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| Home > Living With Asthma > Daily Life > Asthma, Diet, and Exercise |
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Don't ever expect a food fad to cure your asthma. There is no "asthma diet." The only proven way to treat asthma is to follow the daily treatment plan your healthcare professional prescribes.
Drink adequate fluids and eat well-balanced meals. That means eating the proper number of servings in each of the 5 food groups. Your healthcare professional can give you information about the foods in each group and the suggested daily requirements.
Do not drink beer or wine or eat shrimp, dried fruit, processed potatoes, or other foods if they cause asthma symptoms.
For many years, it was believed that people with asthma should not or could not exercise. Asthma symptoms during exercise usually occur within a few minutes after stopping exercise. The episode usually reaches its peak of severity about 5 to 10 minutes after strong exercise and may continue for another 20 to 50 minutes. If you have exercise-induced asthma, exercise is your only asthma trigger. If you have persistent asthma, exercise may be one of many asthma triggers.
If left untreated, asthma can prevent you from participating in the activities you enjoy. While an episode may last only a few minutes, it is still a frightening experience and may cause you to put unnecessary limits on your activities.
With your healthcare professional's direction, start slowly and work up to longer exercise periods. Your exercise can be as simple as a walk around your neighborhood or a swim in a pool. The most important thing about exercise is making it a regular part of your life.
Remember, talk to your healthcare professional before starting an exercise program. It is important that your healthcare professional knows the symptoms you develop when you exercise in order to select the best exercise plan for you, and to develop an Asthma Action Plan. For instance, your healthcare professional may change your medicines or add a medicine for you to take just before exercise.
Exercise tips
Choose activities you enjoy. If you enjoy what you're doing when you exercise, you're a lot less likely to get bored and quit. People with asthma often do well with activities like walking and swimming. Exercising with a friend will also keep you motivated.
Take your medications. The medications your healthcare professional has prescribed for you can help prevent asthma symptoms from occurring when you exercise. If you are having problems with asthma symptoms during exercise, let your healthcare professional know right away.
Warm up before you begin. A warm-up period increases the flow of blood to the muscles and helps to prevent injury. It can also help make a flare-up of asthma symptoms less likely. To warm up, walk at a slow pace for 5 to 10 minutes and then stretch your muscles.
Cool down when you are finished. The cool-down period allows your body (including your lungs) to adjust to temperature changes, thereby decreasing the risk that your asthma symptoms will flare up. Do a 10-minute cool-down and include stretching to improve your flexibility. If your asthma symptoms get worse during the cool-down period, it is important that you follow your healthcare professional's instructions immediately, rather than taking the time to finish the cool-down exercises.
Follow your written Asthma Action Plan. Make sure you know exactly what to do if you develop asthma symptoms during or after you exercise. Ask your healthcare professional to write down what medicine(s) or actions to take as part of your written Asthma Action Plan. Keep a copy of the plan and your quick-relief inhaler with you while exercising.
Set goals. Set exercise goals you can reach. Reaching a goal will give you a sense of accomplishment. Once you've reached your goal, reward yourself. You deserve it!
Pace yourself. Don't overdo it. If you can't carry on a conversation during your exercise session, you're probably working too hard. If you're not feeling well or your asthma symptoms are worse than usual, take the day off. Start back slowly when you are feeling better, and work yourself back to your previous exercise level over several days or weeks.
Asthma and exercise can go hand in hand. But remember: always talk to your healthcare professional before starting any exercise program.
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