading retreat!

Learn to Age Gracefully

Join the 98k+ American women taking control of their health & aging with our 100% free (and fun!) daily emails:

  • Banana vs Goji Berries – Which is Healthier?

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Our Verdict

    When comparing banana to goji berries, we picked the goji berries.

    Why?

    Both are great! But…

    In terms of macros, goji berries have much more fiber, carbs, and protein, thus making it the most nutrient-dense option, as we might expect from a dried fruit being compared to a non-dried fruit—since the non-dried fruit has water weight that the dried fruit doesn’t, its percentages of other things will be proportionally lower, because the percentages must still add up to 100%, and if 75% is water (as is the case for bananas, compared to goji berries’ 7.5% water), then that only leaves 25% to work with, while goji berries have 92.5% to work with. In short, an easy and expected win for goji berries.

    In the category of vitamins, bananas have more of vitamin B6, while goji berries have more of vitamins A, B1, B3, B5, B9, C, E, and K. A clear win for goji berries.

    When it comes to minerals, bananas are not higher in any minerals, while goji berries have more calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, and zinc. Another easy win for goji berries.

    As for polyphenols, you may well imagine that the brightly-colored bitter-tasting berries have more, and you’d be right; you can read more about the exciting phytochemical properties of goji berries in the links below.

    Meanwhile, adding up the sections show a clear overall win for goji berries, but by all means enjoy either or both; diversity is good!

    Want to learn more?

    You might like:

    Enjoy!

    Share This Post

  • Knitting helps Tom Daley switch off. Its mental health benefits are not just for Olympians

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Olympian Tom Daley is the most decorated diver in Britain’s history. He is also an avid knitter. At the Paris 2024 Olympics Daley added a fifth medal to his collection – and caught the world’s attention knitting a bright blue “Paris 24” jumper while travelling to the games and in the stands.

    At the Tokyo Olympics, where Daley was first spotted knitting, he explained its positive impact on his mental health.

    It just turned into my mindfulness, my meditation, my calm and my way to escape the stresses of everyday life and, in particular, going to an Olympics.

    The mental health benefits of knitting are well established. So why is someone famous like Daley knitting in public still so surprising?

    Africa Voice/Shutterstock

    Knitting is gendered

    Knitting is usually associated with women – especially older women – as a hobby done at home. In a large international survey of knitting, 99% of respondents identified as female.

    But the history of yarn crafts and gender is more tangled. In Europe in the middle ages, knitting guilds were exclusive and reserved for men. They were part of a respected Europe-wide trade addressing a demand for knitted products that could not be satisfied by domestic workers alone.

    The industrial revolution made the production of clothed goods cheaper and faster than hand-knitting. Knitting and other needle crafts became a leisure activity for women, done in the private sphere of the home.

    World Wars I and II turned the spotlight back on knitting as a “patriotic duty”, but it was still largely taken up by women.

    During COVID lockdowns, knitting saw another resurgence. But knitting still most often makes headlines when men – especially famous men like Daley or actor Ryan Gosling – do it.

    Men who knit are often seen as subverting the stereotype it’s an activity for older women.

    Knitting the stress away

    Knitting can produce a sense of pride and accomplishment. But for an elite sportsperson like Daley – whose accomplishments already include four gold medals and one silver – its benefits lie elsewhere.

    Olympics-level sport relies on perfect scores and world records. When it comes to knitting, many of the mental health benefits are associated with the process, rather than the end result.

    Daley says knitting is the “one thing” that allows him to switch off completely, describing it as “my therapy”. https://www.youtube.com/embed/6wwXGOki–c?wmode=transparent&start=0

    The Olympian says he could

    knit for hours on end, honestly. There’s something that’s so satisfying to me about just having that rhythm and that little “click-clack” of the knitting needles. There is not a day that goes by where I don’t knit.

    Knitting can create a “flow” state through rhythmic, repetitive movements of the yarn and needle. Flow offers us a balance between challenge, accessibility and a sense of control.

    It’s been shown to have benefits relieving stress in high-pressure jobs beyond elite sport. Among surgeons, knitting has been found to improve wellbeing as well as manual dexterity, crucial to their role.

