Fighting Asthma with Food

Asthma is an inflammatory airway disease. It is a condition that causes reactions leading to respiratory distress. However, asthma is curable and can be treated by proper medication and a slight modification in your diet.

Eating to control asthma

You can control asthma attacks by eating a diet, which is:

• Moderately low fat, preferably vegetarian
• Rich in complex carbohydrates, such as whole grains and starchy vegetables
• Low in sugar
• Making proteins about 12-15 per cent of your diet, which is slightly lower than than the normal allowance of about 20 per cent
• Low in red meats and dairy products

Natural foods for controlling asthma

Here are some great fruits and vegetables that have been found useful in controlling asthma. Take your pick:

Banana: A low-cost, delicious fruit, which is available round the year. It has a high nutritional value with a rare combination of energy, proteins, vitamins and minerals. Banana is very useful for those who are allergic to certain substances and suffer from asthma. The reason underlying this is that banana is rich in those amino acids, which are anti-allergic to asthmatics.


Grapes: A high therapeutic value -- owing to their easy assimilation property - makes grapes beneficial for asthma. The fruit as well as its juice has a favourable influence in controlling the disease since being rich in moisture grapes increase the moisture of the lungs.


Orange: The most popular citrus fruit, orange is an effective remedy to control asthma. All you have to do is mix a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of honey in orange juice. Orange acts by its saline action on the lungs and protects from secondary infections.


Bitter gourd: Karela or bitter gourd has excellent medical virtues and has been used as a folk medicine for respiratory disorders from ancient times. A teaspoon of root paste mixed with equal amount of tulsi leaf juice taken for a month acts as an excellent medicine for asthmatics.


Garlic: A food, herb, medicinal plant and a beauty accessory since time immemorial, garlic owes its medicinal values to a volatile oil called allyl sulphade, that has a marvelous therapeutic value. The garlic pod is peeled and boiled in 120 ml of pure malt vinegar. This mixture is strained and mixed with equal amounts of honey and then preserved. A teaspoon of this mixture taken every day helps to reduce the severity of the attacks.


Ginger: A teaspoon of fresh ginger juice mixed with a cup of fenugreek decoction acts as an expectorant in asthma.


Spinach: This green vegetable is a rich source of essential amino acids, iron, vitamin A and folic acid. Infusion of fresh leaves prepared with fenugreek seeds and mixed with a pinch of ammonium chloride acts as an effective expectorant for treatment of asthma. It soothes the bronchioles and forms healthy tissue in the lungs, thereby increasing resistance against respiratory infections.


Safflower seeds: These are beneficial in the treatment of bronchial asthma. Taking half a teaspoon of the seed powder along with a tablespoon of honey acts as an expectorant and reduces the spasms by liquefying the tenacious sputum.


Honey: This sweetner is rich in ethereal oil and alcohol that is beneficial in asthma. Inhaling the air that comes in contact with honey brings relief and the patient is able to breathe deeper and easier.

Thus by consuming a diet rich in these foods, you can easily control your asthmatic condition.