Can a healthy diet help you breathe easier? Some research says
yes. But there are also a lot of unproven dietary strategies touted
to help manage allergies and asthma. What works? What doesn't? Find
out here. (Of course, if you have allergies or asthma, you should
always follow the advice of your health care provider.)
*Snacking on fruit to prevent asthma?
Worth a try! Eating fruit could lower your risk of asthma,
according to Dutch researchers who tracked the asthma symptoms and
diets of children from birth through age 8. They found those who
ate more fruit throughout their childhood had lower rates of
asthma.
Researchers think the antioxidants in fruits and veggies could
protect airways from damage, possibly reducing risk of asthma,
which afflicts more than 8 percent of Americans. Other research has
specifically found that apples, bananas and vitamin-C-rich fruits,
such as citrus, may lower asthma risk.
*Eating honey to prevent allergies?
Probably won't help. The theory is this: Honeybees gather pollen
from the very plants that cause your itchy eyes, so consuming a
small daily dose of the local honey -- and subsequently these
pollens -- may stimulate your immune system and reduce allergies,
explains Miguel P. Wolbert, an allergist and immunologist at the
Allergy and Asthma Care Center, Evansville, Ind. But the pollens
that cause sneezing and congestion -- such as ragweed -- are
windborne, while the pollens bees collect are too heavy to fly in
the breeze.
Windborne pollens can fall onto flowers, get picked up by bees
and end up in honey, says Wolbert, "but it's likely to be a very,
very small amount" -- not enough to make a difference. And, so far,
no clinical evidence shows that honey alleviates allergy symptoms.
Bottom line: It's not likely that honey will help your allergies,
says Wolbert, but, "I don't tell my patients not to eat it."
*Raw milk to relieve asthma and allergies?
Not a good idea. It's still too early to tell if raw milk lives
up to its purported benefits in the realm of relieving allergy and
asthma symptoms, but there are real risks to consuming raw-milk
products. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, raw-milk-related pathogen outbreaks accounted for more
than 1,000 illnesses, more than 100 hospitalizations and two deaths
between 1998 and 2005.
Catherine W. Donnelly, Ph.D., a food microbiologist at the
University of Vermont, believes the dangers cancel out any
potential nutritional benefits.
"Of particular concern is Listeria [a bacterium that results in a
foodborne illness, listeriosis], which has a 30 percent mortality
rate," Donnelly warns. "If raw milk is your choice, it's buyer
beware."
*Easing up on salt to reduce asthma symptoms?
Can't hurt. Since the 1930s, research has linked a high-salt diet
with worsened asthma symptoms in children. More recently, promising
research indicates that following a low-sodium diet may lessen
asthmatic symptoms in people with exercise-induced asthma.
A 2010 review article on the topic, published in the journal The
Physician and Sports Medicine, concluded that, since a low-sodium
diet has other health benefits (namely those related to heart
health), it may be considered a therapeutic option that might
complement, but not replace, medication to manage asthma.
One easy way to cut back: Avoid processed/packaged foods, which
tend to deliver big hits of sodium.
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