Asthma - natural help
Asthma is an allergic reaction of the lungs and airways. It can be caused by airborne allergens, exercise, cold air,  emotional distress and even foods. The main symptom is an inability to breathe. This is caused by a combination of spasms of the bronchial tubes and inflammation of those same tubes, or of the lungs themselves. There are many medicines on the market today, because left untreated asthma can be life threatening. As with anything else, sometimes the side effects of the medications can be daunting. There is currently a commercial on the television for a medication to add to your other asthma medications. I wince every time I hear it. In the spoken fine print it says that using the product increases your risk for 'asthma related death'. I ask myself if reducing the symptoms is worth dieing from the cure? Yet, you don't want to be without something when an attack occurs.
In the realm of natural substances there is one substance recommended for emergency relief. That is caffeine. You will need about 7mg of caffeine for every 2.2lbs of body weight. That would mean a 150lb person would need approximately 477mgs of caffeine to stop an asthma attack. That is about 3-31/2 cups of coffee. That used to sound daunting,but with some of the new 'energy' products on the market you might be able to consume less liquid and still get the same amount of caffeine. In a pinch it would be a good trick to know.
The other recommendations seem to be common sense, but not everyone has heard of them. First of all you need to start out by strengthening your immune system.
That's right I said strengthening!
A strong immune system will be less likely to over react to outside irritants.
The first product I want to mention are plant based enzymes. People think of enzymes only as a digestive aid, but these go far beyond that. Studies have shown that when your digestion is poor that small particles of food get into your bloodstream. Once in the bloodstream your immune system kicks in and tries to clear them out. Plant based enzymes work on this in two ways. The first is to improve your digestive process to prevent the food particles from getting into the bloodstream in the first place. Secondarily once they have completed their tasks in the digestive tract they too move into the bloodstream. Once there they continue their work of digestion on any food particles they find, as well as other substances they find that shouldn't be there. This frees up the immune system to do its job of fighting disease rather than being brought into the digestion process.
The second product are plant sterols. There is a formula that is specifically designed to boost your immune system. It is derived from plant sprouts before the first leaves are formed. This does two very important things. It eliminates the allergic reaction you might have to that particular plant, because those properties are not yet being produced by the plant. Secondarily it insures not only the most readily absorbed plant sterols, but also the attached glucosites. These glucosites disappear from the plant as soon as the first leaves are formed. Most processors of plant sterols inadvertently destroy the glucosites during the processing of the sprouts. At least one manufacturer has found a way to bring you both the sterols and the glucosites intact. So what do these substances do? They increase the formation of immune systems cells, especially the T-Cells. These are the ones you have heard so much about in the fight against cancer.
Most nutritionists say that to fight asthma you need natural substances such as Magnesium, Ginkgo, Vitamin C, Quercetin, and grape seed extract. These can all be found in the Enriching Gifts Complete Vitamins Plus. All of these work in different ways to build up the body and prevent inflammation. Another product that helps not only prevent inflammation, but also reduce the inflammation already in your body is aloe. Aloe is a natural anti-inflammatory. It also speeds up cell regeneration. There is one version that is processed as single capsule of aloe that gives the same benefit as half a gallon of a good quality Aloe Juice. I emphasize good quality because we all know that once something is known to be beneficial companies find a way to put in just enough to list it on the label. That is not the case here.
Other recommendations include licorice root, bee pollen, and ephedra, but all of these come with serious potential side effects. Don't begin using them without the consent of a medical professional that is familiar with herbology.
Sources:
Nature's Medicines by Gale Maleskey and the Editors of Prevention Health Books, copyrighted 1999 by Rodale, Inc.
The Herbal Drugstore by LindaB. White, M.D., Steven Foster and the staff of Herbs for Health, copyrighted 2000 by Rodale Inc.
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Disclaimer: The entire contents of this website are based upon the opinions of the author(s). Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective author. The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of the authors. You are encouraged to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional.
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