At the end of the day, experts say that it all comes down to knowing what foods cause inflammation in your body by process of trial and elimination. “Really keeping those allergens out will keep the body in an anti-inflammatory state, and when the body is less inflamed you’re less likely to have an asthmatic response,” says Lund. “For example, I have a client with whom vinegar causes asthma. If he goes near any sort of vinegar he gets asthmatic.”
2. Acupuncture
Information on asthma and acupuncture is mixed. However, some believe that acupuncture has the ability to minimize symptoms associated with asthma.
“Because bronchospasms result from over-stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system, some traditional acupuncture points for ‘calming the spirit’ are widely used for asthma,” according to the Traditional Chinese Medicine Information Page. “Stimulation of these points can relieve both physical and emotional stress, possibly because they trigger the release of neurotransmitters in the brain. The patient can, therefore, experience both a physical release from his bronchial constriction, and also an emotional or psychological release from the fear of constriction and suffocation.”
And don’t think that these theories are without merit. In fact, experts will give you evidence to back this concept up.
Dr. Wei Lu writes that “researchers at Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine found that relieving asthma attacks by acupuncture is closely related to neuro-regulation of air passages…The systaltic function of the smooth muscles of the airways is regulated through the neuroendocrine center of the hypothalamus, and this function can be measurably affected by needling certain back shu points.”