There is no specific diet that can completely get rid of your asthma. However, certain foods can either improve or worsen your condition. This article will cover 10 shocking foods that can help or hurt your asthma.
Could Help: Fruits and Veggies
Fruits and vegetables are full of chemicals known as antioxidants, like beta carotene and vitamins C and E. These prevent particles called “free radicals” that damage cells and could irritate your lungs.
Could Help: Vitamin D
You can get most of this vitamin from sunshine, but it is also available in foods like milk, eggs, and orange juice. This nutrient strengthens the response of the immune system.
Could Help: Nuts and Seeds
Almonds, hazelnuts, and raw seeds are good sources of vitamin E, reducing how much you cough and wheeze from your asthma.
Could Hurt: Dried Hurt
Dried fruits are among those to avoid if you have asthma, as they contain sulfites. Alternatively, fresh fruit like apples and oranges can help control your condition.
Could Hurt: Beans
Beans can bloat your belly and make breathing harder, triggering asthma attacks. However, you can soak them for a few hours and change the water several times to reduce this effect.
Could Hurt: Coffee
Salicylates are chemicals that appear naturally in coffee, herbs, tea, spices, and even
anti-inflammatory pills. Though most people don’t react to them, they could make it harder for you to breathe, especially if you have asthma.
Could Help: Mediterranean Diet
This diet consists of fruits, vegetables, beans, and fruits. You can eat chicken and fish at least twice a week, and limit your red meat. Instead of butter, you cook with canola oil or olive, and you can flavor with herbs instead of salt.
Could Help: Fish
Fatty fish like salmon, tuna, herring, and sardines contain omega-3 fatty acids. This could help lessen the amount of IgE your body makes, an antibody that causes breathing problems in some people with asthma.
Could Hurt: Food Allergies
You have a higher chance of having a food allergy if you have asthma. Sometimes, it worsens if you eat certain foods such as nuts, wheat, dairy, and shellfish.
Could Help: Tomatoes
Foods made from tomatoes could help individuals with asthma as scientists think lycopene could help the most. However, more research is required.
Conclusion
Your asthma can be effectively managed depending on the kinds of food you eat. With the foods we have covered, you can know which foods to eat and what to avoid.