Diet can certainly have an effect on asthma in two ways. First, some foods can provoke asthma attacks. This is because the asthma attack may be the result of an allergic reaction to the food. If you find that eating certain foods are
closely followed by an asthma attack, then, as you probably know, those foods need to be eliminated from your diet in order to prevent such attacks. Some of the most common food allergy asthma triggers are: eggs, nuts, milk, sulfites, fish and chocolate.
The second way that diet can effect asthma, is in helping to control the severity of an attack. There are a few ways that food can do this. One, food can actually dilate airways, opening them up for freer breathing. One of the best known food s for doing this is coffee...because of the caffeine in it. The second way food can help is by thinning the mucus so that it can move out of the airways, helping her to breath better. There are foods that offer an immediate relief from an attack. The foods in this category include the spicy, pungent foods like chili, hot mustard, garlic and onions. It may be that these hot foods work by stimulating nerves, resulting in the release of watery fluid in the mouth, throat and lungs. This watery secretion will help to thin down the mucus so that it can more easily move out of the airways. Thirdly, some foods can control inflammation of the airways because they contain anti-inflammatory components in their chemical makeup. Foods that help to do this include onions (these are particularly good), fatty fish (fish oil is a proven anti-inflammatory high in omega 3 fatty acids), and vitamin C packed foods. Studies have also shown that a diet high in dairy and meat cause more asthma attacks than vegetarian diets. It may be that there are more allergenic components in dairy and meat. Vegetable oils high in omega-6 fatty acids should be avoided as that fatty acid promotes inflammation. Oils high in omega-6 fatty acids include sunflower oil, corn oil, and safflower oil.