Oats for your asthma?

Fibre to the rescue

New preliminary Aussie Research from Newcastle Uni has shown that soluble fibre can improve asthma.

In a small study of 17 people with difficult-to-manage asthma, they used 12g inulin (a soluble fibre derived from Jerusalem artichoke) daily and found that lung function improved and there was less wheezing.

How it works

Lead researcher Professor Lisa Woods explains the suggested mechanism of reducing inflammation in the airways via gut bacteria:

“Soluble fibre doesn’t get digested until it reaches the large intestine and then the bacteria that are present in the large intestine breakdown the fibre to produce metabolites called short-chain fatty acids. They can go back into the bloodstream and they affect immune cells which control inflammation”.

Source: http://hot91.com.au/news/national-news/67826-fibre-can-control-asthma-symptoms-study

The Uni is recruiting more people for follow up research.

Fibre in foods

You probably don’t need a special tablet to try this for yourself.

Getting your 5 serves of veg and 2 fruits plus whole grains goes a long (‘lung’) way to getting the 25g fibre needed per day.  Then do a little extra homework to make sure you’ve got good soluble fibre.

http://www.healthcastle.com/fiber-solubleinsoluble.shtml gives a good rundown on the difference between soluble and insoluble fibres; however most foods contain some of both.

High fibre foods include psyllium, slippery elm powder, oats, brans, beans, lentils, wholegrains. If you’re on a paleo type diet, make sure you get enough fibre from other sources to feed your gut bacteria.  Jerusalem artichokes are very easy to grow (almost like weeds, so try a recycled bathtub) and you cook them like potatoes.

If you’re having trouble making that target, then talk to your friendly naturopath.