Foods that could help asthma Oily fish
Prevention is always the best medicine.
The incidence and deaths of and from asthma in Australia is unacceptable 40,000 admissions to hospital and 400 deaths per year.
- It is important to follow your doctors asthma management plan and also do what you can to help prevent asthma be avoiding known triggers.
Prevention of asthma may start in the womb and with a change of diet
Studies have found that exposure in the womb to the fatty acids in salmon (also found in mackerel, sardines, trout and herring) may improve the programming of the immune system to prevent it from over-reacting to asthma triggers like animal fur and pollen later in life. Vitamin D in oily fish might also be helpful; other research has linked Vitamin A deficiency to children with asthma.
Did our grandmother get it right with cod liver oil supplements? I am convinced she did.
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in December 2016, sheds fresh light on the topic.
It found that women who took omega-3 fatty acid supplements (fish oil supplements) in pregnancy reduced the risk of their children developing asthma by almost one third.
Author Professor Hans Bisgaard says they've "long suspected" there was a link between the low intake of omega-3 fatty acids in Western diets, and the rising rates of childhood asthma.
"This study proves that they are definitively and significantly related."
The study involved over 700 pregnant women in their third trimester. The women either took either fish oil supplements or a placebo.
The researchers found that the mums who took fish oil supplements in pregnancy reduced their children's risk ofasthma by 31 per cent.
Protective Effect of Fish Oil Supplementation on Exercise-Induced Bronchoconstriction in Asthma
In a study of Sixteen asthmatic patients with documented EIB entered the study on their normal diet and then received either fish oil capsules containing 3.2 g of eicosapentaenoic acid and 2.0 g of docohexaenoic acid fish oil or placebo capsules daily for 3 weeks
The authors of the study concluded.
Our data suggest that fish oil supplementation may represent a potentially beneficial nonpharmacologic intervention for asthmaticsubjects with EIB. (chest, volume 129, Issue 1, January 2006, Pages 39-49)
Australia’s leading health research body, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), suggests that Australians should eat more fish. Fish is nutritious, providing energy (kilojoules), protein, selenium, zinc, iodine and vitamins A and D (some species only). Fish is also an excellent source of readily available long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, which are well known for their health benefits and are essential for life.
Researchers worldwide have discovered that eating fish regularly – two or more serves weekly – may reduce the risk of diseases ranging from childhood asthma, cardiovascular diseases, prostate cancer and other diseases typical of Western societies. Healthy ways to enjoy fish include baked, poached, grilled and steamed. (Department of Health & Human Services, State Government of Victoria, Australia)
If you suffer allergies or asthma see your health care practitioner and follow their advice.