Guest Author - Amy Anaruk

Several readers have asked me about anti-inflammatory foods and their effect on asthma. More specifically, they want to know if following a certain diet can help reduce their dependence on oral steroids. According to several nutrition/asthma studies and many medical professionals, the answer is maybe. For me, though, there is no question. Incorporating more anti-inflammatory foods into your diet will certainly not hurt you, and if there is even a dim possibility of help, why not try? I follow this line of reasoning for my asthmatic daughter.

What we eat matters. We learn good nutrition at an early age, in health classes and at the childhood dinner table, but eating with the goal of improving a specific condition takes a larger leap of thought and more work than just eating a healthy diet. Several studies of how certain foods can help heal suggest, though, that changing your diet is worth your time. Evidence for the benefit of nutritional medicine on asthma mounts everyday.

Because so many of you have questions about food�s influence on asthma and because I believe wholeheartedly in eating to improve health, I�ll be alternating articles in the Asthma Maintenance 101 series with a new Eating for Asthma series. These articles will examine in-depth the healing properties of specific foods and herbs. Over time, all articles will end up in the Food and Nutrition folder to the left of the page.

First, a word about herbal supplements. I prefer eating anti-inflammatory foods and drinking herbal teas to taking herbal supplements for a couple of reasons. My eight year-old daughter has asthma, not me, and figuring out the appropriate types and doses of herbal supplements for a child can be tricky. Another problem is that supplements are regulated by the FDA as food, so they don�t have to meet the same safety and manufacturing standards as over-the-counter or prescription drugs. In addition, some supplements contain heavy metals, so finding reputable sources with quality ingredients can take a lot of research and legwork.

Finally, the human body does not assimilate supplements as well it digests just plain food. There are a few exceptions, but generally I like to get the healing substances directly from the food itself and not in the form of a pill or capsule. Turmeric, for example, shows great promise for benefiting a variety of medical problems including asthma, but no one knows the long-term effects of taking it in supplement form. So why not just cook more Indian food?

If you decide to take supplements, please consult a licensed nutritionist or a doctor with herbal training first, and always keep your primary physician informed. Remember that kids have specific dietary needs, so you will need to find a licensed pediatric professional if you decide to try supplements with your child. And always, always buy supplements from good sources.

If reading this series inspires you to conduct your own research, please remember to avoid webpages or books that discuss �curing� asthma. There is no cure for asthma. It is a lifelong, pulmonary disease characterized by hypersensitivity of the bronchial tubes. If doctors knew what gene, substance, or scenario turned the hypersensitivity response on in the first place, they could investigate how to flip that switch to �off.� As it stands now, no one knows why some individuals become hypersensitive and others with the same risk factors don�t, and there is no way to turn the response off for good. The most we can hope for right now is to reduce inflammation and histamine levels and strengthen the immune system.

The medical community does not endorse any specific �Asthma Diet� standard, largely because using food to heal is a relatively new initiative in modern medicine. You may, for example, decide to try fish oil supplements while other asthmatics don�t think current research shows any benefit. Bottom line? Conduct your own research based on sources you trust, and remember that in some cases evidence for the healing power of certain foods is mostly anecdotal. However--and this is why we practice eating for health in my own household--no one has ever been hurt by a diet of whole foods and organic fruits and vegetables.

For more information about nutritional research on asthma, check the link below.

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"Smile, breathe and go slowly." -Thich Nhat Hanh




This article is not written by a medical professional, and information on this page should never be substituted for your physcian�s advice. If you have any questions about your asthma and/or allergies, you should always contact your physician first.