Asthma and nutrition

People with asthma generally have the same nutritional needs and food considerations as anyone else, but if you have asthma it is important to make a healthy diet a regular part of your life.

Asthma can place additional stress on your body - especially if you take oral corticosteroids, which can deplete your body of vitamins and minerals.

Eat a healthy diet

Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, pulses, wholemeal bread, and whole-grain cereals; moderate amounts of low-fat dairy products, lean meats, fish, and poultry; and small amounts of fats, oils, and sugar. A healthy diet and regular exercise go a long way towards helping improve your well-being. Certain foods and additives, however, have been found to trigger or exacerbate asthma.

Foods that trigger asthma

Asthmatics are usually affected by at most two or three foods; it is a common misconception that people are sensitive to a wide variety of foods.

The factors that set off and exacerbate asthma symptoms are called “triggers”. Identifying and avoiding asthma triggers are essential in preventing flare-ups. The most common trigger foods are milk, yogurt, and other dairy products, eggs, prawns, fish, citrus fruits, soya, and wheat. These foods are more likely to trigger asthma in children than in adults, and fortunately most children outgrow such allergies. Check food labels because additives found in many canned and processed foods, such as tartrazine, sulphur, benzoic acid, and monosodium glutamate, can trigger asthma. If you can identify the specific food or the additive that triggers your asthma, you should simply avoid it.

Asthma in babies

This illness is sometimes related to allergies, which may be prevented by close attention to your baby's diet. Early exposure to infant cereals has been linked to an increase in asthma triggered by grass pollen. Just breast-feeding for three months may prevent this occurring.

Probiotic foods, such as yogurt with live cultures, can promote the development of bacteria in the gut. The bacteria may play a role in assisting the digestion of proteins that cause food allergy.

By feeding your toddler home-made meals, you can be sure that she is getting the best ingredients, without the addition of potentially harmful chemicals.

Lisa Hark, PhD RD & Dr Darwin Deen

Nutrition for Life Copyright © 2005 Dorling Kindersley Text copyright © 2005 Lisa Hark and Darwin Deen

Posted 14.02.2011

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