What you eat affects how you breathe - ASTHMA and DIET

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Is there a connection between Asthma and Diet? Yes. What you consume very much so affects the functioning of your respiratory organs-it affects everything. Consequently, if one is seeking to control asthma symptoms and attacks, this is the one-factor one has to strongly consider.

According to medical research, Asthma is an allergic inflammation of the lungs. Moreover, an asthma attack can be triggered by chemicals, air pollutants, pollens, molds, dust, animal dander, foods, exercise, and even temperature changes.

However, friends, speaking from my experiences with asthma from the age of 7 till I was about 20, the one factor I think is the most influential negatively on one’s respiratory and overall health, will be what one consumes.

This is a fact that has been in effect in several programs aimed at correcting respiratory health such as the "Breath Retaining Program for Asthmatics" developed by the Russian, Dr. Buteyko. Within weeks of adhering to his advice, many a chronic asthmatic has been able to give up the use of Ventolin inhalers.

Now, I never had to use his program; however, in my quest to get rid of acne, I stumbled on the dietetic change that miraculously cured my asthma, halitosis and overall lethargy.  Being amazed at how this change in eating habits worked for not one, but all of my health challenges, was what made me research and discover that such a program as his even exists.

“Well, what is the dietetic suggestion?” one might ask. Quite simply, it is to give up all processed foods and animal products such as meat, milk, eggs and the like from your diet-plain and simple.

Two quotes come to mind in advocating this: “You are what you consume” and “Let your foods be your medicine and your medicine your foods”

Now, I ask you a question: “What is the main physical emission that occurs during an asthma attack with all the wheezing and coughs?” It is mucus.

All the foods listed above are highly mucus forming and upon digestion (if they ever do get digested that is), they leave one with an excessive lining of mucus and slime. Keep in mind that the lungs are the most important excretory organs when you add its functioning to this fact, it becomes apparent that the consumption of these substances is really only wreaking havoc on the body.

In addition, from my own experience, DO NOT CONSUME LIQUIDS WITH YOUR MEALS AT ANY TIME. This inhibits digestion by diluting the necessary juices in your stomach designated for that purpose. As a result, it hinders the much-needed expansion of the diaphragm and consequently a constriction of the lungs- the bellows of life-giving air- which results in the wheezing sounds any asthma patient is familiar with.

So what should one eat as an asthma patient?

Well, the foods that are the exact opposite, mucus binding or non-mucus forming foods.

These are quite simply fruits and vegetables. Make sure they are organic if possible or at least not in the list of the “dirty dozen” i.e. the ones most contaminated with pesticides such as Apples, Mexican Melons, Grapes etc…

Trust me on this; I’m speaking from experience, you will do very well to avoid the fruits in that list when it comes to asthma. Nonetheless, you’d still be much better off steering clear of those food substances labeled as mucus-forming earlier on.

Other minor factors will still come into play in regards to a natural asthma treatment, however, diet is arguably THE factor to monitor the most.

Remember what you eat affects how you breathe…and how you breathe affects how you live.

Here’s to breathing freer.

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ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES For Asthma Treatment -- Biofeedback Holds Promise

biofeedback graphics Respiration rate biofeedback display. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Are there effective alternative therapies for asthma? Many researchers believe biofeedback holds promise as a way to help asthma patients. 

What is biofeedback all about? It involves measuring a person's body processes like heart rate, blood pressure, galvanic skin response, etc and providing this information to the person in real time. This creates awareness of these processes and in turn, can help the person gain conscious control over related body functions. 

For instance, scientists have shown that a person can consciously influence his heartbeat. In fact, some studies at the National Institutes for Health have indicated that patients can be trained even to lower their blood pressure. 

Biofeedback training is part of what is called complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). It was Dr. Neal Miller, a neuroscientist at Yale who first said that it is possible to exert conscious control over automatic body functions. The scientific and medical establishment of the time scoffed at his statement and held that such things are impossible. 

However, subsequent research by several groups has shown that control over unconscious body functions is indeed possible. Many patients have found relief from migraine using biofeedback training. Some researchers are studying the possibility of using biofeedback as the main treatment for high blood pressure problems. 

How does biofeedback apply to asthma?

During an asthma attack, the muscles around the airways are inflamed and contracted. If these muscles can be relaxed, air would flow more freely into the lungs and the distressing symptoms of asthma would be alleviated. Biofeedback systems train the patient to accomplish just that. 

In addition, asthma patients often have abnormal breathing patterns. The Society for Applied Psychotherapy and Biofeedback says that 'barrel breathing' is one such pattern. This is when the asthmatic takes in a deep breath and then doesn't fully breathe out. Instead, they take several shallow in and out breaths without emptying their lungs completely. 

As a result, their lungs can't be refilled with fresh air since they never empty fully when breathing out. 

Using a process called pneumographic biofeedback, asthma patients learn to recognize their altered heart rates that occur during barrel breathing. And they learn to change their breathing pattern to lower their heart rate as well as improve oxygen intake. 

Some studies have concluded that this type of biofeedback treatment not only reduced the symptoms of asthma but also brought down lung inflammation and resistance to normal breathing. The heart beat variability biorhythm treatment has also resulted in lowered medication use and better pulmonary function. 

The National Institutes of Health advices asthma patients who wish to use biofeedback training to work with a competent trainer and to keep their doctor fully informed. The latter is important because asthma patients should be monitored regularly and medication may need to be adjusted from time to time. 

Overall, biofeedback treatment is one of the more promising alternative therapies for asthma.

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ASTHMA Treatment Ways

Asthma can be treated in many ways

1. Using conventional medicines and therapies

2. Using alternative medicines such as herbs or other traditional medicines

3. By using alternative therapies such as Yoga, Acupuncture, etc... 

Every type of therapy has its own scope and time span. The first and the most widely accepted therapy is the conventional medicines and procedures. In this procedure of asthma treatment, the patient is treated in two ways

1. Short-term treatment

2. Long-term treatment

Short term asthma treatment involves the instant relief of the patient from asthma attacks. Short-term treatment involves the administration of inhalers and orally administered drugs. Asthma cannot be cured, but the scope of asthma can be controlled with the help of a proper asthma management program.

Short-term treatment is done mainly by using Metered Dose Inhalers or MDIs. Dry powder inhalers are also gaining favor in the treatment of asthma.

For those patients who cannot use the MDI’s, nebulizer therapy is used.

Long-term asthma treatment involves more of Parallel treatment and lesser use of drugs.

In parallel asthma treatment, environmental components and surrounding analysis are done to minimize the factors that lead to Asthma attacks. In this type of treatment environment components such as pollen grains, allergens etc are minimized from the patient’s surroundings to minimize the chances of an asthma attack.

For this it is necessary that the patient’s place of residence be cleaned every week, the patient must be kept away from pets with fur or feather, weekly washing of the bedding of the patient in hot water.

Avoid using a synthetic material in the patient’s bedding, replace upholstery based furniture to vinyl or leather ones. 

Remove carpeted floors. They may contain dust particles that could cause problems to the asthma patient.

Use the Air conditioner to protect the patient from subtle temperature changes.

Keep the house dry. Humidity affects the asthma patient.

After the parallel asthma treatment is completed, lung functioning is monitored to look for effective changes. After this, medicines like corticosteroids and bronchodilators are administered. A periodic check-up is necessary to know about any changes in the condition of the patient.

For patients have persistent asthma attacks, an annual dose of influenza vaccine is necessary.

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ASTHMA Control: Tips on How to Cure your ASTHMA Naturally

With over 17 million people in the United States alone suffering from Asthma and consequently seeking some form of asthma control, this respiratory disease has proven to be a very debilitating hindrance to optimal health. Breathing is the very essence of life and for this disease to hinder its natural process, an effective Asthma control will be essential.

