# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Just before you crest a hill or reach the end of a speed interval, your lungs go into overdrive. Your breath becomes shallow and rapid. You think if only you could pull in more air, you could surge up that hill or maintain your pace. But the more your chest heaves, the more you struggle. You may even end up exhausted, bent over, gasping for air.

"Runners think about training their heart and legs, but they rarely think about training their lungs," says Mindy Solkin, owner and head coach of The Running Center in New York City. "A strong respiratory system can improve your running. It's a simple equation: Better breathing equals more oxygen for your muscles, and that equals more endurance."

Just as we strength-train our hamstrings and calves to improve our ability to power over hills, we can tone the muscles used for breathing. "Exercise improves the conditioning of the diaphragm, the muscle that separates the chest from the abdomen, and the intercostal muscles, which lie between the ribs and enable you to inhale and exhale," says Everett Murphy, M.D., a runner and pulmonologist at Olathe Medical Center in Olathe, Kansas. "When you take a breath, 80 percent of the work is done by the diaphragm. If you strengthen your diaphragm, you may improve your endurance and be less likely to become fatigued."

This was backed up by researchers from the Centre for Sports Medicine and Human Performance at Brunel University in England, who recently measured fatigue levels of marathoners' respiratory muscles and leg muscles. They found a direct link - runners whose breathing was the most strained showed the most leg weakness - and concluded in their study that the harder the respiratory muscles had to work, the more the legs would struggle in a race.

The key to preventing lung- and leg-fatigue is breathing more fully. "When you take deeper breaths, you use more air sacs in your lungs, which allows you to take in more oxygen to feed your muscles," says David Ross, M.D., a pulmonologist at UCLA Medical Center. "When I'm running, I concentrate on taking slow and deep breaths to strengthen my diaphragm."

Most runners, says Solkin, are "chest breathers" not "belly breathers." To help her clients see the difference, she has them run a mile at a pace that gets them huffing a bit. Then she has them stop and place one hand on their abdomen and one hand on their chest and watch. The lower hand should move with each breath, while the upper hand should remain relatively still (usually the opposite occurs). "Every time you breathe in, your belly should fill up like a balloon," says Solkin. "And every time you breathe out, that balloon should deflate. When you chest breathe, your shoulders get tense and move up and down. That's wasted energy - energy you should conserve for running."

Chest breathing can be a hard habit to break-especially while you're preoccupied with keeping pace or calculating splits. One way to make the switch easier is to work on belly breathing when you're not running, and the skill will eventually carry over to your running. To make this happen, some elite runners turn to Pilates, a program originally developed as a rehabilitation program for World War I soldiers. Pilates aims to increase flexibility, strengthen the core, and improve breathing. "I try to do Pilates twice a week," says 2004 Olympic marathoner Colleen de Reuck. "It stretches my intercostal muscles and lengthens my spine, which helps my breathing and my running."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Just before you crest a hill or reach the end of a speed interval, your lungs go into overdrive. Your breath becomes shallow and rapid. You think if only you could pull in more air, you could surge up that hill or maintain your pace. But the more your chest heaves, the more you struggle.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Jeffrey Traister

Jeffrey Traister is a writer and filmmaker. For more than 25 years, he has covered nutrition and medicine for health-care companies and publishers, also producing digital video for websites, DVDs and commercials. Trained in digital filmmaking at The New School, Traister also holds a Master of Science in human nutrition and medicine from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Vitamins play a vital role in sustaining a healthy respiratory system and reducing your risk of diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema, bronchitis, tuberculosis, pneumonia and asthma. Chronic lower respiratory diseases are the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. If you are considering taking vitamins that can help your respiratory system, talk with your doctor first to determine the best course of action.

Vitamin A is a fat soluble vitamin that plays an essential role in stimulating your immune system and fighting infections.A vitamin A deficiency can increase your risk of respiratory infections. Research by scientists at Laval University Medical Center in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada and published in the March/April issue of the "Canadian Journal of Public Health" in 2008 revealed that the lower the vitamin A concentrations in umbilical cord blood at the time of birth, the higher the risk of lower respiratory tract infections in preschool children between under 1 month to 5 years of age.

Folate is a water soluble B vitamin that stimulates DNA production and cell reproduction. A folate deficiency can lead to an increase in risk of respiratory diseases and infections. Research by scientists at the University of Bergen in Norway and published in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" in July 2007 found that folate deficiency in young children is an independent risk factor for lower respiratory tract infections. The scientists also discovered that children who are breastfed have a lower risk of folate deficiency and respiratory tract infections.

Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin that stimulates your immune system and protects your cells from harmful substances. Increasing your dietary intake of vitamin C can reduce your risk of respiratory infections. Research by scientists at the University of Helsinki in Finland and published in "Military Medicine" in November 2004 reports that vitamin C supplementation can reduce the incidence of common cold infections by between 45 and 91 percent, and can lower the incidence of pneumonia by between 80 and 100 percent.

Vitamin E is a fat soluble vitamin that protects your cell membranes from harmful chemicals and stimulates your immune response to infections. Vitamin E supplements may reduce the risk of respiratory infections. Research by scientists at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts and published in the "Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences" in December 2004 discovered that elderly nursing home residents taking vitamin E supplements for one year experienced a significantly reduced rate of common colds and respiratory infections.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Vitamins That Help the Respiratory System

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Vitamins play a vital role in sustaining a healthy respiratory system and reducing your risk of diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema, bronchitis, tuberculosis, pneumonia and asthma. Chronic lower respiratory diseases are the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. If you are considering taking vitamins that...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Norene Anderson

Norene Anderson has been a writer since 2003. She is also a registered nurse with expertise in a wide range of medical conditions and treatments. Anderson received her associate degree in nursing from Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mo.

Two types of cancer may affect the lungs: primary lung cancer, which is cancer that begins in the lungs, and metastatic lung cancer, which is cancer from other locations in the body that spreads to the lungs. The two main types of lymphoma are cancers of the lymphatic system; these are Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's.

In lung cancer, symptoms are usually not present until the disease is advanced, according to the Mayo Clinic. Symptoms include coughing up blood, a new cough that lingers, shortness of breath and chest pain. Primary lung cancer is categorized as either small cell or non-small cell. Small cell lung cancer is typical for heavy smokers, and non-small cell lung cancer includes other cancer types such as squamous cell, large cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma.

Symptoms for Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma include fever, fatigue, itching, swollen lymph nodes and night sweats. Lymph nodes are found in clusters in the pelvis, neck, underarm and abdomen. MedlinePlus reports that in the majority of cases, the cause of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is unknown.

No screening tests are used for lung cancer, reports the MD Anderson Cancer Center. Diagnostic testing options to determine the presence of lung cancer include: chest X-rays to spot abnormal areas in the lungs; computed tomography (CT) scans to create precise computerized pictures; bronchoscopy to look into the lungs and take a lung biopsy; fine-needle aspiration to obtain a tissue sample with a thin needle; sputum cytology to examine cells from expelled mucus; and thoracentesis to obtain fluid from the lungs for microscopic examination.

Lymphoma symptoms are similar to other disease processes and blood disorders and require a doctor's expertise for accurate diagnosis and treatment. Diagnostic procedures for Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's disease include blood tests and a lymph node biopsy for tissue examination under microscope.

Staging for small cell lung cancer, as reported by the National Cancer Institute, includes limited stage, which is cancer only in one lung and its surrounding tissue, and extensive stage, which is cancer found in chest tissue outside the lung of origin or that is found in other organs.

Staging for non-small cell lung cancer includes: occult stage where cancer cells are found in sputum without the presence of a visible tumor in the lung; stage 0 with cancer cells in the lung's lining; stage 1A in which the tumor is less than 3 cm across. Staging continues through stages 1B, IIA, IIB, IIIA, IIIB and IV, with multiple malignant growths in the lungs or other parts of the body.

Lymphoma staging is based on the extent of the spread of the tumor. In Stage I, only one lymph node or area is involved; stage II involves two or more lymph nodes on one side of the diaphragm or a single lymph node where the tumor has spread into a nearby organ; stage III is the advanced stage, with lymphoma found in areas above and below the diaphragm; and stage IV is widespread, where the lymphoma has metastasized to other locations, such as the brain, liver or bone marrow.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Differences Between Lung Cancer and Lymphoma

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Two types of cancer may affect the lungs: primary lung cancer, which is cancer that begins in the lungs, and metastatic lung cancer, which is cancer from other locations in the body that spreads to the lungs. The two main types of lymphoma are cancers of the lymphatic system; these are Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's.

# data[].attributes.body
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure. A noninvasive ventilation device used for patients who can initiate their own breathing and is most often used to treat obstructive sleep apnea.

# data[].attributes.body
Applied to the patient's airway through as endotracheal or tracheostomy tube and is used when spontaneous breathing is inadequate to sustain life

# data[].attributes.body
Device that creates a mist used to deliver medication

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/respiratory-diseases

# data[].attributes.body
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/02/21/follow-these-simple-methods-to-improve-respiratory-health.html

# data[].attributes.body
Comprised of the nose, pharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchi, and lungs.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Respiratory System: Facts, Function and Diseases

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The human respiratory system is a series of organs responsible for taking in oxygen and expelling carbon dioxide.