The Juice Lady's Remedies for Asthma and Allergies

ASTHMA SUFFERERS KNOW that living with this potentially deadly disease is challenging: all it takes is a change in the weather, a boost in tree pollen, even a simple run in the park—and sufferers can be breathing heavy and reaching for their rescue inhalers. Airways inside of the lungs can constrict at any time, in response to a huge number of triggers, leaving asthmatics feeling as though they are breathing through a straw. But it is possible to control asthma symptoms, even find a type of “remission” from the disease. A vital part of this healing strategy is what you eat. “Diet is the key,” says Richard N. Firshein, DO, medical director of the Firshein Center for Comprehensive Medicine in New York City and author of Reversing Asthma.

Around 27 million Americans suffer from asthma—bronchial inflammation and spasms that make it difficult for the body to breathe air in and out of the lungs. Each year, this disease causes more than five hundred thousand hospitalizations and four thousand deaths.¹

Over the past twenty years, asthma has been on the increase in this country. In fact, the number of people with asthma has quadrupled, and the number of deaths from asthma attacks has doubled. Why is this dangerous disease on the rise? There is a genetic component to asthma: If one parent has the disease, chances are one in three that their children will also have it, and if both parents have asthma, the chances rise to seven in ten.²

On the other hand 50 percent of people with the disease have asthma attacks that are triggered by allergens (see the previous chapter), and the number of allergens (such as dust mites, tree pollen, molds, and animal dander) has been increasing steadily in today’s environment. In addition, many of us consistently consume a high-sugar and high-fat inflammatory diet, and the nutritional deficiencies we experience alone can easily cause us to be more prone to any disease, including asthma. We also encounter immune-weakening toxins in our environment every day (including in our food); stress in our work and family lives; and air pollution in our cities—which, all together, bring about an increasing epidemic of asthma in our world.

What are the primary triggers for the wheezing, cough, shortness of breath, and chest tightness associated with asthma? Allergens are a primary cause: as such, asthma is essentially an “allergic reaction of the lungs.”³ Exercise may be a trigger, as can be tobacco smoke, burning wood, weather or climate changes, car exhaust fumes, stress in family life or at work, or even infections occurring in other parts of the body. Essentially asthma is a response of the immune system to any number of specific “triggers” and results in wheezing and being breathless. Of all of the triggers, an infection is one of the most common causes, and therefore, if you can maintain a strong and healthy immune system—and thus have fewer respiratory infections—you can have fewer asthma attacks as a result.

There are two basic forms of asthma: extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic asthma is considered to be an allergic condition, which takes place when allergens to which a person is sensitive trigger the release of a chemical called histamine, which then causes an inflammatory response in the body. Intrinsic asthma, on the other hand, is triggered by such non-immune factors as physical exercise, emotional upset or stress, extreme heat or cold, chemical irritants or air pollutants, infections in the body (especially respiratory infections), aspirin, and food allergens, such as fish, seafood, eggs, nuts, milk, wheat, and soy.

As levels of air pollution increase, especially those immediately produced by cigarette smoke or perhaps a wood-burning stove, the frequency and severity of asthma attacks also increases. Tiny particles that can irritate lung tissue are present in wood smoke and in cigarette smoke, there are nitrogen oxides and toxic free radicals in the tar, which are then inhaled and become irritants. In addition to pollution and other toxins in the air asthma is closely linked to allergies. In fact, most, but not all, people with asthma also experience allergies.

Your doctor can prescribe many helpful treatments and medications to help control your asthma. But if you do suffer from this life-altering disease, you can also find benefits in natural therapies that boost your immune system and level out its inflammatory responses to allergic stimuli. Such natural remedies, along with simple ways to alleviate allergens in your home, can make a world of difference for asthma sufferers. And when taken in conjunction with your doctor’s medication prescription, these additional treatments can provide a “double whammy” against the disease and have you feeling much better for longer periods of time.

