Talatu was perfect in every way to the outsiders unlike her friend Hassatu with her undergraduate degree and MBA from Stanford University. She had a wonderful job, a beautiful house in an estate in Jabi, Abuja. She was very successful and in her thirties, loved taking sodas, grape juices, and eating peanuts.

Outsiders envied her success but only her family knew her struggles and sickness. She was always having asthma attacks day in, day out. A portable nebulizer was always with her wherever she goes. There is nothing in this life that Talatu wants like living a life without the fear of when will the attack begin – the weakness, chest and back pain she experiences or the nebulizer she had to carry all the time. She wished for a normal life.

Little did she know that the problem lies in what she eats! 

Asthma symptoms are a result of spasms and bronchial tubes inflammation caused by an allergic reaction. Certain foods can cause mild to life-threatening reactions which are due to dust, stress, or pollution in the environment. One of the foods that aid in triggering asthma is salt as it worsens respiratory function and reduces the effectiveness of anti-asthmatic medications, wines, and drinks that contain sulfites and brewer’s yeast. Food additives that aid in triggering asthma. Fish that contain histamine leads to allergic reactions, eggs, milk or nuts especially peanuts or walnuts that cause allergic reactions and asthma in children with low immunity. 

Some foods may increase asthma symptoms but not cause asthma attacks due to allergic reactions. Such foods are foods with sulfites, dried foods, beans, frozen foods, and artificial ingredients. You should find out foods that you are allergic to or foods that your body has a low tolerance to as they might cause severe allergic reactions triggering asthma attacks. Such foods should be avoided as they are considered foods that trigger asthma.

List of Foods That Trigger Asthma

1. Dried Fruits

Fruits like oranges and apples are good and important to the health of an asthma person. This is because they help improve lung function, helping you to control your asthma symptoms. Dried fruits are dangerous to asthma patients as they are preservatives used in sulfites.

They might be healthy if eaten in adequate proportions and have no added sugar or sweetened with fruits juices. This can lead to gastrointestinal problems, increased calorie count, and tooth decay when the preservative (sulfites) used to keep it in good condition when dried is higher.

Try to avoid dried shrimps, pickled vegetables, dried cherries or lemon juice as they contain sulfites when bottled. 

2. Beans

This food can give you gas and bloat your stomach which can trigger asthma as it is a little hard to breathe when bloated or constipated. As beneficial as beans are, they can harm some people in certain ways. It can lead to gas, causes migraine in certain people. It is a form of an incomplete protein hence, shouldn’t be relied upon as your only source of protein.

If you are a fan of beans, try soaking them in water for some hours to reduce the effect.

3. Peanuts

Peanuts allergies are deadly for asthma patients. People allergic to peanuts and who happen to be asthmatic develop allergies for cats, grass, and dust. Such allergies can trigger asthma symptoms and can be fatal.

It was also found that children who are allergic to peanuts develop asthma at an early age when compared to those without peanut allergies.

4. Eggs

Eggs could be one of the foods that trigger asthma attacks in patients. Even though eggs are a delicacy in this part of the country, they can be bad for asthma patients if they have egg allergies.

Egg allergies are common in children but can also be found in adults and it is best to avoid eating eggs or foods containing eggs or egg products. 

5. Ice Creams

Ever notice the white smoky thing when buying ice cream from joints or malls? Or from frozen desserts in restaurants? Or from frozen cocktails? That white smoky thing is very dangerous to you. This is even worse if you happen to be asthmatic. This will cause you to have breathing problems and later attacks, worsening your asthma symptoms along the way.

The breathing problem is not the only danger of consuming foods frozen with liquid Nitrogen. It causes skin burns and when consumed severe health issues and in severe cases, it can lead to death. As an asthmatic patient, it is best to avoid frozen foods to limit the chances of eating foods with liquid Nitrogen in them or even frozen foods since people have complained that they are the foods that trigger asthma symptoms for them.

6. Foods with Artificial Ingredients

Aspartame, a food additives sweetener used in sodas causes allergic reactions in some people. It is believed that food allergy symptoms can worsen asthma symptoms. Food spices also have the ability to cause asthma symptoms as a form of allergic reaction.

In addition, artificial ingredients most especially those found in processed and fast foods such as flavouring, colouring, and chemicals preservatives that can cause allergic reactions should be avoided by asthmatic patients. This is because processed foods have preservatives that worsen lung inflammation hence, worsening asthma symptoms in patients. 

The allergic reactions that occur due to food additives are cough, rhinitis, anaphylaxis, asthma symptoms, skin reaction, or gastrointestinal reactions. If you are not sure which food additive you are allergic to, eat more amount of the suspected food while being supervised by an allergist.

7. Foods Containing Sulfites

Sulfites are chemical preservatives used in slowing down browning and discolouration in foods. They have been believed to cause asthma symptoms that could be mild or severe in reaction. Foods containing sulfite additives have been reported to induce asthmatic reactions in people with asthma.

These sulfite allergies are found in people with asthma as they are sensitive to sulfite hence triggering asthma symptoms. If you are sensitive to sulfite, you should avoid dried fruits, wine, grape juices, lemon, lime juices, molasses and sauerkraut as they have the highest level of sulfites in them. Also, constant or frequent consumption of such foods can trigger asthma symptoms in patients.

It is important to know if you are asthmatic and happen to be experiencing asthma symptoms after eating or drinking a product containing sulfites. This will enable you to know if you are sulfite-sensitive and you should do well to avoid sulfur dioxide in sulfite-containing foods that trigger asthma as this will increase your chances of having more asthma symptoms that are not normal. 

Bonus: Eating too Much Food

Food is an essential part of life. It is the process we refuel our energies, gain essential nutrients and vitamins that are important for growth, repair, and immunity that our body needs. But, what if we eat too much without paying attention to how full we are or how much we serve ourselves? Eating too many foods is the easiest way to get sick. You add unnecessary weight, be nauseous all the time, gain excess fat in organs that will be dangerous for you. And, you tend to be at higher risk of several illnesses.

Asthmatic patients aren’t safe from this problem. In fact, they are at a higher risk of having more recurrent attacks when overweight than asthma patients with normal weight. Being overweight and asthmatic puts you at risk of not responding to inhaled steroids that are used for asthma attacks. 

Conclusion

The foods that trigger asthma are foods that trigger bad lung conditions, increase inflammation or chest tightness, hence, increasing your chances of asthma attacks. It is important as an asthmatic patient you keep your body healthy, eat balanced foods, and afford foods that can trigger your asthma symptoms.

What are the worst foods for you as an asthmatic person? Kindly leave your comments below to let us know what foods trigger your asthma symptoms. Thank you.