Suggested diet tips for asthma patients

Alternative therapy, along with your health practitioner's suggested medication and following diet or food tips can help you prevent and heal from next asthma attack. These diet suggestions would trigger the healing process so check the routine diet and make changes accordingly.

Diet tips for asthma patients:

• Eat a healthy whole-foods diet based on lean protein foods, such as fish; fresh vegetables and fruits; and whole grains. Fatty fish such as salmon, sardines, and tuna, which are high in omega-3 essential fatty acid, have natural anti-inflammatory properties. Eating fish three or four times a week can be very beneficial.
• Include onions in your diet. Onions contain diphenyl-thiosulfinate, an anti-inflammatory compound with anti-asthmatic effects. Moreover, some researchers believe that asthma has its roots in infection by an organism known as Chlamydia pneumonia, and onions have natural infection-fighting properties as well.
• Avoid saturated fats, hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils, and simple carbohydrates, such as refined sugar.
• If you have sensitivity to dairy foods, avoid them. Remember that dairy foods tend to increase the production of mucus.
• Beware of foods such as nuts, citrus fruits, whole-wheat products (especially yeasted breads), seafood, and foods containing additives like preservatives or food dyes, as well as contact with animals. Any of these things can cause or exacerbate an allergy-induced asthma attack.
• Certain food additives, especially metabisufite, can be dangerous for individuals with asthma. Sulfites are commonly found in commercially prepared foods such as dried fruits. They are also used by many restaurants to keep fruits and vegetables at salad bars looking fresh and attractive. If you have asthma, it's best to avoid salad bars and to buy only unsulfured dried fruits. Monosodium glutamate (MSG) can also cause problems for some people with asthma, so avoid food products prepared with this additive. You should also be aware of "hidden" sources of MSG. these often show up on food labels as "hydrolyzed protein," "autolyzed yeast," "sodium caseinate," and "calcium caseinate."
• Following an asthma attack, drink plenty of fluids once your condition is stable enough for you to do so. It is important to thin secretions so that they are easily coughed out.
• If you suffer fatigue, hair loss, dry skin, constipation, and have difficulty losing weight, ask your physician to check your thyroid function. Asthma is often exacerbated by low thyroid function.

Source: 'Asthma diet'

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* Nutritional supplements for asthma are intended to prevent or support recovery from an asthma attack, rather than to treat. Read more at: Asthma Nutritions & Supplements