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Fast Food Appears to Cause Asthma in Children

Jill Ettinger — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 09:38:20 +0000

While many people are accused of "inhaling" their food—particularly the junky-fast kind, new research says that may become more difficult, especially for children who appear to be developing asthma as a result of eating fast food.

Have You Left the City Lately? Nature Deficiency Linked to Allergies

Jill Ettinger — Fri, 11 May 2012 07:00:24 +0000

If you're reading this on a computer inside an office, you may want to step outside… and find a tree to sit under. While the modern city provides many necessities of contemporary living, it may be making us sick. And it's not pollution that's the (main) cause either: A recent study published in the May issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests the sprawl of urban environments may be to blame for the rise in cases of allergies and asthma.

Caffeine Aids People with Exercise-Induced Asthma

Barbara Feiner — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:56:53 +0000

People with asthma have an 80% chance of experiencing exercised-induced asthma (EIA), an acute narrowing of the airway that causes difficulty in breathing.

About 10% of elite athletes, as well as 10% of the general population, are also afflicted with EIA, even if they’re not asthmatics.

The condition is usually treated with albuterol, an inhaler-dispensed medication that opens the airway and increases air flow to the lungs.

In a recent study, Indiana University researchers have discovered that ingestion of a large dose of caffeine—9 mg per kilogram of body weight—within an hour of exercise can reduce EIA symptoms. Smaller dosages of 3 to 6 mg caffeine per kilogram of body weight also reduced EIA symptoms like wheezing and coughing.

For someone weighing 150 pounds, 3 to 9 mg caffeine per kilogram of body weight equals around 205 to 610 mg of caffeine. As a reference, one cup of coffee contains 80 to 135 mg caffeine.

No additional benefit was noted when caffeine was combined with an albuterol inhaler, according to study coinvestigator Timothy Mickleborough, PhD, an IU associate professor of kinesiology.

He and his colleagues have also found that a diet high in fish oil and antioxidants and low in salt has the potential to reduce EIA severity and possibly decrease the need for drug therapy.

For Your Organic Bookshelf: Exercising Safely with Exercise-Induced Asthma