Asthma is strongly linked to environmental irritants and allergens. It is often triggered by physical exertion.
Typical asthma triggers include smoke (tobacco, wood fires etc.), chemicals, pollen, dust and dust mites, mold, pet dander and cockroaches.
Here are hidden asthma factors that no one is talking about: wheat and gluten.
These foods are probably not direct asthma triggers for most people.
A surprising number of people may be experiencing asthma from wheat and gluten, but indirectly.
Some studies have show a link between gluten sensitivity and asthma. For example, children with asthma have a higher incidence of celiac, according to one study.
Other studies have shown that when some people eliminate wheat from their diet, their exercise-induced anaphylaxis symptoms stop.
Numerous reports and anecdotal stories are showing a strong link between wheat or gluten, and asthma.
A reaction to wheat and a reaction to gluten may be two different things. What they have in common, besides the high levels of gluten in wheat, is that they are common foods, nearly impossible to avoid.
Because they are likely to be in your diet on a multiple-times-per-day basis, and because their effects are delayed, as are the benefits when these foods are removed from your diet, it is unlikely that you would notice the connection between wheat or gluten, and asthma.
However, if you eliminate all gluten-containing foods for three to four weeks, you may notice a big improvement in your asthma symptoms. I sure hope you do. Please add a comment with your story after you have tried this.
Note that traditional allergy tests may come up negative for wheat and gluten.
There are several reasons why you should ignore the results of such tests and try eliminating gluten from your diet instead. This is of course the ultimate test.
For one thing, if you have celiac, you don’t have an allergy, you have a specific reaction to gluten in your gut. This is a very serious condition that can do tremendous damage over time. There are tests for celiac disease.
Another reason tests are not that accurate. They give false positives, false negatives, and may miss other immune reactions such as delayed food reactions, food sensitivities etc.
So forget the tests, if you have asthma, try a gluten-free diet, and see what happens.
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Just a follow-up from my previous message. I took my daughter to the Asthma Clinic a little over a week ago. The month before I was at the hospital for the cashew challenge and the nurse in the clinic said she should be taking 6 puffs of ventolin when she gets sick. (I only let her have 2 previously). So from then on she was taking it 5 times a day but now she was taking 6 puffs instead of 2 and it wasnt making any difference from taking the extra 4. (are you keeping up with me). They wouldnt do the challenge because she was wheezy. Then this time another allergy lady said “No, she should only be taking 2 puffs when she’s sick”. Gosh, do any of these people know what there talking about. Then I got to see the doctor, she just wanted me to put her on steriods and just treated me like an idiot, she said intal wouldnt help, that I was hurting her lungs by not fixing her asthma and that all the wheezing would really hurt her in the long run. When I mentioned that I never had any asthma relievers from 2-13yo and I had great lungs and Im 46 she didnt answer. When I asked what the steriod medication would do to her bone growth, she hesitated and then said if my daughter was constantly wheezing she wouldnt be able to exercise and that would affect her bone growth, she really avoided the answer to my question about the medication. My daughter does gymnastics and runs around with her friends and does sport even if she’s wheezing. She just takes her ventolin. The next day I went to my local doctor to get a perscription for intal forte and she said it’s not worth it but gave it to me anyway. I put her back on intal forte 2 puffs 4 times a day, she’s been on the gluten free diet for about 2 weeks and she takes 1/2 tsp of inner health power Acidophilus once a day, which I put in a small amount of orange juice. Wonder of wonders she has hardly had any ventolin in the last week. Maybe once a day if that, she has to take it. I will keep her on this regiment for about 7 months to see how she goes through change of seasons. I’ll let you know how she goes. But it is wonderful that she is not taking the ventolin 5 times a day (2 to 6 puffs each time). I do have to clean the intal containers every night, I just put them in a cup with boiling water to dislodge any powder and let them dry over night. You really need 2 going all the time, one for home and one for there lunchbag. When I got the prescription I was talking to the Chemist about intal and that I was on it when I was a kid and I grew out of the asthma and he said he had been on intal as well, I asked how his asthma was and he said he outgrew it. Coinsidence or what. I think they just want them on steriods so they stay on all this medication for ever so the pharmacutical companies make heaps of money. I was on another website where people wrote in about there asthma and they were all on steriods and most of the people where on at least 4 or 5 different kinds of medication per day. I was horrified just reading it. Everyone should at least give intal a go.
The medical industry’s tendency to rely on medication worries me too. Diseases are not caused by a deficiency in a patented medicine!
I hope you share your story with people on that other forum. Maybe you should send a few of them over here for some alternative reading!
Hi Allergy guy, I’m a bit confused and wondered if you’d have an opinion on my story. I have ulcerative colitis and asthma.
2007 – big bowel problem and ecoli poisoning lands me in hospital – along with all else, they tested for coeliac (blood test) and it came back positive. Wow – seemed to explain a lot. But then once I was an outpatient I had a gastroscopy that came back negative. Went back on the wheat.
