What You Eat Affects Asthma?

These bodies of ours are pretty complicated and it’s hard to keep them balanced.

Did you know that having low levels of Vitamin D can affect your asthma?!

In the Journal of Family & Community Medicine, they have a report about asthma and Vitamin D called “The Impact of Vitamin D deficiency on asthma, allergic rhinitis and wheezing in children: An emerging public health problem.” Vitamin D and asthma
The study found that many children with asthma and allergies had low Vitamin D levels. They also found that Vitamin D protects children against viral infections and asthma attacks.

They say that low Vitamin D levels are very common – even in sunny areas of the world.

So, do we just have to go out in the sun to make our asthma better? Or prevent asthma in the first place? It may not be that easy.

There are many other things that cause asthma. And sometimes they don’t know what causes asthma!

In our family, asthma is hereditary......I apologize to my kids! I have asthma, as do many of my relatives. Hubby’s side of the family also has many family members with asthma. So, what did we do? We got married and passed that gene on to our kids! Wish I could have passed on something better to my kids (like long legs), but no luck there!

Before you start to worry, you should find out IF you have low Vitamin D levels. A simple blood test can help your doctor find your Vitamin D level and he or she will know how to help you.

Sun and Vitamin D

But, back to our study about low Vitamin D levels. The sun can be a two-edged sword – too little and you can have low Vitamin D levels. Too much and you can get skin cancer.

We are very careful about sun exposure in our family because Hubby and 2 of my kids have pale skin, strawberry blond hair, and blue eyes. All of those things can increase your risk of skin cancer. Hubby has already had 2 skin cancer spots removed, which means I get to pester my family even MORE about wearing sunscreen. What's a mom to do if she can't worry about her kid's health?!

If you don’t want to rely on the sun to get Vitamin D, what else can you do?

Well, you can find Vitamin D in milk and cereal.  Two great food combinations! Cereals are fortified with Vitamin D and others vitamins and minerals. So, if you love cereal for breakfast, it may help to get your Vitamin D that way.

Keep an eye on your asthma and ask your doctor about anything he may want to check at your annual exam. Mine usually does a blood test to check all of your levels (cholesterol, Vitamin D, iron level, etc.)

Let's keep these bodies going and our lungs breathing!