    For other health professionals – including oncology nurses and mental health workers – knitting has helped to reduce “compassion fatigue” and burnout. Participants described the soothing noise of their knitting needles. They developed and strengthened team bonds through collective knitting practices. https://www.youtube.com/embed/dTTJjD_q2Ik?wmode=transparent&start=0 A Swiss psychiatrist says for those with trauma, knitting yarn can be like “knitting the two halves” of the brain “back together”.

    Another study showed knitting in primary school may boost children’s executive function. That includes the ability to pay attention, remember relevant details and block out distractions.

    As a regular creative practice, it has also been used in the treatment of grief, depression and subduing intrusive thoughts, as well countering chronic pain and cognitive decline.

    Knitting is a community

    The evidence for the benefits of knitting is often based on self-reporting. These studies tend to produce consistent results and involve large population samples.

    This may point to another benefit of knitting: its social aspect.

    Knitting and other yarn crafts can be done alone, and usually require simple materials. But they also provide a chance to socialise by bringing people together around a common interest, which can help reduce loneliness.

    The free needle craft database and social network Ravelry contains more than one million patterns, contributed by users. “Yarn bombing” projects aim to engage the community and beautify public places by covering objects such as benches and stop signs with wool.

    The interest in Daley’s knitting online videos have formed a community of their own.

    In them he shows the process of making the jumper, not just the finished product. That includes where he “went wrong” and had to unwind his work.

    His pride in the finished product – a little bit wonky, but “made with love” – can be a refreshing antidote to the flawless achievements often on display at the Olympics.

    Michelle O’Shea, Senior Lecturer, School of Business, Western Sydney University and Gabrielle Weidemann, Associate Professor in Psychological Science, Western Sydney University

    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

    Share This Post

  • The Mental Health Dangers Of Oversharing

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Oversharers can be fun and amiable; the life of the party. In and of itself, this something that can be considered “pro-social” and thus healthy.

    But the problem for one’s mental health in the long-run lies in the “over” part of oversharing. Sometimes, if not checking in with the other person’s comfort, oversharing can be “trauma-dumping”, and push people away. Alternatively, if the oversharing exposes an unmet need, it can make the other person feel obliged to try to help in some fashion, which in the long run may also cause awkwardness and withdrawal.

    Some potential problems are purely internal, such the feelings of shame or anxiety that can come afterwards; “I should not have been so vulnerable”, “What if my friends think badly of me now?”, etc.

    And of course, sometimes those fears are then validated by reality, if “friends” indeed take advantage of that, or withdraw their friendship. That’s a minority occurrence, but it doesn’t make it any less of a crushing thing if it happens.

    Sometimes people overshare because of being a bad judge of what’s a socially-approved appropriate amount of sharing; sometimes people overshare out of a need for closeness, and perhaps the hope of hearing what one needed to hear previously.

    The dangers of oversharing don’t mean that we should never speak about our experiences and feelings; in fact sometimes, it is the most healthy thing to do—be it because it’s something that needs communicating to a specific person, or because it’s something we just need to “get off our chest”.

    In short, it can be good to share! It can also be good to do so judiciously, by conscious decision and not in response to a spur-of-the-moment impulse, and remember to prioritize our own safety.

    Below, Alain de Botton explains more of the psychodynamics of this:

    Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!

    10almonds tip, not included in the video: unsure whether your urge to share is too impulsive or not? Write a letter/email, and wait until the next day to decide whether or not to send it.

    Want to read more?

    Check out:

    Breathe; Don’t Vent (At Least In The Moment)

    Take care!

    Share This Post

Related Posts

  • 4 Ways Vaccine Skeptics Mislead You on Measles and More
  • Creamy Zucchini, Edamame, & Asparagus Linguine

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Protein, fiber, and polyphenols are the dish of the day here:

    You will need

    • 1½ cups milk (your choice what kind; we recommend soy for its neutral taste, though hazelnut’s nutty flavor would also work in this recipe)
    • 6 oz wholegrain linguine (or your pasta of choice)
    • 2 zucchini, thinly sliced
    • 5 oz edamame beans (frozen is fine)
    • 5 oz asparagus tips, cut into 2″ lengths
    • ½ bulb garlic, crushed
    • 1 tbsp chia seeds
    • 1 small handful arugula
    • 1 small handful parsley, chopped
    • A few mint leaves, chopped
    • Juice of ½ lemon
    • 2 tsp black pepper, coarse ground
    • ½ tsp MSG or 1 tsp low-sodium salt
    • Extra virgin olive oil

    Method

    (we suggest you read everything at least once before doing anything)

    1) Heat some oil in a sauté pan or similar, over a low to medium heat. Add the zucchini and cook for 5 minutes until they start to soften.

