0 Fast food diet linked to asthma and eczema severity in kids

Fast Food Diet Linked to Asthma and Eczema Severity in Kids, Large Study Finds


Eating three or more weekly servings of fast food is linked to the severity of allergic asthma, eczema, and rhinitis among children in the developed world, indicates a large international study published online in the respiratory journal Thorax.

The findings prompt the authors to suggest that a fast food diet may be contributing to the rise in these conditions, and if proved causal, could have huge implications for public health, given the popularity of these foodstuffs.

The authors base their findings on data from more than 319,000 13-14 year olds from 107 centres in 51 countries, and more than181,000 six to seven year olds from 64 centres in 31 countries.

All the participants were involved in the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC), which is a collaborative research project involving more than 100 countries and nearly two million children, making it the largest study of its kind.

The teens and the childrens parents were formally quizzed on whether they had symptoms of asthma (wheeze); rhinoconjunctivitis (which produces a runny or blocked nose accompanied by itchy and watery eyes); and eczema; and their weekly diet.

Questions focused particularly on the severity of symptoms over the preceding 12 months -- including frequency and interference with daily life and/or sleep patterns -- and certain types of food already linked to protective or damaging effects on health

These included meat, fish, fruits and vegetables, pulses, cereals, bread and pasta, rice, butter, margarine, nuts, potatoes, milk, eggs, and fast food/burgers. Consumption was categorised as never; occasionally; once or twice a week; and three or more times a week.

After taking account of factors likely to influence the results, the analysis showed that fast food was the only food type to show the same associations across both age groups, prompting the authors to suggest that "such consistency adds some weight to the possible causality of the relationship."

It was associated with current and severe symptoms of all three conditions among the teens -- across all centres in the participating countries, irrespective of gender or levels of affluence.

The pattern among children was less clear-cut, but a fast food diet was still associated with symptoms across all centres -- except for current eczema -- and poorer countries -- except for current and severe asthma.

And this difference might have to do with the fact that children have fewer options about their food choices, suggest the authors.

Three or more weekly servings were linked to a 39% increased risk of severe asthma among teens and a 27% increased risk among children, as well as to the severity of rhinitis and eczema, overall.

On the other hand, fruit seemed to be protective in both age groups across all centres for all three conditions among children -- both current and severe -- and for current and severe wheeze and rhinitis among the teens.

Eating three or more weekly portions was linked to a reduction in symptom severity of between 11% and 14% among teens and children, respectively.

The authors suggest that there are plausible explanations for the findings: fast food contains high levels of saturated and trans fatty acids, which are known to affect immunity, while fruit is rich in antioxidants and other beneficial compounds.

The authors emphasise that their results do not prove cause and effect, but they do warrant further investigation.

"If the associations between fast foods and the symptom prevalence of asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema is causal, then the findings have major public health significance owing to the rising consumption of fast foods globally," they conclude.

0 What is Asthma

Asthma is an allergic condition when the bodys abnormal reaction to a substance such as mold, pollen, animal dander, chemicals, fumes, perfumes, certain foods or drugs. Germs in the nose and throat may also, cause asthma attacks.

When asthma from childhood, usually caused by food, but when attacked in late childhood or early adolescence and adults, asthma is usually caused by pollen, dust, chemicals. And if more than 45 years, asthma is often caused by infection. Sometimes, patients with heart attacks get asthma attacks are similar, but not the actual asthma.

Attacks more often if a patient feels tired or got great emotional stress, even iklimpun changes may also trigger attacks. During intense pressure, some air pipes clogged by thick mucus. This can lead to difficulty breathing and loud voice. As a result, air bubbles spread wide and a few broken walls. In the great attack, bleeding can also occur in the air bubbles in the lungs.

Asthma may develop gradually during attacks of inflammation of the throat or start suddenly when someone gets stimulus substances. First, one has a strong feeling in the chest. This sense subside within 1-2 hours or continuously for hours or days. Finally, the attack suddenly produce thick mucus and open airways.

To keep the remained well, patients with asthma should stay calm and do not reveal too much sense as it makes them more difficult to breathe. Inhalation aerosol is very useful during an asthma attack, including they must avoid colds / flu and cold.

In another view, Normalization PENNASIA stated that asthma occurs because the lungs can not function and maximal developed for wrapping enlargement of the lungs (pleura), so that the outward expansion was blocked by the chest and back and just wrapping the lungs are pressed into the head the lungs, eventually lung development can not be charging the maximum and reduced oxygen.

