With more than 26 million Americans diagnosed with asthma, and 225,000 people worldwide dying from asthma, it’s time we take another look at it. So often, we are led to believe that asthma is just something that happens to us – “it’s in your genes”. But we have more to do with it than originally thought.
Asthma is a chronic lung condition that makes it difficult to breathe. It is generally acquired, meaning you were not born with it. The bronchial tubes, or airways, become inflamed. Frequently this begins with a bacterial or viral infection that settles in the lungs and never completely resolves. This inflammation causes tightening of the surrounding muscles, narrowing the airways. This is compounded by excess mucus production. Symptoms include: wheezing, shortness of breath, especially during exercise, and chest pain or tightness. Typically, there is a need for medications to open the airways, allowing for increased flow of air into the lungs. It can be a very frightening experience to not get air, and could be (as the stats above show), life-threatening.
There are causes and triggers. Common triggers of an asthma attack include environmental allergies (especially seasonal pollens, but also dust, mold, animal dander, grass, hay, cigarette or other smoke, etc.), food allergies (especially dairy, wheat, soy, peanuts and other nuts, fish and other seafood, and eggs), upper respiratory tract infections, (including sinusitis, and other infections of the lungs or mucus membranes). Even heart burn can trigger an asthma attack, as can strong emotions (stress, anger, yelling, crying, anxiety and even laughing really hard). Furthermore, medications such as anti-inflammatory drugs (like ibuprofen and naproxen, and beta-blockers used to treat hypertension and glaucoma) can trigger asthma.
Weak lungs top the list of causative factors, but what makes them weak? Allergies are not only a trigger, but chronic allergies can lead to asthma. This includes frequent exposure to cigarette smoke and air pollution. To treat asthma, the lungs have to be strengthened in order to resist these chronic insults, but also the gut has to be healed so that the person doesn’t have food allergies. To the degree that avoidance of the allergens is a must, so too is remedying the issue in the body that has caused it to be so hyper-reactive in the first place.
Statistics show that those who are overweight are more likely to have asthma than those of normal weight.
Stress is certainly a trigger, but also a cause. Studies have found that those who are under stress for extended periods of time have higher asthma rates. This may be part of the immune suppression that occurs with chronic stress.
The lungs hate cold. Excessive cold exposure can weaken the lungs, predisposing the person to asthma. A simple remedy is to avoid strenuous activity when it’s cold outside, and/or wear a scarf or other covering over the mouth (especially) and possibly the nose, so that the air breathed in is warmer.
The biggest causative factor is chronic nutritional deficiencies. The essentials – vitamins, minerals and healthy fats, in particular are needed. You need healthy digestion, a healthy immune system, good exercise, plenty of water consumption, positive attitude, and even exposure to dirt! Studies have found that homes that are too clean actually contribute to asthma because the immune system is denied the opportunity to brace itself against “foreign invaders”! The body is a complex matrix of factors that contribute to asthma and so it is important that the person is treated, not just the disease.
©2016 Holly A. Carling, O.M.D., L.Ac., Ph.D.
