New Asthma Treatment – A Balanced Healthy Diet

New and exciting research recently published states that eating a balanced healthy diet that consists of fruit, whole grain and green leafy vegetables can have major health benefits for asthma sufferers.

Recent laboratory studies conducted and published by the journal Nature Medicine, clearly demonstrate that a high fibre, nutrient rich diet can reduce inflammation in the lungs. Reducing inflammation in the lungs helps ease asthma sufferers outbreaks.

A High Fibre Nutritious Diet

A healthy balanced diet that is high fibre can change the nutrients that the stomach can absorb from the food it digests. This benefits the immune system by allowing the body to produce and absorb more fatty acids.

Scientists link a change in eating habits over the past 50 years, to a rise in those experiencing allergic asthma attacks.

Eating habits in recent decades have changed, from a diet consisting of mainly fresh home cooked meals, to one that is high in processed foods, salt, sugars and oils.

Modern eating trends are swaying towards diets that consist of a higher percentage of processed foods; this is responsible for the significant increase in the numbers of allergic asthma sufferers and sufferers of other respiratory illnesses.

Asthma sufferers are more sensitive to environmental changes; their airways become easily irritated and inflamed.

During an asthma attack airways become inflamed and it becomes hard to breath.

Asthma Treated Via The Stomach

The human stomach is host to trillions of bacteria both good and bad.

Maintaining a balanced nutrient rich, high fibre diet, changes the types of bacteria and the quantities of them in the gut.

Bacteria that prefer to live on soluble fibre – the kind provided by fruit and vegetables – produce more short chain fatty acids; fatty acids are easier for the body to absorb into the blood and help destroy 'free radicals', boosting the immune system.

Essential Fatty Acids - More Essential Than Ever

Researchers stated that having higher levels of these fatty acids in the blood makes the respiratory system more resilient to irritation, inflammation and infection.

Clinical trails were carried out on laboratory mice. The mice were split into two groups, one given a high fibre diet and the other processed low fibre foods.

Scientists Go On Record

The report said “Recent increases in the number of reported cases of allergic asthma is comprehensively documented in developed countries. This increase seems to be directly related to a reduction in the amount of fibre consumed in the average diet and diets that consist of a high percentage of processed foods.”

The head scientist, Dr Benjamin Marsland, told us “There is a high probability [that the results seen in the laboratory mice] will be replicated in humans. Although the levels of fibre and concentrations of short-chain fatty acids are likely to be different.”

Dr Marshland also said that an alternative to eating a high fibre diet is dietary supplements, and foods that contain purified fatty acids may well produce similar results.

This research provides more conclusive evidence that the body require a balanced lifestyle, of which the cornerstone should be a healthy nutritious diet.