some time ago i decided to go vegan and give up meat, mainly for my fitness and diet and looking at more healthy options.
Going vegan is the best thing i have ever done, not only has my health improved and i eat so much better, literally from the day i gave up eating meat, my asthma as improved so much, i hardly take any meds now where i used to take loads and my asthma has just about gone.
There was a bit in the news today to where scientists reckon they have found a link between eating meat and asthma triggers.
Thought i would pass this on, might help someone. No more asthma, get in.
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Thompson_2009
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Yes it was which is something i never eat, but there was not much about it on the news, but i still think there is a link as when i stopped eating meat, my asthma improved straightaway and training was where i noticed it the most. I also spoke to a consultant about it and she said that meats can cause triggers.
For some people perhaps, but not for all. It's great that your condition has improved so much, but asthma is a condition that varies considerably from individual to individual and what acts as a trigger for one person won't necesssarily do the same for another.
Some years ago I decided to give up meat for Lent. I can assure you it made no difference to my asthma. My younger son, who was often very unwell with asthma as a small child, now rarely needs to use his inhalers - but not because he went vegan, he didn't even go vegetarian.
Concerning the report Lakelover is right - it concerned processed meat, not meat in general. And I believe that other experts on asthma are saying that more work needs to be done on this, rather than confirming that it may be a probable cause.
Incidentally, I have to be careful with some processed meat; the reason, my system finds some processed meats quite difficult to digest (some of them are quite fatty, and if they are fried that makes things worse) and I can end up with heartburn as a result of it. Heartburn is often as a result of reflux (the two very often go hand in hand with me), and it is known that reflux can cause asthma like symptoms. I've had that happen to me as well in the past.
As I said, it's great that it appears to have helped you so much, but it is risky to assume that just because it has worked for you, it will work for everyone:-).
Nowhere does Thompson 'assume' it will work for others. He clearly says it 'might', therefore helpful to pass on, even it helps one person and asides to the asthma aspect, there is no denying the potential benefits of a vegan diet for many people
It is not actually stated. However, look at the phrasing used: "Thought it might help someone else", "No more asthma, get in", "...spoke to a consultant about it and she said that meats can cause triggers". To me, that does come across as assuming that as it has worked for Thompson it could work for others.
But I think what concerned me most was how a report on processed meat got switched to meat in general. However, I will admit that my original response to this may have come across as a little aggressive and for that I apologise.
I think it is useful to others, thank you for sharing. When you are first diagnosed it's a mine field trying to figure out what your triggers are, this may be one that people won't think about. Glad to hear your asthma has gone hope it stays that way for you.
There is a very interesting article on this on an NHS website which explain the research in more detail:
It was interesting about process meat study not big enough to really confirm the idea of this. Personally I dont eat process meat but thats because of another condition intersial cystics
I agree with other what works for one doesnt work for other all asthma triggers are individual.
Thanks for the orginal post always interesting to read.
My daughter has been vegetarian since childhood. She is now in her thirties. Though her asthma is better than it was when she was a child her diet hasn't cured anything. I, on the other hand, eventually struggled with being vegetarian (for about 15 years) due to my ibs.
For us asthma is in tha family and travels down the generations.
Not sure about meat coz I've been a vegetarian for years, for me cutting out processed food (or as much as I can) has made a difference. Not so much with day to day asthma niggles but far fewer sudden scarey asthma flare ups. For me I think it is sulfites that cause problems. It's tricky with asthma being so different for all of us.
Hope everyone is as well as possible over Christmas xxx
I became a vegetarian some 35 years ago, sorry but cannot give up my eggs and cheese. I am so pleased to hear it has helped your asthma. I became asthmatic ,3 years ago about. I have found that if I have a smoothie daily and a vitamin d tablet that seems to help me. I make my own smoothies and always include raw kale they land up looking like green slime but taste ok
Hi I am a bit confused. A vegetarian is someone who gives up eating meat and fish. A pescatarian is someone who eats fish but not meat. A vegan doesn't eat meat, fish, eggs, drink milk or any animal products and by products at all. I am a pescatarian and haven't eaten meat since I was 16 - 46 years ago now. I still got asthma in my 30's.
