Asthma Action Plan, Quick Tips

Asthma is a chronic lung condition in which airways narrow, causing wheezing, chest tightness, and labored breathing. Asthma is attributed to a combination of factors, including exposure to cigarette smoke, urban pollution, dust mites, cockroaches, pets, and pollen.

Although asthma is a chronic disease, the changes that occur during an attack are temporary, and the lungs generally function normally at other times. When asthma starts during childhood, the frequency and severity of attacks tend to lessen as the youngster grows and may disappear by adulthood. Some adults, however, suffer a recurrence, often as an aftermath of a viral infection.

Nutrition Connection
In many asthma sufferers, food allergies can cause asthma attacks; in these cases, identifying the culprits may require considerable detective work. See the Food Allergies entry for more information. These general guidelines will help lessen chances of attacks or complications:
-Avoid sulfites. Many foods have these preservatives added to them. Sulfites are common in dried fruits, dehydrated or instant soup mixes, instant potatoes, wine, beer, and white grape juice. Anyone sensitive to sulfites should carefully check food labels for any ingredient ending in “-sulfite” as well as sulfur dioxide. In addition to causing an asthma attack, sulfites sometimes lead to anaphylaxis in people who are hypersensitive to them. -Avoid salicylates. These compounds—which are in the same family as the active ingredient in aspirin and are also found naturally in many fruits, especially dried fruits and processed foods—can trigger attacks.
-Know your trigger foods. People who are allergic to mildew or molds may react to molds in foods such as cheese, mushrooms, and hot dogs, or to fermented foods, including soy sauce, beer, wine, and vinegar. Scan ingredient labels carefully and notify restaurant personnel when eating out.
-Eat more fatty fish. Omega-3 fatty acids, found in salmon, mackerel, sardines, and other cold-water fish, have an anti-inflammatory effect and may counter bronchial inflammation.
-Aim for 7 to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables. Evidence continues to grow on the protective effects of fruits and vegetables on lung function. An array of different colors ensures you get a variety of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants important for healthy lungs. Vitamin C, in particular, found in berries, green leafy vegetables, and many others, helps promote a healthy immune system and may be helpful in reducing wheezing in children with asthma.
-Talk to your doctor. A healthful balanced diet is sometimes difficult if allergies require eliminating entire food groups (for example, milk and other dairy products). A doctor can recommend substitutes or supplements to maintain good nutrition, and counteract asthma drugs’ side effects. For example, long-term steroid use causes bone loss, but vitamin D and calcium supplements can prevent the problem.

Beyond the Diet
Some asthma attacks are quickly reversed by a bronchodilator medication that opens the constricted airways. Other episodes are more prolonged, and may require an injection of epinephrine and a corticosteroid drug to stop the attack. Your best bet is to prevent attacks with the following tips:
Reduce exposure to triggers. Limit exposure to tobacco smoke or fumes, cold air, exercise, or an allergen. Seasonal asthma is usually due to various pollens, molds, and other environmental factors.

QUICK TIP:
- Lessen an attack with coffee
- Drink one or two cups of coffee or tea to sidestep a mild asthma attack. Caffeinated coffee and tea contain theophylline, a bronchial muscle relaxant used to treat asthma in people who are not sensitive to salicylates. (To diagnose an allergy to salicylates, doctors will often administer an exposure test.) Anyone taking a theophylline drug, however, should not drink large amounts of caffeinated beverages, as this can result in an overdose.
- Monitor your weight. Some studies have found a correlation between weight gain and adult-onset asthma. In addition, when obese people with asthma lose weight, there can be an improvement in asthma symptoms.