Diet For Asthma Patients

Introduction

Asthma is a common inflammatory condition of the airways causing obstruction in breathing processes and bronchospasm. The patient of asthma feels trouble in moving air in and out of the lungs and triggers symptoms like shortness of breath, tightness in chest, wheezing and coughing. In Ayurveda, Asthma is mentioned in “Pranavaha Srotas Vikara ” as Swasa is a common lung disorder causing difficulty in regular breathing. Any person of any age can get affected by this disease and more often starts at childhood.

Causes

Asthma is mainly developed due to an imbalance of Kapha and Vata dosha. Whenever there is any disturbance in these doshas, asthma begins to develop and triggered by several other factors including:

Allergic conditions
Hay fever
Excess smoking
Infection like cold and flu
Obesity
Respiratory illness
Exercise
Exposure to pollutants

Diet for Asthma

Early morning– A glass of water + fenugreek seeds
Breakfast– Veg Oats/ Veg Idli/ Veg Poha/ Veg Vermicelli/ Veg Upma/ Broken wheat porridge (Khichdi)/ Veg Dalia/ Missi Roti/ Chapati with Vegetable or Dal/ 1 egg white
Mid-morning– Coconut water/ Vegetable juice/ Fruit
Lunch– Chapati with Vegetable/ Dal + Salad
Evening– Green tea/ Herbal tea/ Homemade soup/ Rice flake snack/ Roasted Chickpea/ Sprouts
Dinner– Chapati with Vegetable/ Dal + Salad

Foods to Follow

Cereals like Whole Wheat, Whole grains, Oats, Porridge
Fruits like pomegranate, muskmelon, watermelon, papaya, sugarcane, pear and apple
Vegetables including ginger, garlic, beans, bitter gourd, round gourd, bottle gourd, broccoli, peas, carrot, radish and cauliflower
Pulses can be consumed of all types except some
No dairy or milk-made products
Spices such as garlic, pepper, fennel, fenugreek, coriander, cumin and turmeric
Drinks such as bitter gourd juice, pumpkin juice, beetroot juice, herbal tea, sugarcane juice, clear soups and coconut water
Flesh foods consisting only white portion of egg in limited quantity
Seeds and dry fruits including flaxseeds, sunflower seeds, walnut, raisins, almonds
Cow ghee, mustard oil, olive oil, canola oil and sunflower oil
Consume homemade foods only

Foods to Avoid

Cereals like White rice, Refined sugar, Whole refined flour and its products
Fruits including all citrus fruits, dried fruits, berries, grapes, oranges, peaches and apricots
Vegetables including onion, cabbage, mushroom, taro roots, potato, beans, eggplant, okra, all packed and canned vegetables
Vegetables including onion, cabbage, mushroom, taro roots, potato, beans, eggplant, okra, all packed and canned vegetables
All milk and dairy products, cheese, condensed milk and buttermilk
Spices such as cloves, red chilli and green chilli
Drinks including Alcohol, processed and canned food, coffee, tea and junk food
Avoid all types of flesh foods
Cashew nuts, peanuts, pistachios and brazil nuts
Oils such as coconut oil, palm oil, cream, butter and hydrogenated oil
Avoid all bakery products, chocolate, pastries, patties, coconut bar, sauces, junk foods, fruit jellies, jams, refined sugar, pickle, ice-cream, or any prepared foods.