If you still eat fish you will be ok, but any of the others, especially vegan, you will need to take vitamin B12 every day. x
You get all the vitamins you need in a vegan diet, I have allergic asthma and have had every test imaginable over the years. I gave up eating meat not for asthma reasons, but when I did my asthma improved drastically very quickly. I have dropped my meds 3 quarters and not needed my blue inhaler since. No more meat for me.
All the best.
Yes, you did have a similar (note 'similar') reaction, but in your case you were aggrieved because, if I recall correctly, a document you had sent to a university concerning your theory had not elicited any response from that establishment. My initial response to you attempted, actually quite gently, to explain why. If people wish to click on your icon and check out the posting I responded to (and my response) I am more than happy for them to do so.
I have had asthma for over fifty years - for the first five of those years I was undiagnosed (not unusual in the 1960s). In that time I have seen many suggestions put forward for 'this causes asthma', 'this helps with asthma' and on every single occasion I have been able to say "so why didn't it help me?" Or "no, that doesn't always apply. I know at least one asthmatic where that doesn't follow."
The reality is this: biology (including human biology) is not a precise or exact science in the way a subject such as physics is. In any given living species there will be variation: that is how natural selection and evolution occurs. It is almost certainly true that no two human beings are exactly the same - even in the case of identical twins, because it is not unlikely that one will have a genetic mutation somewhere in their makeup that the other does not have even if it is difficult to tell them apart. And then you also have to take into consideration the impact of different nurturing situations: location of habitat, diet, illness, etc.
Given all that, it is not perhaps surprising that some medical conditions have variation as well; note the use of the word 'some'; Asthma is not unique in this. Different physiologies, different dwellings, different work situations, different lifestyle choices etc. - all can have an impact on a given medical condition. The basic condition of asthma is the same for all of us: those of us who suffer from the condition have an inflammatory response that affects our airways. However, because we are all different - physiologically, environmentally, etc. - the things that trigger that response can, though not always, differ markedly. Likewise, not all asthmatics will respond well to a given medical treatment: some will do so, some will not.
Apologies for the length of this explanation, but perhaps it might help to explain why I sometimes respond as I do. Usually, if a medical advancement (or any scientific discovery come to that) is reported in the media the chances are very high that it is going to be simplifed or generalised in a way that makes it easier for the general population to understand. With any such report concerning asthma I will usually check it out in more detail - as I did with this one. I did post a link which explains it in more detail further down: I do recommend that others on this site read it.
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I fully agree Hidden . The causes of asthma are very complex and differ from person to person. I've been quite severely asthmatic since infancy (the 1950s.) During my school years asthmatics got very little sympathy as it was thought to be "all in the mind" (thank god that theory's been rubbished.) As an adult I've worn all the dietary t-shirts - became a vegetarian for 5 years, gave up dairy, wheat etc. None made the slightest difference, in fact as a veggie I was more prone to chest infections. If one person's asthma is improved by dietary measures, good for them for finding a nice easy solution. For most severe asthmatics though, it's just not that simple.
Lots of interesting replies on this subject, these days there are so many things that can cause this disease and I think the healthier your diet and lifestyle the lower the risk, but sometimes asthma will strike anyway and you can't stop it. I have had a few near death ones in the past. Look after yourself people, keep fit and healthy, it does help. All the best.
Hi murphy. My asthma is mainly the result of years of going untreated in the 50s & early 60s, before any effective treatment came along. This caused permanent damage, resulting in over-sensitive airways, as it did to others of my generation (I'm 64) - tho asthma was uncommon then. It's not the same as the allergic-type which is more prevalent nowadays. It's definitely nothing to do with food allergies. But thank you for your interest.
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