Is Your Asthma a Food Allergy?

It may seem odd to ask the question whether or not asthma is a food allergy or at least made worse by food allergy.  Many Doctors will deny the Asthma and Allergy connection but others affirm it and run Food Allergy tests routinely.

So how about you…

Are You Allergic to Food or Even to Food Additives?

One of the problems with finding out if you have a food allergy or food intolerance is that some of the symptoms take hours or even days to appear. Most people think of food allergies as producing immediate symptoms such as wheezing or hives but delayed reactions are common and largely overlooked.

Without doing a full scale allergy test on a blood sample the only way to track these reactions down is to use a food diary – often called a Food and Mood diary. If you routinely keep a record of what and where you eat and how you feel at various points throughout the day, you may spot patterns – that you always feel very tired after eating a particular food or that a headache or full scale migraine may occur after seafood, for example.

Here are some common foods that produce wheezing is some asthma suffers
•    Wheat – in pasta, bread, biscuits, sauces
•    Milk direct as a drink or in sauces, cakes etc
•    Eggs – especially raw egg
•    Tree nuts such as walnuts and peanuts
•    Soy products
•    Fish including shellfish
•    Salads & fresh fruits – read the next section to understand this!

Is Your Asthma Due to Food Additives?

This is a very complicated and controversial topic but let’s cover the basics. We all like the convenience of buying packaged food and mostly regard preservatives or other additives as necessary to extend the freshness of the product. But some additives seem to affect some people, especially children quite strongly and are best avoided at least as a trial.

•    Sulphites and sulphur – often used on dried fruit and in fruit juice
•    Tetrazzini – used as a dye on many foods
•    Monosodium Glutamate – one of the most well known food additives and  thought to cause headaches in quite a number of people
•    Salicylates – very interesting because these occur naturally in many fruits and vegetable as well as in Aspirin. Avoiding this additive is difficult and best done with help from an expert Nutritionist because it is in so many foods that you may miss out on important nutrients unless you are very careful.

Or is Your Asthma Due to What is Not in Your Food?

Yes I know that sounds bizarre but this is an important point. Depending on the food choices you make there will be more or less Vitamin C in your diet. An obvious point! But studies have shown that Vitamin C intake correlates inversely with occurrence of asthma. In non mathematical language that means the less vitamin C is in your diet the more likely you are to have asthma. It also seems that Asthmatics need more vitamin C than other folks do.

Even if the food is organic and very health you cannot be sure that it has a high enough vitamin C level and that is what I take a vitamin C supplement every day as well a eat the healthiest diet I can and doing this means I have no asthma symptoms and take no medication.

Your mileage may vary,   and you should get expert advice from a nutritionally aware and qualified professional.

If your asthma is under control and you are happy then there’s not much incentive for you to do much. But if you dislike taking medication (as I did) then this is a line of investigation for you. Not all asthma is allergic but if yours is and you can exclude the allergenic substance causing the symptoms and take the amount of vitamin C that suits you, you may get a huge improvement to the quality of your life. I think that’s enough incentive for anyone!