WebMD reports that you might breathe easier if you watch your salt intake and avoid processed foods (which is where most Americans get three-quarters of their salt).

In a recent study at Indiana University, researchers found that test subjects with a low-salt diet could exhale far more air than those on a high-salt diet; they also needed their bronchodilator drugs less often and presented fewer markers of airway inflammation.

Researchers think that salt increases the volume of blood in the tiny vessels in the lungs, forcing fluid into the space between the vessel and airway, thus making it harder for oxygen to travel across that space and into the bloodstream.

"The Western world food is full of salt," notes Dr. Tim Mickleborough. "Certainly, if you’re asthmatic or an exercise-induced asthmatic, you’ve got to stay away from fast foods and the salt shaker at the table."

See the Asthma Solution Guide to learn more.