Are you running out of breath often? Have cough and wheezing deteriorated your quality of life? If you nodded along positively, you might be suffering from asthma. Asthma is a respiratory condition where your airways in the lungs swell and turn narrower, thereby making you experience breathing difficulties. The airways may also produce an excess of mucus. Asthma with its flare-ups may affect your lung health adversely. Continuous wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath can deteriorate your quality of life. While inhalers and other conventional medicines can offer you relief, you may turn dependent on them and may even experience some side effects. Fortunately, following the right diet and lifestyle modifications can help you manage the condition effectively, naturally, and safely without any adverse effects. Avoiding the foods that trigger asthma and including the foods that mitigate asthma symptoms and promote lung health can make a large difference and help you heal naturally. So, you might be wondering about asthma management with diet, aren’t you? Scroll down to learn about a complete guide on asthma diet.
How Can Diet Help Manage Asthma Symptoms?
Eating nutritious, fresh foods is not just beneficial for your overall health but also effective in managing your asthma. A shift from a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables to one containing a lot of junk and processed foods may aggravate your asthma symptoms. Although no particular nutrient or food can relieve you of asthma symptoms, a well-rounded diet comprising vegetables and fruits and having no foods that trigger your asthma symptoms is the key to healing naturally. Such a well-rounded not only helps keep asthma flare-ups at bay but also promotes good lung health, prevents obesity, which is a risk factor of asthma, and meets all your nutritional needs. Check out some of the best foods for asthma patients.
6 Best Foods to Eat To Manage Asthma:
- Vitamin D Abundant Foods:Deficiency of vitamin D is believed to have a link to an increased risk of developing asthma, particularly in kids and adults. Daily adequate intake of vitamin D with an asthma dietcan help alleviate the severity of asthma flare-ups. Vitamin D is also effective in minimizing upper respiratory infections and promoting healthy lung functions. It occurs in certain foods naturally, and including vitamin D rich foods in the asthma patients’ diet scan help you obtain relief from the respiratory discomforts and prevent flare-ups. So, add yoghurt, egg yolks, mushrooms, breakfast cereals, and fatty fish, such as tuna, mackerel, and salmon to your diet.
- Vitamin C Food Sources
Certain fresh vegetables and fruits are abundant in vitamin C, which helps your body fight toxins that can cause tissue damage. Adding them to your diet can help prevent and manage your asthma symptoms, prevent lung function decline, improve your lung function and respiratory health. Citrus fruits, such as grapefruit and oranges, cantaloupe, kiwi fruits, broccoli, tomatoes, and red and green peppers, are natural sources of vitamin C that form a crucial part of asthma patients’ diet.
- Vitamin E Food Sources
Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant, which plays a crucial role in treating chronic lung conditions, such as asthma. Regular adequate intake of vitamin E can help in reducing the episodes of asthma in asthma patients. So, add vitamin E abundant foods, such as almonds, hazelnuts, broccoli, peanuts, and fortified foods, such as breakfast cereals to your asthma diet.
- Beta-carotene Rich Foods
Adding beta-carotene abundant foods to your diet can help alleviate the lung inflammation that causes asthma. The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of beta carotene help manage asthma symptoms and improve your health. This crucial nutrient occurs naturally in the red and orange vegetables and fruits and a few more foods. So, add apricots, carrots, squash, leafy greens, and red pepper to your asthma prevention diet.
- Flavonoids and Selenium Food Sources
Anti-inflammatory properties of selenium and flavonoids are beneficial for mitigating asthma discomforts. Flavonoids occur in a variety of fruits naturally. So, add flavonoid abundant fruits, such as apples, grapes, and berries, to your diet. Also, have green and black teas regularly, as they contain flavonoids.
Selenium offers anti-inflammatory benefits that help reduce inflammation in asthma patients. It is particularly beneficial to chronic asthma patients. Also, it’s a potent nutritional antioxidant that helps improve respiratory health in asthma patients. Add selenium-rich foods, such as dairy products, cereals, seafood, meat, and eggs, to your diet.
- Whole Grain Foods:A healthy diet containing whole-grain foods can help alleviate asthma symptoms and manage respiratory conditions effectively. Add whole-grain foods, such as whole oats, buckwheat, and whole-wheat pasta, to your asthma diet.
5 Foods to Avoid to Manage Asthma:
Eliminating foods that cause inflammation and trigger your asthma symptoms can help mitigate the frequency and severity of asthma effectively. Here’s a quick rundown of foods to avoid with asthma.
- Foods Containing Sulfites:
Sulfites, a preservative in certain foods, in diet can worsen your asthma symptoms. So, it is wise to eliminate foods containing sulfites from your diet. Pickled foods, dried fruits, alcohol, wine, and bottled lemon are some of the foods containing sulfites that you should avoid.
- Foods Containing Salicylates:
Salicylates are compounds often found in spicy foods, teas, coffees, and herb-flavoured foods. In some asthma patients, eating foods containing salicylates can cause flare-ups of the respiratory condition. So, make sure that your asthma diet does not contain foods with salicylates.
- Fast Foods:
A high intake of fast foods or a shift from a diet comprising vegetables and fruits to one having more fast foods may aggravate your asthma symptoms and episodes. So, to keep asthma flare-ups at bay, be sure you avoid fast foods.
- Foods That Cause Gas
A diet that contains foods that cause gas or eating heavy meals pressurize your diaphragm. As a result, you may suffer from chest tightness and frequent asthma episodes. So, limit or eliminate the foods causing gas from your asthma prevention diet. Fried foods, carbonated drinks, onions, and beans are some foods that you can avoid to prevent asthma flare-ups.
- Artificial Ingredients
Food additives, chemical food preservatives, food colourings, and artificial flavourings are present in some processed foods, and they can cause a flare-up or worsen of the symptoms in some asthma patients, who are allergic or sensitive to them. Identify the artificial ingredients that you are sensitive to and eliminate them from your asthma diet.
If you are an asthma patient looking to manage the condition with a healthy diet, consult expert nutritionists, such as health experts at Health Total, to get a customised asthma diet. Health Total’s certified dieticians also guide you to manage your weight rightly to improve your relief from asthma. The integrated treatment approach of Health Total’s asthma management with homeopathy and Ayurveda help you heal naturally. For a customised asthma diet and treatment plan, book an appointment with Health Total experts online or over a call on 9650684061 and put a step forward to enjoy a healthy life.
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