You might have heard that it's possible to control asthma through diet. While there's some question as to whether this is true in older children and adults, it's simply not so in infants. In fact, you shouldn't attempt to manipulate your infant's diet significantly, since appropriate infant diets are fairly rigorous.
Infant Diet
Infants -- babies under a year of age -- need to eat a very specific diet, explain Heidi Murkoff and colleagues in their book "What To Expect The First Year." The healthiest diet for your infant is breast milk; this should be fed exclusively for the first six months, and in conjunction with pediatrician-approved solids between 6 and 12 months of age. As an alternative to breast milk, you can feed an infant-specific formula.
Asthma
Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease in which various triggers, many of which are environmental, cause the small airways to constrict, preventing adequate air flow. This leads to symptoms including coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath. Because asthma is diagnosed based on lung function over time, explains KidsHealth.org, it's very difficult if not impossible to determine whether an infant has asthma: They're simply not able to perform on a lung function test.
Asthma and Food
While there are some foods that can trigger asthma in individuals with allergies to those foods -- wheat and milk are common examples -- it's rare for infants to have food-triggered asthma simply because they're consuming primarily breast milk or formula. Further, there are no foods known to reduce asthma symptoms or treat asthma in infants. As such, you shouldn't introduce foods into your infant's diet simply in an attempt to treat wheezing.
Treating Asthma
In infants, since it's so difficult to diagnose asthma, treatments often include avoiding common allergic triggers such as dust and pollen, removing dust-collecting items from the baby's room, and using a humidifier. Children and adults with asthma often receive treatment using steroids and bronchodilators -- medications that open the small airways. These generally aren't used in infants, however. If you think your infant has asthma, you should see your pediatrician.
References
- KidsHealth.org: Asthma
- "What To Expect The First Year"; Heidi Murkoff et al; 2009
- "Eat, Sleep, Poop"; Scott Cohen, M.D.; 2010
