What Is Lung Health & How To Keep Lungs Healthy?

Lungs do two jobs, really. Pull in oxygen, let go of carbon dioxide. And they need clear airways to manage that without extra effort. Roughly 20,000 breaths a day, though nobody’s counting until breathing gets hard. Doctors use the term lung function for this. It comes down to daily habits and how quickly you act when symptoms show up. Ignore either one, poor habits or delayed action, and the damage builds up quietly. You won’t know until it’s already there. 

According to Dr. Vishal Khullar, a Lung Transplant Surgeon in Mumbai, “Consistent habits decide how your lungs age. Avoiding harmful exposures, staying active, and addressing breathing problems early can help protect lung health. Many patients tell me they wish they had acted sooner.”

A few warning signs tend to show up long before things turn serious.

Symptoms alone don’t tell the full picture. A pulmonary function test, spirometry usually, gives an actual reading instead of a guess: how much air your lungs hold, how fast that air comes back out. Worth asking for at your next check-up even without symptoms, more so once you’re past 40 or if smoking’s part of your past. With COPD and early fibrosis, a chest X-ray can look normal while damage is already underway. That gap is exactly what symptoms miss.

Left unchecked, some lung diseases can continue to worsen despite treatment. That’s when a lung transplant evaluation may be considered with a specialist.

A handful of habits carry most of the weight here.

Avoid smoking: Smoke wrecks the cilia that clear your airways and leaves scarring behind, bit by bit. Quit, and function starts coming back within months, no matter how long you’ve smoked.

Exercise to increase lung capacity: Walking, swimming, cycling, anything that gets your heart working teaches your body to use oxygen better. Thirty minutes on most days does it. Slow progress, but it holds.

Avoid polluted air: Air quality in most Indian cities crosses safe limits fairly often. Check the index before an outdoor workout. Wear masks on the bad days.

Get regular check-ups: COPD and early lung cancer rarely give warning. A chest X-ray or pulmonary function test can catch structural change while there’s still time to act.

Food plays into this too, more than a single point can cover. Our full guide on foods for lung health breaks down what helps and what to skip.

Dr. Vishal Khullar is a Cardiothoracic and Thoracic Surgeon at Fortis Hospital Mulund and S.L. Raheja Hospital Mahim, Mumbai, with over 30 years of experience and more than 7,000 procedures across heart, lung, and vascular surgery. His training includes time at Cleveland Clinic and a role as Senior Associate Consultant at Mayo Clinic in the US, along with advanced fellowships in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery. His practice covers advanced lung disease and lung transplantation, working with a multidisciplinary team on complex cases.

1. NHLBI (NIH) – How the Lungs Work  
2. PMC (NIH) – Prevalence and Attributable Health Burden of Chronic Respiratory Diseases 

Disclaimer: This blog is for general informational purposes only and does not replace professional medical advice.