Can You Help Asthma by Eating Healthy?
I was having a conversation with my sister the other night, and it seemed to move her into action. Maybe it will motivate you too. You see, at one point my daughter was pronounced asthma free.
You can put your asthma into remission with healthy eating. I’d love to be able to say you could cure it, but the fact is – if you slip off the wagon and start eating badly, your asthma will come back. That’s the lesson I’ve learned from both my daughter, and my best friend.
When my daughter was small, I was a hard working single mom, and I could not afford a lot of sick days and medications.
But she had been a preemie and was prone to respiratory infections, especially in the cold of winter. You could almost mark on the calendar when she was going to be sick. One year in particular she gave me quite a scare, and I decided it was time to get serious.
She had been out in the snow playing for hours – having a good time. Her airways constricted badly. It took a good month before she was really healthy again. I was very scared.
From that point on, I made it a point to make sure that she got at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, and all of the vitamins she needed. We cut out hot dogs, and cut down on kids favorite fast foods, and mac & cheese.
The next winter, she got sick, but not sick enough to require a doctor. We didn’t go to the doctor for a couple of years until she needed a school checkup. He was very impressed with her progress.
When my ex-husbands insurance coverage was changing, the insurance company raised a question about my daughter’s medical history. The doctor reported that she had not had any episodes or needed inhalers for over 2 years, and in his opinion was asthma free. We all believed that.
In the trials and tribulations of joint custody – my daughter decided she wanted to live at her dad’s for high school (which could be the subject of another book). I was now the fun time parent. They have control over her day to day living experience.
Over the next couple of years, she got sicker and sicker.
Over there, they don’t believe in fruits and vegetables. They believe in doctors and meds. She has all kinds of prescription meds, inhalers, sinus washes… It makes me sick. I make sure she eats healthy when she’s here, but it’s not enough.
And she wants to eat healthy. She likes fruits and vegetables and fresh food. Its what she was raised on.
But they eat things like hamburger helper, and prepared burgers, and lots of potatoes and gravies. And they all get sicker.
I have fought for the last couple of years to get her back on her vitamins. They don’t believe in vitamins. Finally they reluctantly let her take the vitamins that I have been providing. They have improved their vegetable intake some. Not enough, but any little bit helps. And she’s old enough now where she has more control over what she eats especially when she’s out.
As the years have gone by, my daughter has been on a health roller coaster. Now she has come to the realization that she needs to eat right and take care of her body.
How many illnesses are you suffering from needlessly? How many of your health problems could be improved? How much better could you feel every day of your life?
Its important to remember that you have to eat reasonably healthy all of the time if you want to stay healthy. You cannot start and stop.
I can always tell when my friend has fallen off the wagon without her admitting it. She gets sick more often, and her daughter acts out. Its a dead give-away.
Don’t fool yourself, and don’t try to fool me 😉