In March 2023, my husband was diagnosed with Stage 2 COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease).
Dr Albert Rizzo MD, Chief Medical Officer of the American Lung Association, has acknowledged that some COPD sufferers benefit from a LCHF diet. Low carb and keto diets are thought to reduce inflammation in the lungs and it is known that consuming fat produces less carbon dioxide than carbohydrates. However, no studies have been undertaken yet. That’s unsurprising, as pharmaceutical companies are the major funders of such studies and they are looking for new drugs to make money from. Dietary interventions don’t make them any money, basically.
COPD COOKBOOK (paperback ISBN 9798683949419) is available from Amazon as a Kindle ebook (free if you have Kindle Unlimited) and as a paperback. The paperback recipe alignment isn’t good and a couple of pages were missing, so I would recommend the Kindle version for preference.
The author of COPD COOKBOOK is Dr Basil Pickard MD and he has written cookbooks for gout, PCOS, Dukan Diet, gastritis and diabetes.
It’s early days for us on his COPD dietary journey, but The Husband’s care team are pleased with the dietary changes he is making, so far. That’s a subject for another post, however.
Dr Pickard says that a COPD diet is the same as a healthy diet and should contain carbs. However, many of his recipes are low carb or can be easily adapted.
The book contains no autobiographical information and Google didn’t find any either. I would therefore strongly caution against taking his medical guidance seriously.
As for the recipes, some are gluten-free. Many are imaginative. However, having read elsewhere that cruciferous vegetables aren’t recommended for COPD because of flatulence (causes the stomach to push against the lungs), substitutions need to be made for broccoli, kale, cauliflower, collard greens, radishes, Brussels sprouts and cabbages of all kinds.
Eggs and apple pork with strawberries looks interesting. There are frittatas, a ‘Protein Power Breakfast’, breakfast eggnog, kipper salad, pumpkin soup, baked eggs with wilted baby spinach, Arlecchino salad (hold the Melba toast), steamed salmon with lemon-scented zucchini, poached eggs with curried vegetables and lime mayonnaise. Pasta, rice and noodles can be substituted with konjac and hearts of palm, even the humble spiralised courgette.
DON’T buy but peruse if you get Kindle Unlimited.