Exercise and diet can help asthma

A healthy diet and regular exercise can significantly reduce asthma symptoms and improve quality of life for people with the condition, research suggests.

Scientists in Italy compared the progress of asthma patients who were randomly assigned specific lifestyle-changing regimes or continued living as normal for a period of eight weeks.

At the end of the study those who took exercise classes three times a week and ate a healthy low-glycaemic index (GI) diet rich in protein, fruit and vegetables rated their asthma symptoms score 50% lower than patients in the non-intervention control group.

Participants who only altered their exercise level or diet, but not both, reported a 30% improvement in symptoms.