Asthma sufferers may not be able to breathe properly.
They use a spacer to inhale medicine.
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Characterized by wheezing sounds, tightness in the chest, difficulties breathing and at times cough spells and sore throats, I had my first asthma attack as a kid and up until about 6 years ago had these attacks rather frequently. This made for many sleepless nights (why with reaching for my ventolin inhaler) and boring days locked in doors. This was simply because I didn’t have the cardio-vascular endurance to withstand play coupled with the added fear of allergic reactions to grass, dust or even a friendly pat on the back which could trigger an asthma attack at any time landing me right back in the bed for a week minimum.

This (with acne and lethargy) was my state of health for years till I started to take up Yoga, considering its mild, yet very effective abilities to exercise the body without any vigorous demands. I was introduced to Pranayama, the Sanskrit name for Breathing Exercises and was told of the benefits of such techniques as the Bellows Breath for asthma control and was also shown how such simpler Square breathing exercises

could be beneficial for curing and preventing asthma along with improving my overall health. 

The author of the Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga, Swami Vishnu Devananda attested to curing many patients with asthma symptoms by correcting their breathing habits and with the introduction of a proper diet and exercise. Based on my experiences, I will now provide you with similar and up to date information on the tried-and true techniques and methods of attaining successful and permanent asthma control techniques. 

The first step to keep in mind whenever you are breathing is to make the conscious effort to ensure that it is done deeply. This can only be attained initially by conscious efforts but, with time and practice it becomes a natural process, like it was always intended to be. 

To gain the most amount of air with minimal effort, ensure that when inhaling, you allow for the dome of the abdomen to have an outward curve.  Contrary to popular belief and instructions given by vocal coaches and even some doctors, do not raise the shoulders or stiffen the diaphragm when inhaling as this constricts the inflow of air for the lungs.

For a good illustration of natural breathing as described above, simply observe an infant.

You would notice a baby always breathes deeply from the abdomen although it is with a seemingly effortless approach. (I guess that is another reason why the great seers and prophets say “to learn from little children eh?”

A simple test to establish proper breathing habits will be the following exercises. When executing them, ensure that they are done on an empty stomach and in a place with plenty of fresh air. Also, make sure that you breathe through the nose as often as possible.

Asthma Control: Breathing Exercises to Use

1. Inhalation and Exhalation:

-Either laying flat on a bed or sitting erect commence to breathing deeply, using a stop-watch or metronome to keep track of the time. The desired ratio here is 1:2. Minimum time for inhalation should be 4 seconds gradually building up to 16. (With the time for exhalation now being 8 seconds gradually building up to 32) consciously perform this exhilarating exercise for several weeks. 

2. Inhalation-Retention-Exhalation

-When you are properly established in exercise #1 the next stage included is retention. In ancient yogic texts, the required ratio would be 1:4:2 (inhalation, retention and exhalation) The minimum schedule again for this exercise is 4 seconds, gradually building up to a maximum of 16 seconds (inhalation that is) Practice this for several days or weeks till you master it and it becomes second nature. 

Although, from the indications above, you’d notice that more emphasis is laid on proper breathing over diet as a step for a natural asthma control, do keep in mind that it is advised that you avoid Mucus-Forming foods such as Animal flesh and products, Most Grains, Junk and Processed Foods and even some so-called health-food products like Soy, Yeast, Bragg’s Liquid Aminos and Vinegar. 

Abstinence from the products above is a must and a fact that has been in effect in several programs aimed at correcting respiratory health such as the "Breath Retaining Program For Asthmatics" developed by the Russian, Dr. Buteyko. Within weeks of adhering to this advice, many chronic asthmatics have been able to give up the use of ventolin inhalers.

Replace these items with Fruits, Leafy and Root Vegetables and if desired less harmful whole grains like Brown rice, Quinoa, Amaranth and Millet occasionally.

Also make sure to combine your meals properly and not to consume liquids of any kinds while eating so as not to constrict proper movement of the visceral organs that lie underneath the all important diaphragm. In addition, make the effort to avoid the use of microwaves, conventionally grown produce and polluted tap water for your optimal health.

Asthma need not be a part of your life anymore; you too can effectively apply these natural asthma control methods with the steps outlined above. So empower yourself for a successful asthma control today with proper breathing and dietetic habits.

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