A study did not find a link to vitamin C levels in the blood but instead fresh fruits, green vegetables, and salad was associated with better lung function in children. In the cross-sectional study of 2,650 children aged 8-11 years old in the UK, Cook and colleagues reported that a better forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), a measure of lung function, was positively linked with the frequency of fresh fruits, green vegetables, and salad consumption but was not associated with blood vitamin C levels. The beneficial effect was stronger from fruit consumption than vegetables and salads. Compared to children who never ate fresh fruit, those who ate fresh fruit more than once a day had a 79 ml or 4.3% lower FEV1 value. This link between FEV1 and fruit intake was stronger in children with wheeze than those without. (5)
Yoga and Asthma
Yoga improved weekly number of attacks, peak flow and drug treatment scores in asthma patients. Fifty three patients with asthma underwent training for two weeks in an integrated set of yoga exercises, including breathing exercises, suryanamaskar, yogasana (physical postures), pranayama (breath slowing techniques), dhyana (meditation), and a devotional session, and were told to practise these exercises for 65 minutes daily. They were then compared with a control group of 53 patients with asthma matched for age, sex, and type and severity of asthma, who continued to take their usual drugs. There was a significantly greater improvement in the group who practiced yoga in the weekly number of attacks of asthma, scores for drug treatment, and peak flow rate. This study shows the efficacy of yoga in the long term management of bronchial asthma, but the physiological basis for this beneficial effect needs to be examined in more detail. (6)
