Eating plenty of fruit, vegetables and fish may keep men's lungs healthy as well as their hearts, a new study shows.
Men who followed a diet closest to this "Mediterranean" ideal were half as likely as their peers with eating habits furthest from this pattern to develop chronic lung disease, Dr Raphaelle Varraso of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and colleagues found. But those eating the most "Western" diet - meaning lots of refined grains, cured and red meat, desserts, sweets and French fries - were at more than quadruple the risk of lung disease compared with those with the least Westernised eating patterns.
The researchers note that fruit and vegetables are good sources of antioxidant vitamins such as C and E, which have been tied to better lung function, while omega-3 fatty acids in fish may also contribute to lung health.