Review 305: Breathing Lessons

Breathing Lessons: A Doctor's Guide to Lung Health by MeiLan K. Han
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Although this book is for a lay person, it is solidly from a doctor’s perspective and medical terms are used. Han will state what it is more commonly understood, term or condition, then use the medical term going forward. While the sub-title implies a how-to for improving lung heath, it is a bit misleading, as much more is covered.

We start out with the function of the lungs. There’s a chapter on how the lungs develop, which surprisingly isn’t fully established until young adulthood. The bulk of the book is describing the lungs as we understand them, some diseases, and how we don’t have good ways of measuring good lung health. Instead we measure when something is presenting as a problem. There is advice as well.

For good lungs, follow what is often said: don’t smoke, eat a healthy diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, and get exercise. One additional advice that isn’t as commonly mentioned is pay attention to air quality, outside and inside the home. Some chemicals or products can off-gas leaving an unhealthy home.

For the detailed information about the lungs, I found the book informative. I got the sense that research into the lungs is lacing compared to some other aspects to our bodies, and more studies need to be conducted for increased understanding. This isn’t a long book and can be a quick read.

Thanks to W.W. Norton and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

Although I had an eBook copy I ended up listening to the audio book from the library.

The author, a doctor, did the narration for the book and that was well done. In fact, better than most narrations by author's of non-fiction. Too many sound as if they are bored, not Han, she was excellent.