    2) Add the garlic and continue cooking for 1 minute, stirring gently.

    3) Add the milk, bring to the boil, and add the past, chia seeds (the resistant starch from the pasta will help thicken the sauce, as will the chia seeds), and MSG or salt.

    4) Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 8 minutes.

    5) Add the edamame beans and asparagus, and cook for a further 2 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked but still firm to the bite. The sauce should be quite thick now.

    6) Stir in the remaining ingredients and serve, adding a garnish if you wish.

    Enjoy!

    Want to learn more?

    For those interested in some of the science of what we have going on today:

    Take care!

    Don’t Forget…

    Did you arrive here from our newsletter? Don’t forget to return to the email to continue learning!

    Learn to Age Gracefully

    Join the 98k+ American women taking control of their health & aging with our 100% free (and fun!) daily emails:

  • Red Bell Peppers vs Tomatoes – Which is Healthier?

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Our Verdict

    When comparing red bell peppers to tomatoes, we picked the peppers.

    Why?

    In terms of macronutrients, these two fruits-that-get-used-as-vegetables are similar in most respects; they’re mostly water, negligible protein and fat, similar amounts of carbs, even a similar carb breakdown (mostly fructose and glucose). One thing that does set them apart is that peppers* have about 2x the fiber, which difference results in peppers having the lower Glycemic Index—though tomatoes are quite low in GI too.

    *for brevity we’re just going to write “peppers”, but we are still talking about sweet red bell peppers throughout. This is important, as different color peppers have different nutrient profiles.

    In the category of vitamins, peppers have much more of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, C, and E. In contrast, tomatoes have more vitamin K. An easy win for peppers.

    When it comes to minerals, the margins are narrower, but peppers have more iron, zinc, and selenium, while tomatoes have more calcium and copper. They’re approximately equal on other minerals they both contain, making this category a slight (3:2) win for peppers.

    As for phytochemical benefits, both are good sources of lycopene (both better when cooked) and other carotenes (for example lutein), and both have an array of assorted flavonoids.

    All in all, a win for peppers, but both are great!

    Want to learn more?

    You might like to read:

    Take care!

    Don’t Forget…

    Did you arrive here from our newsletter? Don’t forget to return to the email to continue learning!

    Learn to Age Gracefully

    Join the 98k+ American women taking control of their health & aging with our 100% free (and fun!) daily emails:

  • Unlimited Memory – by Kevin Horsley

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Premise: there are easily learnable techniques to rapidly (and greatly) improve one’s memory. We’ve touched on some of these methods before at 10almonds, but being a newsletter rather than a book, we’ve not been able to go as deeply into it as Horsley!

    Your memory is far, far, far more powerful than you might realize, and this book will help unlock that. To illustrate…

    Some of the book is given over to what are for most purposes “party tricks”, such as remembering pi to 10,000 places. Those things are fun, even if not as practical in today’s world of rarely needing to even know the actual digits of a phone number. However, they do also serve as a good example of just how much of “super memory” isn’t a matter of hard work, so much as being better organized about it.

    Most of the book is focused on practical methods to improve the useful aspects of memory—including common mistakes!

    If the book has any flaw it’s that the first chapter or so is spent persuading the reader of things we presumably already believe, given that we bought the book. For example, that remembering things is a learnable skill and that memory is functionally limitless. However, we still advise to not skip those chapters as they do contain some useful reframes as well.

    Bottom line: if you read this book you will be astonished by how much you just learned—because you’ll be able to recall whole sections in detail! And then you can go apply that whatever areas of your life you wanted to when you bought the book.

    Get your copy of Unlimited Memory from Amazon today!

    Don’t Forget…

    Did you arrive here from our newsletter? Don’t forget to return to the email to continue learning!

    Learn to Age Gracefully

    Join the 98k+ American women taking control of their health & aging with our 100% free (and fun!) daily emails: