Bronchitis dietary taboos

During the attack period, strictly avoid three types of foods that are highly irritating, clearly sensitizing, and easily aggravate phlegm. During the remission period, there is no need to blindly avoid all foods. The criterion is that there is no cough, asthma, or increased phlegm after eating.

A while ago, I followed up with the respiratory clinic and met Chen, who has been suffering from chronic bronchitis for 12 years. He had been ill for 3 days last week after his fever had cooled down. He had just passed away from the heartbreaking cough. My son Xiaoshun took him to eat Sichuan hotpot to warm up his body. He washed his belly with red soup and drank ice coke. He coughed and couldn't breathe that night. He was sent to the emergency room by his family in the middle of the night. When he found out that the airway mucosa was all congested and edematous, it meant that half of the previous treatment was in vain.

In fact, spicy and iced drinks like Lao Chenpeng’s are highly irritating foods. These foods will directly irritate the airway mucosa that is already in a high-response state, either triggering smooth muscle spasm and worsening coughing and asthma, or stimulating the mucosa to secrete more phlegm, making people unable to breathe. In addition to the well-known chili, pepper, and mustard, hot pot that is too hot, iced yogurt and iced fruit just taken out of the refrigerator, as well as coffee and wine that are too concentrated, are all included in this category. There is also a controversial point here: Traditional Chinese medicine recommends that all patients with bronchitis avoid cold foods throughout the entire process, and not touch ice even during the remission period. However, modern clinical views are actually more individualized - if you eat cold oranges and your cough does not get worse, then there is no need to endure a bite without touching them. I have seen many old patients with chronic bronchitis in the south who are used to eating two mouthfuls of cold sugar cane in the winter, and they do not get sick frequently.

In addition to irritating foods, the easiest pitfall is to blindly avoid "fat foods" or completely ignore allergens. There was a 6-year-old patient whose bronchitis had just improved. Her grandmother wanted to give the child a supplement and steamed a large mango. After eating half a mango, the child started rubbing his eyes and coughing. Within two hours, he started wheezing. It was not until he was tested for allergens in the hospital that he found out he was allergic to mangoes. Many people think that bronchitis requires a complete avoidance of "foods" such as seafood, mangoes, pineapples, and nuts. In fact, this is not necessary. If you are not allergic to these foods and do not have aggravated coughing and asthma after eating them, there is no problem eating normally. Instead, it can supplement protein and vitamins and help the body recover. If you don't know what you are allergic to, you can either get tested for common allergens or keep a food diary. If you cough significantly more after eating something, just avoid it next time. There is no need to keep out all nutrient-dense foods.

There is another type of food that everyone feels is particularly obvious, which is phlegm-producing food that is high in sugar, oil and salt. I believe many people have had this experience: After coughing just a little bit, after drinking a cup of full-sugar bubble milk tea, or eating two pieces of fatty pork belly, the next day the phlegm becomes yellow and thick, and I can't cough it up for a long time. Foods such as milk tea, cream cakes, pickled products, fatty meats, and fried foods all fall into this category, and should be avoided as much as possible especially during the attack period. But there is no need to go to the other extreme and dare not touch anything sweet. For example, add one or two rock sugar when steaming pears, or drink some light honey water (children under 1 year old should not touch honey). On the contrary, it can soothe the throat and soothe the cough, which is good for relieving coughs.

I have also seen many people have a misunderstanding: they think they need to take supplements when they are sick. When bronchitis is over, they stew old hen soup or pig's trotter soup every day. There are also people who believe in the folk prescription of drinking medicinal wine to replenish lung qi. Alcohol itself will irritate the airway, which is completely unhelpful.

In fact, to put it bluntly, there has never been a unified standard answer to the dietary taboos of bronchitis. There is no need to compare one by one with the online lists to determine what you can and cannot eat. Your body actually knows best. If you feel comfortable eating and it does not aggravate your symptoms, then feel free to eat it.； If your cough becomes worse and there is more phlegm after eating, stop for a while and try again when you feel better. After all, I can’t eat this or that every day. If I’m in a bad mood, my recovery will be slower, right?