As parents, we cherish our children’s joy, especially when it comes to playing and enjoying their favorite foods. However, managing a child’s asthma can present unique challenges, often requiring careful monitoring and restrictions. As someone who experienced asthma firsthand as a child, I understand the frustration and sadness that comes with limiting a child’s activities and diet. Now, as an adult, I also empathize with parents navigating the complexities of raising a child with asthma.
How do you effectively manage your child’s asthma while ensuring their well-being and happiness? It’s crucial to remember that what’s best for our children may not always align with their desires, simply because they may not fully grasp the implications. Imposing strict rules to prevent asthma attacks can sometimes lead to friction between parent and child. Therefore, consider these strategies:
Begin by having an open and honest conversation with your child about their condition. Explain the importance of taking extra precautions to manage their asthma symptoms.
Explain asthma in a way that your child understands. With the strategies I’m about to share, (I wish someone had shared these with my parents!), you and your child can effectively manage asthma problems.
Prioritize dietary changes. This may require creativity. A cornerstone of natural asthma management involves eliminating processed foods and animal products like meat, milk, and eggs. These foods are known to promote mucus production, a key characteristic of asthma symptoms.
This principle has been successfully applied in respiratory health programs, such as the Buteyko Breathing Retraining method. Many chronic asthmatics have significantly reduced or eliminated their reliance on inhalers by adhering to this dietary advice.
Replace these items with mucus-binding or non-mucus-forming foods, primarily fruits and vegetables. Opt for organic produce whenever possible, or at least avoid the “dirty dozen” – fruits and vegetables with the highest pesticide contamination, such as apples and grapes.
Based on my experience, avoiding these fruits is beneficial for asthma management. However, it’s always best to avoid mucus-forming foods.
Furthermore, avoid drinking liquids with meals. This can hinder digestion by diluting essential stomach juices, which inhibits diaphragm expansion and constricts the lungs, leading to wheezing.
Children may adapt to these changes more readily than expected. If necessary, lovingly but firmly enforce these dietary guidelines, explaining the reasons behind them. When children see you making the same healthy choices, they are more likely to follow suit, benefiting the whole family.
While children often enjoy fruits, incorporating vegetables can be more challenging. However, there are creative ways to include them in their diet. Consider juicing celery and adding it to fresh apple juice, blending vegetables into smoothies with bananas, dates, and young coconuts, or baking sweet potatoes or yams and serving them with mashed avocado (seasoned with uniodized sea salt).
You can also create salads with homemade dressings made from blended avocado, a pinch of uniodized sea salt, and fresh tomatoes. These are some of the ways I incorporate vegetables into my own diet.
Diet plays a critical role in managing asthma in children, arguably the most important factor. I will cover additional strategies in part 2 of this article. My hope is that this information will provide the foundation for a successful and natural asthma management plan for your child.
Here’s to easier breathing and happier, healthier kids!