Asthma information: Foods that can help control the disease
Can eating the right foods help you bring asthma symptoms under control? The
available asthma information concludes that the answer is yes, in a lot of
cases. It is a fact that eating right will help with many health issues. The FDA
states that a healthy diet is a very important factor in preventing the onset of
many killer diseases that have become common today.
It is easy to see the connection between diet and the prevention / healing of problems like heart disease and diabetes. But is there a connection between diet and asthma?
Nutritionists say there is in fact, a strong connection. At a fundamental level, the body operates through a series of complex chemical interactions. It needs the right nutrients to feed those chemical activities.
Healthy Breathing
Breathing is one such chemical process. Breathing and the process of utilizing oxygen in the cells is accomplished through many chemical interactions. The ingredients involved are the oxygen taken in, the nutrients consumed and what the body creates out of those nutrients.
Here's a look at what happens during normal breathing and during an asthma attack.
As is apparent, there are many muscles involved in the act of breathing. When you breathe in, the diaphragm muscles and the chest muscles expand to accommodate air into the lungs. During exhalation, these muscles relax. Then there are the muscles around the airways itself. These muscles can either contract to decrease the amount of air going into the lungs, or expand to allow more air to flow in. In an asthmatic, these airway muscles become inflamed. As a result, the ability to bring enough air into the lungs is reduced.
It is obvious that healthy breathing depends on all these muscles remaining healthy. By the same token, improving the health of these muscles will help improve asthma symptoms.
Nutrition specialists say that if you are an asthma patient, your diet should contain sufficient levels of omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin B6 and quercetin. These substances help control inflammation of the muscles and maintain proper lung function.
The bronchial muscle is directly affected by magnesium, which helps dilate the bronchi. That is why enough magnesium in the diet is important - it helps keep the bronchial muscles in good tone. Foods that help include almonds and spinach salads. Chocolate has lots of magnesium in it. Pumpkin and sunflower seeds are very good too. So is avocado.
The damaging effects of air pollution can be mitigated by having enough anti-oxidants in the body - quercetin is an anti-oxidant. Quercetin-rich foods will help significantly, say some nutritionists because it helps combat the pollutants that can set off an asthma attack. Of course, having sufficient anti-oxidants in the body has many other health benefits too.
Quercetin-rich foods include cranberries, pears, green cabbage, apples and onions, among others.
Some asthma patients take a drug called theophylline, which reduces the ability to utilize a component of vitamin B6. In such cases, vitamin B6 supplements will help. There is some evidence that this vitamin helps reduce wheezing in asthmatics. Foods that contain vitamin B6 include sweet potatoes, turkey, sunflower seeds, salmon, tuna and avocadoes.
In patients with exercise-induced asthma, taking vitamin C right before exercising helps them prevent asthma attacks. Research shows that many asthmatics are vitamin C deficient. This vitamin can help cut down on how often asthma attacks occur as well as the severity of those attacks.
Oranges, fresh strawberries, red bell peppers, potatoes, tangerines, kiwi fruit - all are rich in vitamin C and will help with asthma symptoms.
As you can see from the above asthma information, there is a direct connection between asthma and diet. Eat right and you have better chances of bringing your symptoms under control.