2009 – not feeling great (depression/anxiety, ashma, UC, general lack of wellbeing), decided had to do something. Went gluten free. I was gluten free for a year and a half and did get some gains (sure less asthma was one of them and more even moods) but UC was still not great and I was stuck on immune suppressants from the big flare.
mid 2012 – read about the Specific Carbohydrate Diet and decided in an attempt to get better and get off the immune suppressants I’d give it a go. More even moods. Less asthma. Biggest gain was a strange one – a veruka city (literally covered a few inches of my foot – awful) completely disappeared within 3 months. I’d have the verukas for years and they’d been advancing. Now they were gone. Spurred on my that I kept on the SCD and I did manage to reduce my immune suppressants. Eventually I came off them but.
Mid 2011 – came off SCD when a situation happened that I couldn’t eat by the diet and once I’d tasted all the other stuff, man, craving city. But my stomach was fine! It was wonderful to have so many choices and eat like everyone else again, eat out and at people’s houses. But Now, almost a year later, I’m at a loss. I am noticing my asthma more and thinking to go gluten free again to help that. But the main thing I want to get gains from is my depression/anxiety which I feel convinced must be contributed to by food but on neither grain free or gluten free did it go entirely. However, I am mid the worst case I’ve had for a few years (I think). I have had a hair test in the past, and I’ve had alternative treatment. But what is a reliable way to really know ones allergies? Should I do an elimination diet? I find the whole working out what you can and can’t eat an eternal puzzle. I guess I should go grain free again but I have since gone off meat a bit and it is a very meaty diet. My doctor is testing for Coeliac again but I think a few years ago I had a blood test that was negative.
Sorry this story is so long.
Hi Josie,
I’m not qualified to give you bullet-proof advice, but I can make a couple of guesses that might help.
Celiac tests are generally only accurate when you are eating gluten. It sounds like you were off gluten for your second test, so it doesn’t count. In other words, ignore it. Also, it sounds like you were better on a gluten-free/grain-free diet.
I suggest you go back on that. Listen to your body. If you are better without gluten, stop eating it. Permanently.
You may have other food allergies as well. In my opinion, an elimination diet is the best way to find out what foods are a problem. I suggest that you first cut out gluten. From what you said, that will probably help quite a bit. When you feel ready to add another restriction, try cutting out dairy, which is also a common problem (either an allergy or inability to digest lactose).
I hope that helps.
Hi,
My daughter has depression when she eats gluten and dairy. These are 2 well-known proteins for people on the autism spectrum (like ADHD) because when they are not broken down properly they create opioid-like molecules that pass through a leaky gut and affect the brain. Try gluten-free-dairy free GFCF diet. I hear that some enzymes now (by AST and Thorne and Kirkman) help digest those and reduce or eliminate this problem but I havent tried them yet.)
and/or
I have celiac disease (yeah i know, nice family genes) and after 6 months I realized that gluten-free was not enough, I also had to cut potato tomato (then i learned about nightshades intolerance) and I was almost well until I found that rice also has, like the rest of those, little legs that attach to your intestine and make holes in it, like the celiac reaction. See here http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/rice-potato-tomato-may-be-inflammatory-wheat
After cutting rice I feel much better and
I also found a few people on the net who had celiac and the same intolerance list, which I found strange until I read the above link. Someone on this (allergy-guy) blog also mentioned beet sugar and it helped me when I eliminated the chocolate bar with beet sugar in it. Good luck
Gluten absolutely affects my ability to breathe. My lungs fill up almost immediately, then I cough. The only relief I have had is an acupuncture treatment for food allergies. The asthma doc won’t treat me because the skin test was negative. He sent me to the gastro doc who said he could do nothing because the celiac blood test was negative. I’m sure I have other food sensitivities as well and and elongation diet may help me identify them. I will go back to the acupuncturist because that left me asthma free for six weeks. No insurance for it but it is worth the out of pocket expense.
See if you can find a doctor who practices environmental medicine. In my experience, they understand your sort of problem. They are rare and hard to find though; you may have to travel to another city.
Coffee and tea have the same effect as gluten. I read that coffee is recognized by the body as a gluten. Whatever the reason I have to avoid caffeine as well.
I have a wheat allergy, gluten sensitivity and sulfite sensitivity. Over the past 18 months I have been working toward better health through an elimination diet and overall awareness of what I am eating with great results. My asthma has improved dramatically, my weight is closer to where it should be and I just feel better all around.
This 2 weeks ago I went to Panera Bread with a friend – did not eat anything, had a cup of water. We were there for about an hour and a half. I had been a little nervous about going there, because, well they are baking all the time. But I took a chance. I felt fine for that night but by the next day I started to get the “oh no I am getting an upper respiratory issue” feeling. And by the end of the next day I had a full blown sinus/ear/upper respiratory infection. Coincidence?????
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