Snoring - Does Poor Diet Cause Snoring?

The first essential in attempting to counter the common problem of snoring is to fully understand the reasons why people snore. There are many possible contributory factors, which can lead to snoring, most of which, thankfully, are treatable and preventable. As with so many other medical conditions, improper diet, excessive alcohol consumption and smoking are the first things that need to be looked at. Smoking has so many negative effects on health that it really should be the first problem to be tackled. Tobacco smoke causes irritation to the nasal lining, as well as the throat and should be avoided if possible. This applies not only to your own smoking, but also to passive smoking, the potential inhalation of other peoples' smoke.

Alcohol is also an irritant to nasal passages, as well as being a general threat to health in its capacity to increase blood pressure and damage heart tissue. Long term heavy users of alcohol are also far more likely to be overweight than the average person. Because alcohol is a depressant, it causes muscles to relax far more than is normal during an ordinary night's sleep. It can even cause symptoms of sleep apnoea when that condition is not really present. If the drinking is not curtailed, or at least moderated, then a serious condition could occur. When snoring worsens to become sleep apnoea it becomes far more difficult to treat and keep in check.

Even if you stop smoking completely and cut alcohol consumption down to a reasonable level, it is still possible that a poor diet or excess eating can make the condition persist. A diet high in fat, such as that eaten by people who survive on fast food and takeaways, will be the most likely cause of a snoring problem. Any increase in fatty tissue around the throat area will impair the movement of air at night and cause the airway to vibrate. Sadly, some of these problems can be caused by physical characteristics over which the sufferer has no control. If you have a large neck, with a collar size of 16 or greater, or a short, fat neck, it may well have the kind of muscular structure, which will exacerbate the problem. There is also evidence to suggest that the physical characteristics of the genders make it far more likely for men to suffer from snoring than women.

These unfortunate physical characteristics do mean that even a snoring sufferer who follows sensible guidelines can still not alleviate the condition. However, even in these cases, there will almost certainly be some benefit from lessening the consumption of potential irritants. At the very least, there will be an improvement in the overall condition of the patient, even if there is no noticeable improvement in the snoring condition. In many cases, improper diet is the direct cause of the problem and in these cases the good news is that it is entirely reversible. Cutting down the amount of saturated fat in the diet will be the absolute most important factor in stopping snoring completely.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Snoring