You probably think of asthma as a chronic disease that involves your lungs, not your digestive system. But eating certain foods affects the frequency and severity of asthma attacks in a small percentage of people with asthma, especially in those who have food allergies or intolerances in addition to their asthma. Also, consuming too much food or food at the extremes of temperature -- either very cold or very hot -- sometimes triggers an asthma attack, as do the preservatives in dried fruit.
Basics
Asthma affects about 11 million adult Americans and 9 million children, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. When you have an asthma attack, your airways swell and fill with mucus, making it difficult for you to breathe. In rare cases, a severe asthma attack can kill you. It's not clear what causes asthma. Some people have what's called allergic asthma, in which inhaled irritants bring on an attack, while others suffer from non-allergic asthma, in which stress, exercise or even spicy food triggers an attack.
Preservatives
Some people with asthma are sensitive to preservatives in foods. These preservatives, known as sulfites and bisulfites, help keep foods such as dried fruit, wine and bottled lemon juice from going bad in their packaging. In most cases, a product's label indicates whether it contains these preservatives, so if you have an asthma attack following consumption of something with sulfites or bisulfites, you can avoid a repeat attack by avoiding those foods.
Selenium
There's some evidence that a selenium deficiency could lead to increased numbers of attacks in asthmatics, so it's possible -- although unproven -- that consuming foods high in selenium might help you ward off attacks. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables to bulk up on selenium. In addition, the high levels of vitamins and minerals in those fruits and vegetables might protect you against asthma attacks, although again, the evidence isn't completely clear.
Gluten
It's also possible that some people with asthma might suffer from undiagnosed celiac disease. In celiac disease, your body cannot digest the protein contained in the grains wheat, rye and barley. Although the most prominent celiac symptoms involve the digestive system, a study published in February 2011 in the "Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology" found that people with celiac disease -- diagnosed or undiagnosed -- face a significantly increased risk of asthma. Adopting the gluten-free diet -- the only available treatment for celiac disease -- can help reduce the risk of asthma attacks for those individuals with both conditions. If you have symptoms such as diarrhea, constipation or abdominal bloating in addition to asthma, you should talk to your doctor about getting tested for celiac disease.
References
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Asthma; September 2009
- Columbia University; Asthma and Special Diet?; September 2009
- "American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine"; Diet and Asthma; Tricia M. McKeever, et al.; July 2004
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Selenium in Diet - Food Sources; March 2009
- "Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology"; Celiac Disease Confers a 1.6-Fold Increased Risk of Asthma; Jonas F. Ludvigsson, et al.; February 2011
