What should you pay attention to about dietary taboos for asthma?

In fact, there are not so many uniform "no-touch" lists at the core. What you should pay close attention to is that you have clearly eaten allergen foods that will cause asthma, chest tightness, and irritating coughs. In fact, there is no need to copy most of the general taboo lists posted online.

Two weeks ago, I met a 30-year-old girl with allergic asthma. She heard from relatives that fish was hairy and she dared not touch it. When she came for a follow-up check, she found that she was not allergic to seafood at all. Instead, she was highly allergic to the mangoes she ate every day. She had occasionally had an itchy throat after eating something before but didn't take it seriously. She also avoided braised prawns for two years in vain.

In fact, there has always been controversy about dietary taboos. Traditional concepts recommend that asthma patients completely avoid cold, spicy, and all kinds of "eating foods", believing that these foods will stimulate the body and induce acute attacks. Many patients also say that they do cough for a while after eating iced milk tea or spicy hot pot.； However, the view of modern evidence-based medicine is that as long as there is no discomfort after eating, there is no need to deliberately avoid foods. After all, foods classified as "fat foods" such as fish, shrimp, eggs, and milk are mostly high-quality protein sources. If they are avoided altogether, it will easily lead to nutritional deficiencies, and reduced immunity will increase the probability of asthma attacks.

Oh, and there is another pitfall that is easy to step into. Many people only focus on the allergens in fresh ingredients and do not pay attention to the hidden triggers in processed foods. Last time, a young man in high school suddenly became gasping for breath after eating half a bag of purchased dried mangoes at home. After searching, it was found that the cause was the sulfites added to the dried fruits. He was sensitive to this preservative ingredient and had never known it before. There was nothing wrong with eating fresh mangoes.

If you really want to talk about what you need to pay attention to, it is actually better to spend two weeks keeping a simple food diary. If you have small symptoms such as dry throat, cough, or chest tightness after eating something on any day, just write it down. If you are not sure, go for a food allergen screening. It is much more effective than just following what others say you can't eat. After all, if you have enough nutrition and a stable physical condition, your asthma control effect will be much better.