Fish Oil May Work to Combat Exercise-Induced Asthma

Breath easier...

You already know that fish oil benefits the cardiovascular system, but did you know that it can also help asthma sufferers?

A recent study says the same anti-inflammatory properties that make fish oil so effective in preventing heart disease may also work to combat the inflammation that triggers exercise-induced asthma.

In this study, reported in a publication of the American College of Chest Physicians, half the patients were given fish oil capsules daily for three weeks while the other half received a placebo. At the end of the three weeks, the researchers noted that patients' airway inflammation and cellular indicators of asthma had fallen so much that they didn't even reach the threshold level used to diagnose this form of the disease. Use of bronchodilators fell during the treatment, too.

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What is...exercise-induced asthma?

Most people with asthma experience narrowing of the airways when they exercise or otherwise exert themselves physically. But there are many people without chronic asthma who also experience exercise-induced asthma.

It is thought the condition is triggered by breathing through the mouth instead of the nose when exercising. Air inhaled through the mouth is colder and drier than the warm, moist air normally inhaled through the nose. In people sensitive to these changes, the airway muscles react by contracting. This causes such symptoms as coughing, wheezing, chest tightening, fatigue, and shortness of breath upon physical exertion. The symptoms can come on even 5 to 10 minutes after

Yours in good health,
Amanda Ross
Editorial Director
Nutrition & Healing