SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Physiol.
Sec. Exercise Physiology
Dietary modification and nutritional supplements for exercise-induced bronchoconstriction: a systematic review and meta-analysis
- MS
Mingxin Su 1
- RS
Richen Sun 2
- CS
Changkun Shan 3
1. Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China
2. Guangzhou Sport University, Guangzhou, China
3. Jinan Vocational College of Nursing, Jinan, China
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Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the effects of dietary modification and nutritional supplementation on exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) and the certainty of evidence for each intervention. Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and CENTRAL were searched through August 1, 2026. Randomized parallel-group and crossover trials assessing EIB with an exercise challenge, eucapnic voluntary hyperpnea (EVH), or another indirect bronchial provocation test were included. The primary outcome was the maximum or peak percentage fall in FEV₁ within 30 min; fixed-time-point values were treated as proxy outcomes. Comparable intervention-specific effects were synthesized, crossover trials were analyzed as paired designs, and RoB 2 and GRADE were applied. Results: Twenty studies (22 reports) were included. Low sodium compared with experimentally prescribed high sodium, standard omega-3 fatty acids/fish oil, selected caffeine doses, and PCSO-524 showed potentially favorable signals. However, the evidence was limited by small samples, proxy outcomes, heterogeneity, risk of bias, missing paired data, or lack of independent replication. Adverse events were inadequately reported. Conclusion: Current evidence is insufficient to recommend any nutritional intervention for routine prevention or treatment of EIB. Nutritional approaches should not replace guideline-based assessment or pharmacological management.
Summary
Keywords
Dietary modification, Exercise-induced asthma, exercise-induced bronchoconstriction, Forced expiratory volume in 1 second, Meta-analysis, Nutritional supplementation, Systematic review
Received
22 August 2026
Accepted
15 September 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Su, Sun and Shan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Richen Sun
Disclaimer
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