A vegan diet and asthma

More and more we read about celebrities feeling renewed and refreshed after turning to a vegan diet.  Is this more than further self-promotion and why is eating fewer foods apparently so beneficial?
To me, it seems certain that for many, the key step to renewed health in veganism is the removal of foods of bovine origin from the diet.  If the cause of atopy is the feeding of neonates on formula milk in place of mothers’ milk, then removing foods of bovine origin will stop many of the processes that lead to atopic symptoms.  Strict vegans will also avoid foods such as sugar that may have been decolourised during manufacture by passing crude syrup through a bone charcoal filter, thereby adding hints of bovine antigen to the mix.

The consumption of foods of bovine origin will continue to jerk around and disrupt the normal function of the immune system of someone fed formula milk as a neonate, even if most of the neonate feeds were subsequently of soy-derived formula milk. I believe that my health was damaged by a single feed of formula milk, within hours of birth.  The same results are likely in an exclusively breast-fed child, if the mother was fed formula milk as a neonate, or if her mother was fed formula milk as a neonate, and so on…

The reasons for ‘going vegan’ are varied, but it is a choice that removes further consumption of the key allergenic foods.  My own diet might be described as ‘fish-eating vegan’ and for me it keeps out poultry, dairy foods and meats, whilst providing reasonable quantities of essential protein, fats, vitamins and trace elements, that might otherwise come from meats.  I obtain most of my saturated fats from unprocessed palm, coconut, and olive oils and I eat a range of tree nuts.  Most of what I eat is also organic because I have a sensitivity to trace amounts of some pesticides, particularly the organophosphate pesticides.

When consumption of foods of bovine origin causes depression, in addition to asthma (and, perhaps paranoia, induced by the use of corticosteroids to control asthma), the exclusion of these foods and medications will lead to a state that feels like a rebirth into a fresh new world; a release from demons of the past and, almost, a religious experience.  To capture this state and maintain it requires continued abstinence from foods of bovine origin.  Veganism provides one context for this discipline.  To reach this state requires a few painful days of adjustment that are something like the ‘cold turkey’ of a hard drugs addict, but it will, ultimately, prove to be a worthwhile change.

Can you contribute to research on this issue?

I would be extremely interested to hear from any vegans who have been diagnosed as asthmatic.  I would also like to hear from anyone who was asthmatic, but is now free from asthma after choosing veganism.  To respond privately on this issue, please use the contact form below.  (No part-time vegans please!)  Others, please submit a reply as usual, using the ‘Leave a Reply’ form at the bottom of the page.  Thank you.

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