New Report: Plant-Based Diets Can Help Tame Asthma

Although data have suggested for decades that asthma responds to dietary interventions, a comprehensive report published in the March 2020 issue ofNutrition Reviewsindicates that plant-based nutrition therapy for asthma has come of age.

What Is Asthma?

A common and sometimes disabling disorder, asthma is an airway disease of the lungs that makes it hard to breathe and causes wheezing. It is characterized by inflammation in the walls of the bronchial tubes in the lungs, which can become swollen. It can be present chronically but can flare acutely with constriction of muscles in the airways that can become life-threatening. Triggers can include viruses, exercise, stress, allergens like pets, and drug reactions. It isestimatedthat about 8 percent of people in the United States suffer from asthma. (As a child, I was one of those statistics and recall several trips to the emergency room for breathing treatments.)

New Report on Asthma and Nutrition

For the new report inNutrition Reviews,researchers from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicinereviewedmore than 150 scientific studies examining the role of nutrition in asthma prevention and treatment, concluding that “recommendations to increase fruit and vegetable consumption, while decreasing saturated fat and dairy intake, are supported by the current literature” for the prevention and treatment of asthma.

The key findings they identified:

High intake of fruit and vegetables may reduce the risk of developing asthma.

High intake of fruit and vegetables may make asthma symptoms more manageable.

Fruit and vegetable intake can lower airway inflammation.

Dairy can increase airway hyperactivity and asthma symptoms.

Western diets characterized by low fiber and high fat intake worsen lung function and inflammation.

The odds of asthma decrease with increased intake of plant foods and decreased intake of meat.