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- Supplements for Asthma
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The American Journal of Medicine cities numerous clinical trials that showed the benefit of magnesium in treating asthma. 2 A study in The Lancet, a well-respected British medical journal, found that magnesium has an independent, beneficial influence on lung function, airway responsiveness, and wheezing in a general population. 3 This means that getting enough magnesium in the diet can prevent the symptoms that lead to asthma and keep an attack from being life-threatening. Apparently, magnesium helps the body control muscle spasms and is able to smooth the bronchial muscles so they don't contract and close off air.
It is ironic that some of the drugs used to treat asthma can cause magnesium deletion. Dr. Alan Gaby recommends asthmatics on medication take 200-600 mg of supplemental magnesium a day. 4 One of the recommendations Dr. Gordon made to his patient was that his mother increase the amount of magnesium-rich foods in his diet and give him magnesium in solution. Foods high in magnesium are whole wheat, pumpkin seeds, millet, almonds, Brazil nuts and hazel nuts, dark-green vegetables and molasses.
Because there are so few areas in the body where magnesium is absorbed, a deficiency of stomach acid can cause a magnesium deficiency. Digestive enzyme supplements and a teaspoon of vinegar after eating are ways to help this problem, but to be sure you get your magnesium.
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It is now commonly recommended babies do not drink cow's milk before the age of one, until immature digestive systems have had a change to fully develop.
Asthma can be brought on by many causes: food and beverages, and the sulfites in them, or environmental allergens: fresh paint, perfumes, spray deodorants, cigarette smoke, gasoline or car exhaust fumes; hay, wood, coal or chalk dust; various chemicals such as cleaning solvents, household cleaners and insecticides; pollen and mold. Home humidifiers and air conditioners have been identified as harbors of bronchial-constricting molds. When eliminating offending allergens, leave no filter unchanged.
Obviously, the hardest part can be just finding out what caused the asthma. Yellow No. 5, a food coloring also known as tartrazine, has been reported to cause severe asthma. This is just one of many food additives contained in processed foods. If you or someone you know has asthma or breathing problems, and can't identify the cause, try to abstain from processed foods for a while and see if it doesn't get better. Consider investing in a food dehydrator or buy in processed dried fruit from a health food store during the winter when fresh food may be scarce. The chronic use of antibiotics at an early age may be associated with asthma and allergies in children.
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Animal experiments show that in such circumstances, red blood cells tend to accumulate in arteries and reduce or block blood flow and oxygen delivery, a serious occurrence when coupled with air pollution found in most metropolitan areas, and stress.
In experimental studies the bioflavonoid quercetin was found to prevent the wheezing symptoms associated with allergies. Bioflavonoids are notorious anti-inflammatories and help keep the bronchial tubes from swelling, a common asthma symptom. This bioflavonoid has also been found to benefit asthmatics, as it blocks formation of leukotrienes-vicious little compounds that cause the bronchial tissue in the lungs to constrict, making breathing difficult. Honey with pollen has its followers among asthma sufferers, Dr. U. Wahn, M.D., a researcher at Heidelberg University Children's Clinic in Germany, studied 70 children with hay fever and allergy-related asthma who drank a solution of bee pollen and honey each day during the yearly hay fever period and three days per week in winter. Most of them showed fewer symptoms after this regime, indicating to Dr. Wahn that the pollen somehow made it into the bloodstream. 8 Probably the reason this regimen worked is that the bees were taking the pollen from the actual plants the children were allergic to. Others who have tried it say it is essential that the honey be taken from the same area where the allergic person resides. If you live in the country and find yourself sneezing in the spring, try to find a local beekeeper from whom you can get honey. Cayenne pepper, or capsicum, acts as an expectorant. Not only does it sting the sinuses and bring tears to the eyes, it temporarily irritates the stomach and sets up a sympathetic reaction in the bronchial tubes and lungs to increase fluids and discharge mucus, making the lungs and tubes less thick and sticky and more open for breathing. Important, however, is drinking lots of water to make it easier for the mucus to thin out and be discharged. When it comes to allergic asthma, you can't go wrong with chili peppers. Not only do they break up mucus, but they contain lots of vitamin C. Half a cup of hot chili assed to your omelet or in a recipe will give you 182 milligrams of vitamin C. It turns out spicy foods for colds, asthma and sinus problems have been used for centuries by early civilizations. Ancient Egyptian medical writing recommended mustard for respiratory therapy. Hippocrates prescribed vinegar and pepper as respiratory medicines; and Oriental medicine still uses hot pepper , black pepper, mustard, garlic, tumeric and other spices to treat colds and asthma. In more modern times, researchers at Momtreal General Hospital found that the active ingredient in tumeric acts as an antihistamine in reducing the symptoms of allergies and asthma. 9
Early studies revealed that many asthma patients are dependent on vitamin B6 (pyridoxine). They do not have a deficiency as such, but an exaggerated need, due to an error in metabolism. |
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On this basis, five New York physicians designed a five-month double-blind experiment with 76 youthful patients with moderate to severe asthma. Half of the patients were given two 100 mg tablets of vitamin B6. The other half received placebos. 10
One month passed, and there was almost no difference between the two groups. However, with the start of the second month, the patients receiving the vitamin B6 had fewer asthma attacks and less breathing difficulty, wheezing and coughing.
The differences continued to be even more marked between the second and fifth months, with the researchers concluding that vitamin B6 reduces the severity of asthma attacks with no side effects, compared with devastating side effects of prednisone, a steroid drug frequently used to manage asthma. Even smaller amounts of B6 - 50 mg daily - appear to lessen the duration, frequency, and severity of asthma attacks. Dr. Robert Reynolds, a U.S.Department of Agriculture biochemist, reported that the symptoms of every asthmatic on this daily regime were relieved. 11
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| Nutrient | Suggested Dosage |
| Ages Garlic - Research | 1 tablet three times daily |
| Antioxidants (grape seed) - Research | 4 capsules daily |
| Borage Oil - Research | 2 capsules daily |
| Flaxseed Oil - Research | 1 tablespoon with meals |
| Multi-Mineral Liquid - Research | 3-4 ounces daily |
| Multi-Vitamin/Mineral - Research | 2-3 ounces daily |
| Vitamin C - Research | 1/4 teaspoon twice daily |
| Magnesium - Research | 400 mg daily |
| MSM (methylsulfonylmethane) - Research | 500 mg. three times daily |
| Niacin (Flush Free) - Research | 500 mg twice daily |
| Quercetin with vitamin C & Bromelain - Research | 250 mg. three times daily |
| Vitamin B6 - Research | 100 mg. Daily |
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| Also see | Bronchitis | Asthma | Congestion | NAC | Cough |
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