Dietary considerations for bronchiectasis

In addition to paying attention to scientific treatment and medication, patients with bronchiectasis should also have a reasonable diet. Foods such as bird's nest, winter melon, lotus leaves, and yam can all be used as food options to help treat bronchiectasis.

1. Bird's nest: It has the effect of nourishing lung yin and moistening lung dryness. It is most suitable for patients with bronchiectasis who have yin deficiency, dry cough and hemoptysis. It can be used to cook porridge, make soup, or steam it with rock sugar.

2. Winter melon seeds: have the effect of suppressing cough and removing phlegm. People with bronchiectasis and cough caused by phlegm and heat are suitable to use 15 grams of winter melon seeds, add appropriate amount of rock sugar, mash and grind into powder, take twice a day with boiled water.

3. Lotus leaf: It has the effect of stopping cough and bleeding. It is suitable for people with bronchiectasis who cough and spit blood. Boil it in water and drink it instead of tea, or grind the dry lotus leaf into powder, take it 3 times a day, 5 to 6 grams each time, and drink it with rice soup.

4. Yam: It has the effects of nourishing and moistening the lungs and resolving phlegm. It can be used as a regular vegetable for patients with bronchiectasis and is suitable for stewing soup or cooking.

5. Reed root: It is cold in nature, sweet in taste, and has the effect of clearing lung heat. "Medical Records of Chinese and Western Medicine" also said: "Its cool nature can clear lung heat, its hollowness can regulate lung qi, and it tastes sweet and has a lot of liquid, so it is better at nourishing lung yin." People with bronchiectasis are suitable to regularly choose 150-250 grams of fresh reed root boiled in water instead of tea.

6. Water Chestnut: Li Shizhen of the Ming Dynasty believed that Water Chestnut was "bitter and sweet, and slightly cold." "Compendium of Materia Medica in Southern Yunnan" also says that it can "stop coughing, blood in sputum or coughing up blood", and introduces a method of using several raw arrowheads, mashing them and mixing them with honey, steaming them on rice, and eating them while hot to treat coughing up blood due to lung deficiency. Therefore, patients with bronchiectasis are suitable for eating arrowhead.

7. Lotus root nodes: have the effect of stopping bleeding. "Compendium of Materia Medica" says: "It can stop coughing up blood." It can also stop vomiting blood. People with bronchiectasis and hemoptysis should boil 5 to 10 lotus root nodes in water and drink it.