Allergies, Asthma, and Other Problems

The use of antibiotics in early childhood is also a contributor to the increasing incidence of allergies, asthma, and other problems. Medical studies have already linked a significant increased incidence of asthma, hay fever, and eczema to those receiving multiple antibiotic prescriptions early in childhood, especially in the first years of life. A recent study involving more than 7,500 children showed that the number of ear infections earlier in life predicted the incidence of asthma down the road. Children with a history of receiving multiple courses of antibiotics for ear infections were associated with higher parental education, likely reflecting greater access to medical care, where their children are routinely given antibiotics. The risk of wheezing and asthma as the number of antibiotic prescriptions given went up.

– Disease-Proof Your Child (2005) by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, M.D.; page 55

Asthma is an inflammatory disorder of the lungs that has skyrocketed in incidence and mortality worldwide in recent years, doubling within the last thirty years in children. Suffering and deaths continue to rise in spite of declines in air pollution. An amazing 16% of children develop asthma, according to a 2001 survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Allergies and asthma are often a reaction to inhaling irritating substances such as pollen, house dust, and cat hair, or the hyperreactivity of the airways may be triggered by infections, chemical irritants, exercise, and even emotions. In virtually every case, there is an underlying abnormality — an excessive irritability of the airways that leads to inflammation and narrowing of the airways.

It is always prudent to avoid and remove things that are known to trigger a reaction in a sensitive child, but what is more important, but rarely even considered, is why an individual is so hypersensitive or allergic to being with. Learning why a person has allergies or asthma makes it possible to take steps to improve and reverse this common chronic condition.

The occurrence of asthma and allergies is also related to lifestyle factors and dietary patterns. Genetics play a role, but not the major role. Children’s…growing bodies are more malleable than that of adults, making it easier to achieve dramatic recoveries from serious diseases such as asthma when a program of superior nutrition is adopted.

Certainly, living in an urban area around pollution is an important contributor. Nondietary risk factors include exposure to day care before four months of age, and expsoure to wood smoke, oil smoke, or exhaust anytime from birth to age five all increased asthma risk by 50%. But nutritional influences are also powerfully linked and appear again and again in multiple scientific studies. One important risk for the development of allergies and asthma is lack of breast-feeding and high dietary ratio of omega-6 fatty acids to omega-3 fatty acids. Animal products (except for fish) are deficient in omega-3 fatty acids, while flax seeds and walnuts are rich plant sources of omega-3 fats. This same inadequate dietary fatty acid pattern in the mother’s diet during pregnancy has also been shown in scientific trials to beget a higher number of allergic and asthmatic children.

Eating protein-rich and fat-rich foods of animal origin — meat, cheese, fried food, and saturated fat — is associated with a higher prevalence of both allergies and asthma. Eating in fast food restaurants and eating a lower intake of vegetables and other fiber-rich foods has been implicated by numerous studies. The same studies also show that the children in the lowest third of vitamin E intake were found to have three times the incidence of asthma compared to those children in the highest third of vitamin E intake. Vitamin E is found in animal products. The consumption of white bread, butter, and margarine has also been noted to be strongly associated with asthmatic symptoms.

The same pattern emerges. What is needed to battle the development of asthma and allergies is the same adequate intake of omega-3 fat as well as a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. Eating high antioxidant- and phytochemical- containing foods is related to lower occurrence of childhood allergies and asthma. Nutritional excellence can normalize an excessive inflammatory response. The inflammatory cascade releases chemicals that attract white blood cells and fluid into the area, which results in the tightness and swelling that create the symptoms of asthma. When nutrient intake is low, the lung tissues become overly sensitive to irritating stimuli.

Jonathan was an eight-year old third-grader who developed asthma when he started first grade two years earlier. He was seen by his pediatrician and given a nebulizer, and later inhaled steroids, to deal with recurrent episodes of wheezing and the inability to exercise and play without fatigue and breathing difficulties. Jonathan was an excellent student and was keenly interested in learning how what he ate effected his health and his breathing problem. At the initial visit to my office, Jonathan was instructed on using a spacer with an inhaler and he was taken off his three times a day nebulizer treatments. I told him his recovery hinged n the amount of green vegetables he was capable of eating. He was more than cooperative. This 8 year old said to me, “I will eat dirt if you can fix my breathing.” So I said, “How about if I give you great-tasting real food to fix your asthma? You can be a lot better within a year.” Jonathan is now in fourth grade. It took about eight months until he no longer required any medication. He is now the picture of health and uses no inhalers or other asthma medications.

My experience working with asthmatic children has demonstrated that nutritional excellence enables the asthma to resolve in a predictable time frame and can routinely resolve even in cases when the allergies and asthma could be considered severe.

Dietary Guidelines for Children with Allergies and Asthma

• A high-nutrient, vegetable-nut-fruit-based diet
• One tablespoon of ground flax seeds daily
• At least one ounce of raw walnuts daily, with the addition of other raw nuts
• DHA supplement, 100-400 mg daily
• Multivitamin without vitamin A or isolated beta-carotene
• No processed foods, dairy fat, or trans fat
• Little or no oils; essential fats are supplied from raw nuts and seeds and DHA supplementation
• Avoidance of known allergens

–Disease-Proof Your Child (2005) by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, M.D.; pages 62 – 66

More on this topic can be found in Disease-Proof Your Child.

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The information contained throughout this blog / website should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your pediatrician / physician.