Asthma, a condition that strikes the small air passages of the lungs in episodes called asthma attacks, affects the lives of many people in this country.
Asthma attacks occur when smooth muscle cells clamp down on air passages, closing them off. This makes it much harder to get air in and out of the lungs, leading to wheezing and difficulty breathing. If the attack continues, the patient may pass out or even die from suffocation.
Although asthma patients may be symptom-free between attacks, they must live with the fear that another asthma attack may happen at any time. Fortunately, healthy food choices may help reduce attacks and alleviate symptoms caused by this debilitating condition.
Eat more:
Organically grown fruits and vegetables
Extra virgin olive oil
Flax seeds
Rosemary, ginger and turmeric
Eliminate milk and other dairy products which have been most commonly cited as increasing the severity of asthmatic symptoms.
Fruits and Vegetables
How does a hot plate of steamed, brightly-colored vegetables followed by a big bowl of sweet fresh fruit sound? In regions where people eat a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, asthma occurs much less frequently.
One study showed that lung function declines in the winter when people eat less fruit compared to summer. Other studies have associated reduced lung function with a diet low in fruits and vegetables. Fresh produce is high in many nutrients that help the lungs, including vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium, and beta-carotene.
Fruits and vegetables also contain plenty of bioflavonoids, which can help to reduce free radicals in the body. Quercitin, which is found in high quantities in yellow onions, apples, and tea, has been shown to be especially good at combating free radicals. Two other important foods are garlic and onions, which also contain substances with powerful antioxidant activities. These vegetables may not only help get rid of the free radicals that contribute to asthma, they are also a zesty addition to a healthy diet.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Skipping Breakfast??
Don’t Skip Breakfast
The results of a recently completed study indicate that omitting breakfast causes metabolic shifts in insulin sensitivity that result in greater food consumption, higher cholesterol concentrations, and a greater risk for fat gain. The risk of onset of type 2 diabetes is also raised.
Skipping breakfast may put you on the fast track to bodyweight gain and heart disease, according to a new study. Researchers found that healthy people who skipped breakfast for two weeks ate more during the rest of the day, developed higher "bad" LDL cholesterol levels, and were less sensitive to insulin than those who ate breakfast every day. High LDL cholesterol levels and impaired insulin sensitivity are both major risk factors for heart disease.
Researchers say skipping breakfast has become more common in recent years, perhaps due to efforts to drop fat or time pressures in the morning. But at the same time, the prevalence of obesity and overweight has also dramatically increased.
Eat Breakfast, Eat Less Later
In the study, which appears in a recent issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers examined the effects of eating or skipping breakfast on calories eaten and burned throughout the day as well as circulating insulin, glucose, and cholesterol levels in 10 healthy women of normal bodyweight.
For two weeks, the subjects ate a breakfast consisting of a bowl of whole-grain cereal with 2% milk between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. and then had a midmorning snack of a protein bar between 10:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
The subjects then ate two additional meals and snacks at predetermined times every day and kept records of what they ate. After a two-week break, the same subjects then followed the same protocol but skipped the early morning meal and had the cereal
at lunch time (between noon and 12:30 p.m.). They then ate the other two meals and snacks at the predetermined times for another two weeks.
The results showed that when they ate breakfast, they ate about 100 fewer calories a day (an average of 1,665 calories a day vs. 1,756 calories a day over a three-day measurement period). Over a one-year period this is equivalent to preventing a 10-pound gain.
In addition, the results show that the negative effects of skipping breakfast on cholesterol and insulin levels may also increase the risk of heart disease and diabetes over time.
The results of a recently completed study indicate that omitting breakfast causes metabolic shifts in insulin sensitivity that result in greater food consumption, higher cholesterol concentrations, and a greater risk for fat gain. The risk of onset of type 2 diabetes is also raised.
Skipping breakfast may put you on the fast track to bodyweight gain and heart disease, according to a new study. Researchers found that healthy people who skipped breakfast for two weeks ate more during the rest of the day, developed higher "bad" LDL cholesterol levels, and were less sensitive to insulin than those who ate breakfast every day. High LDL cholesterol levels and impaired insulin sensitivity are both major risk factors for heart disease.
Researchers say skipping breakfast has become more common in recent years, perhaps due to efforts to drop fat or time pressures in the morning. But at the same time, the prevalence of obesity and overweight has also dramatically increased.
Eat Breakfast, Eat Less Later
In the study, which appears in a recent issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers examined the effects of eating or skipping breakfast on calories eaten and burned throughout the day as well as circulating insulin, glucose, and cholesterol levels in 10 healthy women of normal bodyweight.
For two weeks, the subjects ate a breakfast consisting of a bowl of whole-grain cereal with 2% milk between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. and then had a midmorning snack of a protein bar between 10:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
The subjects then ate two additional meals and snacks at predetermined times every day and kept records of what they ate. After a two-week break, the same subjects then followed the same protocol but skipped the early morning meal and had the cereal
at lunch time (between noon and 12:30 p.m.). They then ate the other two meals and snacks at the predetermined times for another two weeks.
The results showed that when they ate breakfast, they ate about 100 fewer calories a day (an average of 1,665 calories a day vs. 1,756 calories a day over a three-day measurement period). Over a one-year period this is equivalent to preventing a 10-pound gain.
In addition, the results show that the negative effects of skipping breakfast on cholesterol and insulin levels may also increase the risk of heart disease and diabetes over time.
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