Diet and Nutrition for Asthmatics

One of the main concerns for asthmatics is body weight because excess fat puts extra strain on the heart and lungs.

For this reason many overweight and obese people who are subsequently diagnosed with asthma are advised to start on a diet plan and take regular exercise, even if this is only a short walk in the park.

Unfortunately, a diagnosis of asthma in addition to being overweight precludes many people from exercise, so a healthy calorie-controlled diet should be followed before any exercise regime is embarked upon. Loosing weight is not easy for anyone. The following suggestions may help to get you started:

* Avoid fried and fatty foods, as well as processed foods, especially cheeses and meats.
* Try to eat more lean meat, or alternatively substitute fish into some meals.
* Cut down on the amount of sugary foods you eat, such as candy, biscuits and other kinds of snacks.
* If you do feel hungry, try a piece of fruit instead of your normal snack.
* Cut down on your portion size; it is better to eat small amounts regularly than one large meal once a day.

In addition to a healthy diet, some asthmatics also try to eat foods which have high concentrations of natural anti-histamines and anti-inflammatories. These can be beneficial to the airways leading to the lungs in that they reduce small amounts of swelling, or inflammation, and protect the lining of the airways from potential irritants when present in small amounts. Examples of such foods include:

* Oily fish, soy products, pumpkin seeds and walnuts, which all have high quantities of the essential fatty acid Omega 3.
* Apples and red onions. They contain a bioflavonoid called quercetin which is a potent anti-inflammatory and also an anti-oxidant.

In addition to these foods there are also a number of nutritional supplements that can be taken to boost your natural anti-inflammatory processes. A few supplements you can take include:

* Grape seed extract is also a powerful anti-histamine and anti-oxidant.
* Pine bark extract, also known as pycnogenol, contains an anti-inflammatory agent and has been shown in studies to reduce the symptoms of asthma.
* Magnesium supplements have also been shown to have a beneficial effect on asthmatic patients.

These are just a few of the many possible supplements that can be added to the diet in order to help relieve potential asthma symptoms, but it is not just the lungs and heart that asthmatics have to take care of.

Unfortunately, many asthma medications contain steroids, and when taken long term these can affect other areas of the body. For example, the long term use of steroids has been shown to decrease bone density, and because of this early-onset osteoporosis is a possibility. In order to over come this, asthmatics should try to include foods in their diet that are high in calcium, as calcium is required to make new bone.  Dairy products, such as milk, should be considered.

Alternatively, if you don’t particularly like to eat dairy products, or worse still you have an allergy to them, then you may wish to take a multi-vitamin with added calcium. The thing to remember is that it is vitally important to consume the recommended daily amount of each individual nutrient without gaining too much body weight, and by sticking to a healthy balanced diet and taking a nutritional supplement you can do this with ease.

Occasionally, people who are diagnosed with allergic asthma are also found to be allergic to a particular ingredient within foods. If eaten, this ingredient also triggers their asthma. Common food allergies include:

* Wheat
* Corn, including corn starch and corn oil
* Soy products
* Eggs
* Milk and other dairy products, and
* Peanuts

Many asthmatics may not even realise they have a food allergy until they begin to keep an asthma journal and make the link between what they eat and the fact that they subsequently suffer from asthma symptoms. Once the link is made, you can cut the offending food out of your diet and your asthma should settle down dramatically.

Maintaining a good diet is one of the easiest ways to help control your asthma, and when combined with the right medication and an asthma journal your asthma attacks should become and remain a thing of the past.