Enlargement or swelling of the lungs wrapping from spasticity ribs, exactly in the major or minor chest and causing the supply of fluid in the lungs wrapping blocked. Because of this lack of fluids, touch and wrapping lungs lungs in each breath causing bruising and swelling.

Another cause is the decreased elasticity in the diaphragm that limits the chest and abdomen and the main muscles in the respiratory process. Theore, hardening in this section is really disturbing expansion to the abdomen. Sometimes, people with asthma also have a complaint on his stomach as heartburn harden and feel pain when being pressed.

For chronic sufferers, asthma can cause lematian because of spasms in the neck. Breath that often causes neck spasms, even when the asthma attack, strangling the neck into spasm and respiratory tract and breathing stop include the supply of oxygen to the brain and throughout the body also stopped. Death came after it was due to the condition.

Of some cases, asthma can not be determined in a single location, such as in the chest, but also in the shoulder or in the abdomen. Abnormalities between one location to another has a timbale-forth relationship. For example, asthma can start from abnormalities in the chest at first and then lead to relapse with abnormalities in the stomach.

The people with asthma will experience more miserable if they are on your back because of chest parallel to the abdominal organs and lungs pressing down. Hinge ribs on the back too depressed and difficult to grow, so wrapping that surrounds the lungs will be more pressure and cause great pain. For good sleep, his position sitting on a chair and head resting on the pillow that is on the table. In addition, the bowed head is still useful because it helps the lungs to expand into the stomach when the trachea stretched down and make room for the lungs to expand when focused abdominal organs down.

For the prevention of asthma, one should avoid sneezing-coughing ataubatuk in the long term, jobs are tough, haste conditions, inadequate food, cold drinks, dirty air, cold air continuously and so on.

0 Natural Home Remedies Asthma

Causes of Symptoms: Asthma is a disorder of the respiratory system characterized by severe paroxysms of difficult breathing. The onset of an attack is sudden, though the patient starts feeling uneasy, drowsy and irritable a little before the difficulty of breathing starts. Respiration becomes difficult and the breath comes with a wheezing and sometimes whistling sound. The general belief is that asthma is a chronic disease and that once gotten continues to dog its victim till the day he dies.

In fact, asthma is caused by excess of phlegm and the inability of the body to expel it. If the patient gives up foods which tend to increase the phlegm, e.g., rice, flour passed through a sieve, sugar, lentils, milk and curds, he can find relief. He should be put on foods, which discourages phlegm, such as green vegetables, fruits, and the like. That would tend to reduce the amount of phlegm present in the body and the disease will leave him. Unfortunately, under the false impression that asthma being a weakening diseases, the patients are fed on high protein diets like meat, fish, milk and milk products and fats and that makes their condition worse.

Treatment: An asthma patient must select foods, which help contain the amount of phlegm in the body. For breakfast he should take food like orange, tomato, papaya, guava, mango and rose apple and vegetables like carrots. His dinner and lunch should consist of boiled vegetables. His bath is recommended in the morning and evening to perk up his digestive powers. Taking a walk is also recommended, if jogging is beyond the capacity o the patient.

Asthma, particularly when its attack is severe, tends to destroy the appetite of the patient. He should not be forced to eat. He should keep fasting till the attack is over. The only thing he should take is a cup of warm water every two hours. An enema taken at that time would be doubly beneficial. If this regimen is followed, the attack will not last for more than 36 hours and its virulence in case of a recurrence would be very much less.

An asthma patient should regularly fast one a week and takes an enema the morning after the fast to clear his bowels. If he is unable to fast regularly, he must not hesitate to stop eating the moment the attack comes. A fortnight after the treatment has been started the patient can take cows unboiled milk or curd with a breakfast of fruit. The sufferers from this disease should be extremely careful in his eating habits. He must never overeat. The amount of food taken at one time should be so measured that he must feel extremely hungry at the time of the next meal. A salt-free diet would be the best.

At the onset of the attack, soaking of the feet in the warm water can relieve the agony to a large extent. A chest pack can also help, even though on application it may seem to aggravate the attach. The pack applied in the afternoon and immediately before sleep would do wonders. The main aim of natural treatment of asthma should be to augment the vital force of the body with the help of proper diet and a natural living in which clean water and sunshine play an important part.

Article source : Natural Home Remedies Asthma