Here are a few stats about asthma that’ll make anyone’s brain go:
34 million Americans have asthma
8 million are children
12.8 million missed school days every year
10.1 million missed work days every year
$14.7 billion spent every year in medical costs, prescription drugs, and lost productivity
No wonder people are searching the seven seas for asthma relief. (There are actually 50 seas. Maybe that’s why people keep coming up empty-handed.)
As a chiropractor for asthma and allergies in Springfield, IL, these statistics don’t seem as crazy to me. I’ve seen my patient’s desperation and the lengths they’re willing to go to relieve their allergies so they don’t have to avoid every blade of grass or gluten molecule.
Asthma is caused by blocked or inflamed airways. We need those channels to be as unblocked and uninflamed as possible. It’s a chronic disease, a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), to be specific. An asthma attack is brought on suddenly in response to a trigger that irritates the immune system or air passageways, like remembering an embarrassing moment from middle school.
Common Asthma Symptoms
- Sneezing and Coughing
- Wheezing
- Running Out of Air
- Difficulty Exercising
- Tightness in the Chest
- Dizziness
- Weakness
- Lightheadedness
- Anxiety
- Watery or Red Eyes, Itchy Throat, or Runny Nose
- Swollen Glands
- Dry Mouth
Causes of Asthma
Asthma is rare in parts of Asia and Africa, but in industrialized Western nations where people commonly eat inflammatory, low-nutrient diets and are exposed to more environmental toxins and high-stress environments, asthma is:
In fact, our modern American lifestyle feeds into many of these asthma risk factors:
- Too Much Time Indoors
- Sedentary Lifestyle
- Obesity
- Allergies
- Childhood Infections
- Genetics
- Poor Posture
- Exposure to Environmental Toxins
- Conventional Asthma Treatments
Doctors rely on anti-inflammatory drugs, steroids, and bronchodilator inhalers to get asthma attacks under control and prevent more serious asthmatic emergencies.
But listen to what Dr. John Mills, chief of infectious disease at San Francisco General Hospital, has to say about that:
“Conventional drugs used for treating asthma, particularly steroids, can impair immune function and lead to more serious health problems. Doctors tell you that steroids (cortisone, prednisone) only cause side effects after many years. But new research shows that permanent damage is immediate and devastating. Studies show that steroids cause permanent, debilitating effects after a single dosage. Steroids are probably the most sleazy of modern day medications.”
Asthma medications shouldn’t make symptoms even worse, but the way they affect the endocrine and immune systems leaves lingering long-term side effects – mood changes, acne, yeast growth, weight gain, not to mention suppressing normal immune function – that increase the frequency of allergic reactions.
There must be another way!!
Natural Asthma Remedies
Good and Bad Foods
I understand why readers are annoyed that every list of natural solutions to a health issue includes something about an anti-inflammatory diet, but
Diet is the fuel our body uses to function! We can’t put just anything in our car’s gas tank. Some of us wouldn’t even dare put regular gas in our Benz or Beemer, so we shouldn’t put just anything in our bodies!
Diet is critical to everything! Inflammation is the source of all disease, including asthma, so every effort to decrease inflammation will help improve our overall health. A healthy diet gives us the antioxidants and nutrients to combat all the crap that’s thrown at us during the day, like environmental toxins, stressful events and relationships, and dietary triggers.
All asthma sufferers should be filling their carts with:
- Brightly colored carotenoid foods
- Foods with folate
- Garlic, onions, and mustard seeds
- Raw milk and cultured dairy
- Prebiotics and high-fiber foods
- Omega-3s
- Foods with Vitamin B5
And keep these products on the shelf:
- Refined or processed vegetable oils, hydrogenated fats, trans fats
- Powdered and pasteurized infant formula
- High sugar content
- Common food allergens: pasteurized milk products, gluten, soy, eggs, nuts
- Food preservatives and color: MSG, tartrazine, sulfites, sulfur dioxide
- Animal products with hormones and antibiotics: farm-raised fish, factory-farmed meat
I don’t want to hear it; it’s absolutely doable! These foods, especially when given to kids, increase the risk of developing asthma and allergies. They are chock full of free radicals and chemicals that contribute to yeast overgrowth and are dangerous to developing bodies and brains. Even those that are still developing in their 40s and 50s…
Supplements For Asthma
Asthma remodels our lungs. And not in a Property Brothers way, in a Flip or Flop way.
