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health advisory Hospital Diseases 2007-11-12 20:34:49

It would be great to know what an asthmatic should and should not eat especially if the person is a strict vegetarian i.e. no eggs and no meat or fish!

What are the best foods an asthma patient should include in his/her daily diet?

Answer:

Coffee is actually a bronchodilator. It opens your airways. Trust me , I am a respiratory therapist.

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Every asthmatic patient at the time of consultation to a doctor asks a common question about what he should eat and what he should not eat. It is a common belief that food allergy is one of the most important precipitating factor in majority of patients. But this is not true. Only about 5% patients of asthma have food allergies and they can be benefited by avoidance of allergic foods. However, in many asthmatic patients food can aggravate asthma through other mechanisms. With advancing food technology, preservatives and coloring agents are used much more frequently.

Food aggravates asthma through,

Allergy 鈥?About 5% (more in children).

Coloring agents and preservatives.

Acidity and gastroesophageal reflux.

Causing throat problem.

Reflux and heavy meals.

Preservatives are used to preserve food for longer durations while coloring agents are used to make edibles more attractive. In sensitive individuals these can aggravate asthma. Sulfites and MSG treated foods such as sauce, pickles, treated grapes, wine, apple, apricots and nuts can aggravate asthma in sensitive individuals. Coloring agents are used in squash, toffees and sweets. Such edibles can cause asthma. Usually in such patients aspirin and other pain relieving medicines can also induce asthma.