By Alex White, MD
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Image courtesy of Vimeo.com |
Asthma sufferers are all too familiar with the onset of the debilitating condition. Characterized by a sudden shortness of breath, wheezing, and a coughing spell that just won’t quit, asthma is a serious condition that affects more than 32 million people in the US. More importantly, asthma causes almost a half million trips to the ER each year, as well as 5,000 deaths. More frightening still is the fact that since 1980, the prevalence of the condition in children has risen by a staggering 25%. While the medical profession dispenses rescue inhalers like candy, what medical researchers should really be doing is identifying and rectifying the underlying causes of asthma.
In my recent blog, “Nothing to Sneeze About,” I wrote about the rise in allergies in the developed world. While there are many factors involved in allergic reactions, one of the most telling is the connection between a low-fiber diet and allergies. I also pointed out the fact that the reason our forebears had a much lower incidence of allergies had a lot to do with what they ate. In today’s blog, I would like to explore the evidence that points to diet as being one of the keys to that other pulmonary problem: Asthma.