[Michaelangelica]

I have a personal interest in this as I think much of my family is asthmatic
Only one is diagnosed as a "exercise asthmatic. It costs $100 a month for her medication ( when she is well!)

So I was interested to stumble across these reports today:-

1.

Evidence for opioid modulation and generation of prostaglandins in sulphur dioxide (SO)2-induced bronchoconstriction.
[My paper] P I Field, R Simmul, S C Bell, D H Allen, N Berend
Department of Thoracic Medicine, Royal North Shore Hospital, New South Wales, Australia.
BACKGROUND: Inhalation of sulphur dioxide (SO2) provokes bronchoconstriction in asthmatic subjects. Cholinergic mechanisms contribute, but other mechanisms remain undefined. The effect of morphine,

Evidence for opioid modulation and generation of prostaglandins in sulphur dioxide (SO)2-induced bronchoconstriction.
and
2.

FALKIRK COUNCIL SURVEY OF CHIPPED POTATOES
FROM FISH AND CHIP SHOPS JANUARY 2008
1. Purpose
• The main purpose of the survey was to establish whether soaking
chipped potatoes in a sulphite solution is common practice in fish and
chip shops in the Falkirk Council Area. Due to rising obesity and heart
disease in the UK it was also decided that fat and salt levels should be
analysed.
2. Background
• A food complaint sample of potato fritters investigated at the Aberdeen
public analyst laboratory was found to have very high levels of sulphur
dioxide in the product. The investigation established that chipped
potatoes used by the chip shop were soaked in a solution of ‘Drywite’,
which contained sulphur dioxide. It was established that there was
minimal control over the concentration of solution used by the Food
Business Operator.
• Additives such as Sulphur dioxide or sulphites affect up to 40% of
children with asthma, they are commonly ingested in dried fruit, soft
drinks and sprayed onto fresh produce. It is the Sulphur dioxide gas,
which is eructed from the stomach that results in throat irritation and
wheezing. Allergic individuals also seem to have low levels of sulphite
oxidase, the enzyme that normally metabolises sulphites in the diet

http://www.falkirk.gov.uk/services/d...hop_survey.pdf
Anyone with any thoughts, experiences, comments?
tar
m

[Tormod]

Interesting. I have asthma but I never heard about the sulphur dioxide thing.

[Donk]

I worked in a chip shop 40+ years ago. One of my jobs was putting the potatoes through the peelers, then the chippers, then into the drywite solution. A half-hour soak, then transfer from wet tubs to dry ones. The remaining drywite solution falls to the bottom of the tub, leaving them dry at the top.

I could see the physics behind it straight away. Freshly cut chips are wet. Tip a bucket of wet chips into the fryer and most of the heat in the cooking oil is converted into steam. It then takes it a long time to get back up to frying temperature. Meanwhile the burners are going full-out, costing much money and making the shop hot and uncomfortable, and the customers waiting for chips are muttering about inefficiency and how the chip shop just down the road does it better.

If you don't use something like drywite, you have to keep the chips wet or they go brown and unappetising.

We were careful not to use too much. Partly because it was expensive and da boss threw a fit if he had to order it too frequently, but mainly because of the smell of sulphur in the airless cellar we used for preparation. I did wonder whether there were any health risks either to myself or to the people eating the chips, but that was in the dark pre-internet days, when research of this sort was virtually impossible. We just assumed that anything used in food preparation had been properly tested and certified.

[Michaelangelica]

Originally Posted by Tormod

Interesting. I have asthma but I never heard about the sulphur dioxide thing.

My mother was VERY and dangerously allergic to sulphur -used after ww2 as an antibiotic

I think I have problems with SO2 in wine and orange juice.
It just makes me a bit tired lethargic and breathless.

