Food plays a vital role in keeping us healthy. At the same time, food can also be a problem and trigger issues related to allergies or illness. This is true for those who have breathing difficulties. While your doctor may prescribe you medications like corticosteroids, share shot registrations and information (like the Novavax booster shot), or inform you of clinical trials and medical trials, you need to also be eating foods that boost the health of your lungs and not aggravate any existing issues.

Nasal polyps and asthma often coexist, presenting a complex challenge for individuals dealing with both conditions. Nasal polyps are growths in the nasal passages that can contribute to respiratory difficulties, and their presence is sometimes associated with asthma. The combination of these conditions can lead to exacerbated symptoms and complicate treatment. Fortunately, advancements in asthma management have introduced biologic medications like Nucala (mepolizumab) to the therapeutic arsenal. Nucala, an anti-IL-5 monoclonal antibody, is specifically designed to target and reduce eosinophils, a type of white blood cell involved in allergic inflammation. While Nucala is primarily indicated for severe eosinophilic asthma, its efficacy in reducing asthma exacerbations makes it a valuable consideration for individuals dealing with both asthma and nasal polyps. Consulting with a healthcare professional is essential to determine the most suitable treatment plan tailored to the individual’s specific needs and the complex interplay between nasal polyps and asthma.

Here are a few foods that are known to cause breathing issues:

1. Bread
One of the major disruptors for your lung is the consumption of refined flours and sugars. They are known for their inflammatory properties and end up exerting pressure on the lungs due to the higher level of digestion needed for metabolizing. When you eat a low carb diet, you end up reducing carbon dioxide production, as a result of which the lungs won’t be pressured to breathe. However, you cannot completely cut out carbs. Therefore, you need to pick the healthier option of complex carbs in the form of whole grains, vegetables, and fruits. This way, you get the energy you need for the lungs to function normally. Cutting out all forms of refined white flour and sugar in the form of pasta, rice, bread, and sweets will go a long way in boosting your overall health.

2. Broccoli
While this is usually considered a very healthy choice of food, this is a problem trigger for those with breathing difficulties. It is highly known for its nutritional value as it contains anticarcinogenic and antioxidizing properties. However, this food can easily end up causing bloating, which can result in breathing difficulties as a result of the strain on the lungs. Most often, we associate vegetables only with healthy food, but not all of them are healthy for everyone because some foods have a different processing effect on the body. Some of the foods alongside broccoli that you need to take caution over are cauliflower and cabbage.

3. Ice cream
Dairy is known to be a problem food, as it ends up causing increased production of mucus. This is one of the main reasons why you need to ease up on ice creams and dairy in general since they can cause a major build-up in the respiratory tract. They also end up inflaming tissues, and this tends to end up irritating the sinus or result in a stuffy nose. There is also the fact that ice creams are majorly made of refined sugars, which, as noted above, are inherently not healthy for the body.

Other main types of foods that can cause breathing difficulties include processed foods and alcohol. These two should be on your elimination list as they are more on the unhealthy side of the food consumption chain. You will also need to make important lifestyle changes, such as increase your physical activity, cut down exposure to pollutants, stop smoking, and control your diet to ensure that you energize and enable better breathing. At the end of the day, remember that food can impact you even in the slightest dose, and you need to watch over what you eat.