It narrows our breathing passages over time leading to degraded lung function. Supplements are a great way to combat asthma’s rogue carpentry skills and boost immune health.
Vitamin D
-
- - studies show that Vitamin D’s anti-inflammatory properties drastically reduce severe asthma attacks.
Vitamin C
-
- - combats dangerous free radicals and boosts immunity.
B Vitamins
-
- - lower antihistamine levels and reduce wheezing. Vitamin B also supports cognitive function, so we can be aware of how well our natural asthma remedies are working!
Magnesium
-
- - reduces pain, anxiety, and emotional stress associated with asthma attacks.
Zinc
- - great for adrenal health and helping the body deal with a common asthma trigger: stress.
Essential Asthma Treatment
Usually, chiropractors laugh at the various lotions and potions Instagram companies peddle to try to get rid of pain, help people lose weight, or make us look 25 again.
But essential oils are an…essential natural asthma remedy. They are particularly effective for allergies and can help improve symptoms like coughing, wheezing, and trouble breathing. Eucalyptus and peppermint oil open airways, Frankincense lowers inflammation and swollen lymph nodes, and Lavender mitigates emotional symptoms like anxiety and mood changes.
Avoid Irritants
Our indoor environments are two to five times more toxic than outdoor environments. That goes for everyone, not just the cast of Hoarders.
This is good news though! We can’t control pollution outdoors, but we can decrease the pollutants in our homes that might trigger an asthma attack. Pollutants like:
- Secondhand smoke from wood-burning stoves and fireplaces, as well as cigarettes
- Everyday cleaning products
- Antibacterial soaps and disinfectants
- Aerosols and beauty products with petroleum-based ingredients
- Mold
- Chlorine in tap water
- Dust mites
- Dirty bedding, upholstery, and carpets
- Down or feather inserts
- Pet hair and dander
- Cockroaches
Manage Stress
Nowhere is stress higher than in America during whatever year it is this article is being read. It is everywhere we turn.
67% of asthmatics have compromised adrenal capacity, increasing their anxiety and susceptibility to mood-related stress. Stress is terrible for our immune system, increasing inflammation and, therefore, the severity and frequency of asthma attacks.
Telling someone they have to deal with their stress better is like telling someone to “relax.”
We’ve heard all the stress management techniques before, but we can never hear them enough:
- Massage
- Deep Breathing
- Progressive Muscle Relaxation
- Guided Imagery
- Art Therapy
- Being better at managing our stress is not a lost cause. In fact, it could very well save our lives.
Chiropractic Care
Chiropractic care is more than just low back and neck pain relief. At the Springfield Wellness Center, we know how critical chiropractic care can be to relieve the root causes of asthma. We’re not here to offer temporary solutions but to effect real change in how our patients’ bodies function.
Poor posture affects lung function. Specifically, forward head posture, when the head shifts out in front of the body, affects the nerves that service the lungs and comprise breathing. Correcting posture, our bread and butter, improves lung capacity. Plus, it reduces pressure on their joints and relieves muscle tension.
Chiropractic improves immune function and the body’s ability to respond to enemy combatants. Chiropractic adjustments release endorphins, our body’s natural painkiller and a key component of relieving stress. Whether it’s compromised immunity, decreased lung capacity, stress, or any of the other possible culprits, chiropractic care clears the road toward healing.
Give us a call or schedule a time to talk with one of our amazing doctors. We can’t stop talking about the powerful effects of chiropractic care for asthma!