[Michaelangelica]

Food Additives in Diet May Trigger Asthma Attack

Some child asthmatics show extreme reactions to many artificial food colorings, flavorings, flavor-enhancers and preservatives. Common problem-additives in foods include: monosodium glutamate (MSG), tartrazine (E102), sulphur dioxide, salt and nitrites. Other food additives which have proven adverse effects for asthma patients include: sulphites (banned for some foods but still used in beers and wines), salicylates, food colors (eg. E104 and E110), antioxidant additives (eg. E310, E311, E312, E321), and the range of benzoate preservatives.
Good Diet Foods For Asthma Sufferers

Foods (but not supplements) rich in antioxidants and betacarotene may be helpful in reducing asthma attacks, as their ability to neutralize free radicals may help to protect the lungs. So include more of these foods in your diet: bright-colored fruit and vegetables (eg. apricots, peaches, carrots, peppers), green leafy vegetables (eg. spinach), vitamin C rich foods (eg. oranges, grapefruit, kiwi fruit, tomatoes), and vitamin E foods (eg. soybeans, wheatgerm oil). Paradoxically, in emergencies, strong coffee may ease the effects of an asthma attack, but only for sufferers who are not taking theophylline medication. TIP: Planning a healthy diet to help protect against asthma is much easier if you teach yourself about the nutritional values of food.

Applied Health Asthma

A forum post repling to aquestion about wine and asthma

I was speaking to my doctor about this the other week. Apparently, although the symptoms are the same, it's not asthma if it's only triggered by allergies. These are aparently known as allergy restricted breathing. That's what he told me anyway.

Sulphites are used in wine to steralize the bottles and equipment as well as to kill off any live yeast left in the wine before it is bottled. If yeast is left active in the wine there is a possibility that secondary fermentation may occur and the pressure of the gas inside the bottle may make it explode. It also kills off bacteria and prevents oxidation of the wine which would just ruin the wine altogether.

This site may be useful to you...

The Allergy Site, allergens in drink

Wine and Asthma - Healthypages Community Forum

Reaction time varies from a few minutes (early) to a few hours (delayed) to a few days (late response). In anaphylaxis an immediate type of reaction is often followed by a delayed one, making a visit to an emergency centre vital.

Anaphylactic shock is the most severe allergic reaction, involving many organs of the body, including the:

* Nose - sneezing, blocking, watering and runny nose
* Upper airways - swelling of the throat and vocal cords leading to obstruction of breathing, blue lips indicating oxygen deficiency
* Lungs - wheezing and asthma
* Skin - itching hives (urticaria)
* Circulatory system - a fall in blood pressure and collapse.

Food allergies and intolerances can cause range of symptoms in different parts of the body, including:

* Gastrointestinal system: Abdominal bloating, flatulence, cramps, pain, colic, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, anorexia (loss of appetite), early satiety, rectal burning, IBS. Food allergy may be a cause in about 10% - 15% of colicky infants.
* Skin: Itchy rash, redness, eczema, hives, welts, local swelling
* Respiratory system: Coughing, wheezing, asthma , nasal congestion, itchy and runny nose, sore throat, hay-fever, difficulty speaking
* Face: Itching eyes, swelling of lips, throat and tongue
* Cardiovascular system: Rapid thumping heartbeat, dizziness, fainting, collapse, low blood pressure, pale & floppy infant
* General: Anaphylaxis, fatigue, fever, flushing, sweating, muscle aches
* Neurological: Headache, irritability, dizziness, faintness, drowsiness, loss of consciousness, hypoglycaemia type symptoms.

Symptoms of a food allergy are highly personal and usually begin within minutes to a few hours after having eaten the offending food. Immediate reactions are usually obvious, but any other reaction needs further investigation. Usually, people are truly allergic to only one or two foods. Food allergy is more common in children, and many children grow out of their allergies over time.

The most common food allergens are milk, soy,wheat, egg, fish, shellfish, peanuts, and tree nuts such as walnuts. However, all foods contain proteins, which can potentially act as antigens. Sometimes patients allergic to latex also react to certain foods such as avocados, bananas, kiwis or chestnuts. Reactions are also possible between botanically related or unrelated foods. This is termed Cross-Reactivity.
. . .
Exercise Induced Anaphylaxis In this condition, individuals develop itching, rashes, angioedema and upper airway obstruction with bronchospasm during or shortly after strenuous exercise taking place within a few hours of eating certain foods. This allergic condition may occur up to 12 hours after eating wheat, celery and shellfish, especially prawn. These patients have no reaction to the foods if at rest.

