Healthy Notes

Simple changes to diet can reduce asthma attacks

From Dr. Weil

Q: Can the foods I eat aggravate my asthma?
A: If you have asthma or allergies that aggravate it, simple changes to your diet may help. Try incorporating these six modifications to help reduce the number and severity of attacks.

1. Decrease protein to 10 percent of daily caloric intake. Replace animal protein as much as possible with plant protein.

2. Eliminate milk and milk products, substituting other calcium sources such as dark leafy vegetables and calcium fortified juice.

3. Eliminate polyunsaturated vegetable oils, margarine, vegetable shortening, all partially hydrogenated oils, and all foods that might contain trans-fatty acids (such as deep-fried foods).

4. Use extra-virgin olive oil as your main fat.

5. Always drink plenty of water to help keep your respiratory tract secretions more fluid.

6. Experiment with eliminating (sequentially, and one at a time) wheat, corn, soy and sugar for six to eight weeks to see if the frequency of attacks (or symptoms) decreases.

Source: Wellness Collective