Breathing problems? Try eating right foods.

"Teens with the lowest intake of fruit, vitamins C and E, and omega-3 fatty acids had lower lung function and higher reports of respiratory symptoms such as cough and wheeze," says study author Jane Burns, an epidemiologist at Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.

[Burns and her colleagues] discovered that teens who consumed less than 25 percent of one serving of fruit each day were more likely to have less efficient lung function than their compeers.

Burns and her colleagues speculate that fruit plays a role because it is rich in vitamin C—also associated with healthy lungs — as well as in flavonoids, antioxidants that hamper the production of free radicals.

From this Scientific American report.