Canberra FM/CFS page - Was it something you ate?
Asthma Diet Advice, Foods That Trigger Asthmatic Attacks

[Michaelangelica]

Food Additives in Diet May Trigger Asthma Attack

Some child asthmatics show extreme reactions to many artificial food colorings, flavorings, flavor-enhancers and preservatives. Common problem-additives in foods include: monosodium glutamate (MSG), tartrazine (E102), sulphur dioxide, salt and nitrites. Other food additives which have proven adverse effects for asthma patients include: sulphites (banned for some foods but still used in beers and wines), salicylates, food colors (eg. E104 and E110), antioxidant additives (eg. E310, E311, E312, E321), and the range of benzoate preservatives.
Good Diet Foods For Asthma Sufferers

Foods (but not supplements) rich in antioxidants and betacarotene may be helpful in reducing asthma attacks, as their ability to neutralize free radicals may help to protect the lungs. So include more of these foods in your diet: bright-colored fruit and vegetables (eg. apricots, peaches, carrots, peppers), green leafy vegetables (eg. spinach), vitamin C rich foods (eg. oranges, grapefruit, kiwi fruit, tomatoes), and vitamin E foods (eg. soybeans, wheatgerm oil). Paradoxically, in emergencies, strong coffee may ease the effects of an asthma attack, but only for sufferers who are not taking theophylline medication. TIP: Planning a healthy diet to help protect against asthma is much easier if you teach yourself about the nutritional values of food.

Applied Health Asthma

A forum post repling to aquestion about wine and asthma

I was speaking to my doctor about this the other week. Apparently, although the symptoms are the same, it's not asthma if it's only triggered by allergies. These are aparently known as allergy restricted breathing. That's what he told me anyway.

Sulphites are used in wine to steralize the bottles and equipment as well as to kill off any live yeast left in the wine before it is bottled. If yeast is left active in the wine there is a possibility that secondary fermentation may occur and the pressure of the gas inside the bottle may make it explode. It also kills off bacteria and prevents oxidation of the wine which would just ruin the wine altogether.

This site may be useful to you...

The Allergy Site, allergens in drink

Wine and Asthma - Healthypages Community Forum

Reaction time varies from a few minutes (early) to a few hours (delayed) to a few days (late response). In anaphylaxis an immediate type of reaction is often followed by a delayed one, making a visit to an emergency centre vital.

Anaphylactic shock is the most severe allergic reaction, involving many organs of the body, including the:

* Nose - sneezing, blocking, watering and runny nose
* Upper airways - swelling of the throat and vocal cords leading to obstruction of breathing, blue lips indicating oxygen deficiency
* Lungs - wheezing and asthma
* Skin - itching hives (urticaria)
* Circulatory system - a fall in blood pressure and collapse.

Canberra FM/CFS page - Was it something you ate?
Asthma Diet Advice, Foods That Trigger Asthmatic Attacks

[Michaelangelica]

Study links paracetamol to asthma risk

Friday, 19 September 2008 Anna Salleh
ABC

cough medicine

Experts still consider paracetamol to be the safest medicine to treat fever in infants (Source: iStockphoto)
Related Stories
* Asthma Fact File, ABC Health and Wellbeing

Use of the common painkiller paracetamol in the first year of life has been linked to an increased risk of asthma and other allergies, a new study has found.

Asthma clinician Professor Richard Beasley of the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand and colleagues report their findings in today's issue of The Lancet.

Beasley says the hypothesis that paracetamol may be a risk factor for asthma has been around for about 10 years, and a number of studies have linked asthma and paracetamol.

"There certainly was a case that needed to be answered," he says.

The researchers analysed data from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood for risk factors involved in asthma, hayfever and eczema in over 200,000 children in over 73 centres in 31 countries.

Study links paracetamol to asthma risk (ABC News in Science)