There are many nutrients that have a beneficial effect on the disease of asthma, and which should be taken daily to help improve asthmatic symptoms. These include magnesium, vitamins B₆ and B₁₂, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, selenium, molybdenum, beta-carotene, and quercetin. Here are some details about specific nutrients and natural treatments to help keep you breathing free and easy.

EXERCISE-INDUCED ASTHMA

Did you know that exercise can be a common trigger of asthma attacks? Exercise can even cause an asthma attack in people who have no other triggers and no other allergies and who do not experience asthma under any other circumstances. Interestingly it is thought that people with exercise-induced asthma are more sensitive to changes in the temperature and humidity of the air they are breathing. When you are at rest, you breathe through your nose, which warms, humidifies, and cleanses the air you inhale—thus making it more like the air in your lungs, and therefore easier to breathe.

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However, when you are exercising, you usually breathe through your mouth, and as a result, the air that hits your lungs is colder and less humid. The contrast between the warmer air in the lungs and this colder, inhaled air (or even drier inhaled air and moist air in the lungs) can trigger an asthma attack.
Asthma cannot be cured, but it can be controlled through diet and medication. Fortunately in those with only exercise-induced asthma (EIA), maintenance therapy is often not required and medication can simply be taken before exercise. And happily, with appropriate treatment, almost everyone with EIA can enjoy the mental and physical benefits of exercise.

• Vitamin D: Vitamin D is a powerful tool in the fight against asthma. It balances the immune system, as well as prevents colds, flu, and pneumonia, which can exacerbate asthmatic symptoms. Vitamin D can even help asthmatics whose disease is not well managed with prednisone—a powerful and often dangerous drug that is not beneficial to remain on long-term.

• Boswellia: When taken at a dose of 300 milligrams, three times daily, this herb, which is also known as frankincense, acts as a powerful anti-inflammatory, reducing asthma symptoms within six weeks (and sometimes even within mere days of starting treatment).

• Adrenal nutrients: Prednisone is a common and powerful anti-inflammatory drug often used to treat asthma, but it is not a drug that should be maintained long-term. When the adrenal glands are strengthened through natural remedies, it can help control asthma to the point that prednisone may be lowered, even in severe cases. Nutrients that strengthen the adrenal glands include vitamin C, B₆, pantothenate, and licorice extract.

• Lycopene: At a dose of 30 to 45 milligrams daily, this antioxidant, which is found primarily in tomatoes, can be effective in preventing episodes of exercise-induced asthma (see earlier sidebar).

• Omega-3 fatty acids: These fatty acids, which are found primarily in fish, can be very helpful in controlling asthma in children, especially after environmental triggers have been removed as much as possible. Fish oil is especially prevalent in tuna, salmon, sardines, and other fatty fish, but it can also be taken in capsule or liquid form such as cod liver oil. Omega-3 fatty acids have also been shown to prevent asthma altogether. In one study children who ate fish more than once a week had one-third the risk of asthma compared with children eating lesser amounts of fish.

• Thymus-supporting supplement: There are many different types of supplements, including those with glandular tissue. The thymus gland regulates your immunity through the hormone thymulin, and it makes sense for asthma sufferers to boost their immunity as much as they can by using thymus extract for support. Any type of respiratory infection—including colds, the respiratory flu, or pneumonia—can trigger sensitive asthmatics to an episode. When you support your thymus gland, you support your asthma treatment! Therefore make sure you avoid all sucralose (Splenda), which has been shown to shrink the thymus gland.

Inflammation is a primary enemy in the battle against asthma. Many asthmatics suffer from allergies to pollen and other airborne pollutants, and when these irritants are breathed into the lungs, the body’s immune system reacts—defending you from “harm” by causing inflamed airways, thus causing labored breathing. A primary way to combat asthma is to combat the inflammatory process that is a result of the overreaction to allergens. Some evidence exists that antioxidants—especially vitamin C—help stop inflammation in the breathing passages of the lungs. “We know an asthma attack is inflammatory, and we know it produces a lot of oxygen radicals,” says Gary E. Hatch, PhD, a research pharmacologist and branch chief of the pulmonary toxicology branch of the Environmental Protection Agency. “So antioxidants should help.”⁴ To help prevent asthma attacks, try adding vitamins C and E and the mineral selenium to your diet, along with fatty fish, which has been proven to reduce inflammation throughout the body.

