Cystic fibrosis affects the exocrine glands in your body, causing the excessive production of mucus. Mucus is a normal bodily fluid but individuals with CF produce too much of it such that it can damage the intestines and bronchial tubes by blocking them. This can be bad news for your lungs and digestive tract.
Individuals with CF are often malnourished, deficient of certain vitamins, and have trouble digesting certain types of foods. Some doctors prescribe CF patients with high fat diets in the hopes of promoting easier digestion and increasing calories for weight gain. Of course, there are also things your doctor doesn't want you eating when you are diagnosed with CF. Discussed here are 7 foods to avoid when you have cystic fibrosis.
1. Baked Goods
Baked goods are loaded with sugar, wheat, dairy, eggs, and sometimes spices, such as cinnamon. While they taste delicious, they also provide the distinct problem of causing more mucus production than normal.
2. Dairy
Of the 7 foods to avoid when you have cystic fibrosis, this one type that is probably the worst for exacerbating CF symptoms. Milk and other products with casein in them are bad for CF patients because they not only promote mucus production, but thicken it as well. Many individuals find it difficult to break down and digest dairy foods, and this can even be more of a problem for cystic fibrosis patients.
3. Gluten
Wheat gluten triggers the production of excessive mucus because of the high amount of stomach acid which is required to break it down. It might be the first ingredient listed on all your favorite doughy snacks, but if you eat too much, it could cause a flare up of the symptoms.
4. Caffeine
Caffeine makes coffee worth drinking, but it's also a diuretic, which means that it can dry you out and make you thirsty. Unfortunately, mucus becomes thicker and it becomes even more difficult to breathe when water levels in the body drop.
5. Steak
A lean cut of beef makes a delicious and healthy meal, but because cystic fibrosis patients have trouble breaking down protein, steak can actually cause more harm than good. It can block up the digestive tract, causing painful stomach cramping and nausea.
6. Alcohol
Another diuretic, which causes dehydration and thickens the mucus which is already at levels above normal, alcohol is not a friend to cystic fibrosis patients. Too much alcohol causes individuals to become more accident prone, and if something were to happen, the weakened lung condition of a CF patient could become worse and lead to asphyxiation and death.
7. Spicy Food
Spicy food may make it feel momentarily as though it is clearing airways for better breathing, but it also thickens mucus as it is eaten. This happens as a natural defense against the spices in your stomach, to coat the stomach lining and keep it from being damaged.
For more information on these 7 foods to avoid when you have cystic fibrosis, speak to your physician. He or she can give you more information on what types of foods work best to battle CF symptoms, and how they can tie in with regular treatments.