Air pollution is one of the biggest environmental health threats worldwide, linked to reduced lung function and higher risk of respiratory disease. But new research suggests your diet may play a role in how much damage polluted air can do, and fruit could be part of the defense.
At the European Respiratory Society Congress in Amsterdam, researchers presented findings from nearly 200,000 participants in the UK Biobank. They compared people’s diets with their exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), tiny pollution particles often released by traffic and industry. Women who ate at least four portions of fruit per day showed smaller drops in lung function when exposed to higher levels of pollution, compared to those who ate less fruit.
“Our study confirmed that a healthy diet is linked to better lung function in both men and women regardless of air pollution exposure,” said lead author Pimpika Kaewsri, a PhD student at the University of Leicester. “And that women who consumed four portions of fruit per day or more appeared to have smaller reductions in lung function associated with air pollution.”
The protective effect may come from fruit’s natural antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds, which can help counteract the oxidative stress caused by inhaling pollutants. Interestingly, the benefit was only seen in women, which researchers suspect may relate to differences in dietary patterns as men in the study reported eating less fruit overall.
Independent experts stressed that while fruit intake may help, it does not replace the need for strong air quality policies.
“A healthy plant-rich diet should be promoted in the population starting from primary school, not only for preventing chronic diseases, but also to reduce the carbon-footprint of meat-rich diets,” said Professor Sara De Matteis of the University of Turin. “This does not exempt governments from continuing with environmental policies to reduce air pollution to as low as possible.”
So while more fruit is a win for lung health, it’s no substitute for cleaner air. Researchers plan to continue studying whether diet can influence lung function over time.