Nutrition as a potential determinant of asthma

Asthma is a heterogeneous disease characterized by chronic airway inflammation. It is defined by the history of respiratory symptoms such as wheeze, shortness of breath, chest tightness and cough that vary over time and in intensity, together with variable expiratory airflow limitation. This disease is a serious global health problem, especially in developed countries. There exist many hypotheses which try to explain reason of asthma development. Epidemiologic studies suggest associations between dietary antioxidants and lipids, especially vegetable oils, and parameters of asthma. It has been hypothesized that decreasing antioxidant and vitamin D deficiency, and an excess of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) n -6 to n-3 contributes to the development of asthma and severity of its symptoms. It seems that the behavior of a proper diet can reduce the frequency and severity of asthma symptoms.