Eating meat can cause wheezing in children
By MichaeL Roizen, M.D., and Mehmet Oz, M.D. King Features Syndicate
Q: My 10-year-old son is wheezing, so we took him to an allergist — no allergies. And it isn’t bronchitis. We’re stumped. Is there anything we might be overlooking that could account for this? — Kayla F., Ocala, Florida
A: Wheezing, whether it’s a sign of undiagnosed allergies or asthma, or occurs on its own, is serious. It can cause sleep disruption, which has negative consequences on learning, mood and overall health, and limits the amount of enjoyable physical activity a kid can do (increasing the risk for being overweight). You should keep track of how often and in what situations it happens and see a pulmonologist to check for asthma.
Once allergies and asthma are ruled out, it’s smart to check for gastroesophageal reflux disease or a recurrent respiratory infection. But there’s another very possible trigger that researchers have just exposed — your child may be eating too much meat!
Researchers from New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital have found that compounds called advanced glycation end products, produced when meat is grilled, fried or roasted, can trigger an inflammatory immune response in lung cells. Their study, published in Thorax, looked at data on kids 2 to 17 years old. The researchers found that those who ate the most meat had a high AGE score. It raised the risk a child would contend with wheezing by 18%. In addition, they found that eating a lot of meat prepared in those ways during the past year was associated with a 26% increased risk of disturbed sleep because of wheezing and a 34% increased risk of wheezing during exercise.
We have long advised against eating red and processed meats because they increase the risk of heart disease and some cancers. Here is another huge reason to look to lean, skinless poultry (stewed, gently sauteed) and fish, like salmon, for animal protein. If your family takes inflammatory meats off the plate, you’ll all feel much better and your child may well breathe better!