Does Diet Causes Asthma?

Asthma is a disease of the respiratory system, where the airways get obstructed due to muscle spasm and swelling within the airways which may be with or without secretions. Ayurvedic texts have it that wrong and unsuitable diet and subsequent digestive impurities are a potent cause for respiratory allergy leading to asthma. A combination of other allergic or non-allergic factors, including air pollution, vagaries of the weather, emotional stress and heredity predispositions, can also be responsible for the genesis of asthma in susceptible persons.

In recent years a number of scientific studies have come to the conclusion that certain foods and nutrients exacerbate asthmatic inflammation and bronchial hyperactivity while others reduce such pathology and promote easier breathing. Due to the advanced and effective emergency management of asthma available these days its reasons are often overlooked. But it is a fact that an asthmatic attack in the case of young patients is mostly precipitated by wrong food.

According to ayurveda, asthmatic reactions to food can vary widely as both the whole and the processed foods are known to precipitate such attack. Diet, the chemicals added to food items these days and individual susceptibility supported by seasonal discrepancies and other environmental factors are found to set off allergic reactions in the body. It is widely documented that several commonly used food items like milk, yoghurt, ice-cream and other dairy products cause coughing and wheezing in many asthmatics.

Any unsuitable food can lead to a respiratory spasm, or cause irritation or inflammation that will then overreact with environmental triggers like virus, pollens, smoke and dust. Apart from any ordinary fruit and vegetable, this may include even common foods like cereals such as wheat, rice and maize, poultry products and bakery items or eatables made of yeast.

Many modern foods consumed occasionally or as part of our daily diet have preservatives, flavors and colors which are considered as potential prompters of respiratory or other allergies.

It is seen that in some patients even an attack of hyperacidity sets into motion an episode of asthma. This factor highlights the ayurvedic dictum of maintenance of post- digestive purity also. Asthmatics are advised to choose a food that suits their digestion in perfect order. It is better to scan one’s diet and evolve a food plan carefully as many times the reactions occur hours after a particular food has been eaten.

By: Lucy Nicholas