The 5 Worst Foods for Asthma Patients
Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease in which a patient’s airways become inflamed and narrow. Asthma can lead to difficulty breathing, wheezing, chest tightness, coughing, and excess mucus production. While doctors often recommend asthma prescription medications and inhalers to manage asthma—using a quiet pure air filter for asthma to reduce airborne irritants at home, and avoiding the following common asthma food triggers can also significantly help: 1. Citrus fruits and tomatoes Acidic foods like oranges, lemons, grapefruits, and tomatoes may trigger asthma attacks. When you are allergic to a food item, your body releases histamines as part of the immune system’s inflammatory response. Histamines cause blood vessels to dilate and airways to constrict. If you already have a narrowing of your airways, as in the case of asthma, this can lead to symptoms such as wheezing or coughing. 2. Lunch meats and cured meats Cold cuts such as bologna, pepperoni, or salami contain lots of sodium nitrite (220-700 milligrams) per serving. A study from the journal Chest found that sodium nitrites, plentiful in deli and cured meats, can trigger asthma attacks in patients with existing food allergies or asthma. Sodium nitrite is commonly used to preserve meat products, so you’ll likely find it in cured meats like bacon, hot dogs, pepperoni and sausages, and other deli meats. 3.