There is a great deal of research that supports the idea that people who eat a great deal of fruits and vegetables have better lung function than those who do not. Vitamin C—as found in one glass of freshly made veggie juice per day—can increase lung capacity and diminish asthma symptoms significantly. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that helps to reduce inflammation, a common culprit in the disease of asthma. In one study conducted in Great Britain researchers compared the diets of 515 adults with asthma to 515 adults without the disease. Interestingly the more vitamin C the diet contained, the less risk there was that test subjects would contract symptomatic asthma.⁵

Super sources of vitamin C include citrus fruits and juices, red and green bell peppers, broccoli, brussels sprouts, parsley, dark leafy greens, and strawberries.

Vitamin E is another vitamin that can drastically lower your risk of asthma. In one study conducted by Harvard University, among 75,000 nurses, those getting the most vitamin E were 47 percent less likely to have asthma.⁶

Because vitamin E is primarily found in cooking oils, it can be difficult to get the necessary amounts in your diet. However, by adding wheat germ (one serving contains nearly 17 percent of the recommended daily dose) to other foods, such as smoothies and meat loaf, you can increase your intake of vitamin E and cut down on your asthma symptoms. Vitamin E is also found in almonds, sunflower seeds, whole grains, asparagus, salmon, brown rice, and the vegetables spinach and kale, so load up on these foods when you can!⁷

If you have asthma, it may be related to the sodium intake in your diet. Some research indicates that if you have the disease, a diet high in sodium chloride may actually worsen asthma symptoms. On the other hand, a lower-sodium diet may reduce the severity of exercise-induced asthma. A diet that contains more fruits and vegetables and less processed foods will naturally cause you to intake less salt, leading to a more healthy lifestyle overall.

You can use a little Celtic sea salt or pink Himalayan salt, which has a full complement of minerals, unlike refined salt.

Lastly, the local fish market may be one place to go to help reduce your asthma symptoms. Omega-3 fatty acids, commonly found in oily fish such as salmon, tuna, or sardines, helps to reduce inflammation symptoms in the lungs. In one large study conducted in Australia, in families where people ate very little oily fish, almost 16 percent of the children had asthma. However, in families where fish was frequently consumed, only 9 percent of the children had asthma. And even more significant: In families where no fish was consumed, the rate of asthma in children increased to a whopping 23 percent.⁸

If you suffer from asthma, in addition to the dietary changes suggested, you should consider taking the following nutrients and supplements to reduce the number of asthma attacks you suffer.

1. Antioxidants including vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, and selenium. Yellow, orange, red, and dark green vegetables and fruit provide the most antioxidants.

2. Essential fatty acids (EFAs), especially eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and doco-sahexaenoic acid (DHA), two omega-3 fatty acids found in cold-water fish, are beneficial.

3. Magnesium as found in beetroot greens, spinach, parsley, dandelion greens, garlic, blackberries, beetroot, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and celery.

4. Vitamin B₁₂ (cobalamin) successfully aids children with asthma. The best food sources of vitamin B¹² are meat, poultry, and fish.

5. Vitamin C can cause an immediate decrease in airway constriction by reducing inflammation. Try eating more kale, parsley, broccoli, brussels sprouts, watercress, cauliflower, cabbage, strawberries, spinach, lemons, limes, turnips, and asparagus.

6. Vitamin E relaxes the smooth muscles of the lungs by reducing the inflammatory effects of histamine. Add more spinach, watercress, asparagus, carrots, and tomatoes to your diet.

2. Parsley juice can be toxic in overdose, so be sure to ingest only one-half cup juiced per day to treat asthma symptoms. Pregnant women should avoid parsley altogether.