7 Ways to Breathe Easy

By Victoria Dolby Toews, MPH

Since 1980, asthma rates have doubled, according to Fred Pescatore, MD, a physician in Dallas. “Asthma has become more prevalent in the past decade than ever before,” he says, “and now afflicts more than 17 million people in the US or 8 percent of the population.” The reasons underlying this dramatic increase remain a medical mystery, however, scientists think that environmental pollutants, immune responses early in life, and viral infections during childhood may all play a role.

In asthma, the airways become swollen and inflamed, resulting in wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and difficulty breathing. Common asthma triggers include viral illness, cigarette smoke, air pollution, allergens such as dust mites, pollen, mold, or animal dander, and even such things as exercise, stress, cold temperatures, and in about 20 percent of people, aspirin. (Ironically, for others, daily low doses of aspirin can protect against asthma.)
The usual fix, steroids (corticosteroids), “quickly open up the airways in an acute asthma attack,” says Douglas Husbands, DC, CCN, a chiropractor and clinical nutritionist in San Carlos, California. The downside? Repeated steroids use can increase your risk of glaucoma, yeast and fungal overgrowth in the throat, weight gain, water retention, infection, high blood pressure, and imbalances of potassium and calcium, says Husbands. Natural medicine offers a wide range of remedies, like those listed below, that can help keep asthma under control and reduce reliance on conventional asthma medications.

Medicinal Mushrooms
An extract from mushrooms called AHCC (active hexose correlated compound) “can help the immune system do its job better,” says Pescatore. Take 500 to 4,500 [is lower for prevention and higher for attack?] mg per day, depending on the severity of the disease.

Boswellia (Boswellia serrata)
This gummy resin from the bark of the boswellia tree, found in India, North Africa, and the Middle East, blocks inflammatory compounds that lead to acute asthma attacks, according to Husbands. Consider taking 300 mg of a standardized extract in capsule form, three times a day. Butterbur (Petasites hybridus)
Since the 17th century, practitioners have lauded this European shrub for its ability to ease asthma symptoms. Modern research shows that butterbur soothes airway spasms; one study found that more than 40 percent of butterbur users could take less asthma medication and still keep symptoms under control. Take 50 to 100 mg in pill form twice a day with meals, but make sure to select a product that contains no pyrrolizidine alkaloids (compounds that can cause liver damage).

Picrorhiza (Picrorhiza kurroa)
Long-used in the ayurvedic tradition, this herb counteracts inflamed and restricted airways, according to animal research. Adults take 400 to 1,500 mg a day of a standardized extract in pill form. Another option: Take 1 to 2 ml of fluid extract twice daily, but beware the bitter taste.

Pycnogenol
To reduce the severity of asthma symptoms, Pescatore recommends pycnogenol, a supplement derived from the bark of the French maritime pine tree. “It is a powerful antioxidant and also a strong anti-inflammatory,” says Pescatore, who suggests taking 30 to 60 mg a day. A 2004 study in Journal of Asthma found that when children with mild to moderate asthma took pycnogenol their lungs worked better and the children were more likely to reduce or discontinue use of rescue inhalers, compared to children taking a placebo.

Vitamin C
People with asthma can reduce their reliance on inhaled corticosteroids by taking 1,000 mg of vitamin C daily. Vitamin C supports the body’s natural production of corticosteroids in the adrenal glands. By taking lower doses of the synthetic form of corticosteroids (and still having asthma under control), you lessen the risks of side effects such as cataracts, bone loss, and immune system suppression. Note: Do not stop taking steroid medications abruptly; work with a doctor to safely adjust your dosage downward.

Vitamin D
At the 13th Annual Vitamin D Workshop in May 2006 in Victoria, British Columbia, researchers fingered low levels of vitamin D as a culprit in asthma. This helps explain, says Husbands, why African-American children have particularly high asthma rates (due, in part, to less production of vitamin D in darker skin tones upon exposure to sunlight). Vitamin D improves lung function, as well as supporting a strong immune system. Adults take 1,000 to 2,000 IU daily of vitamin D.

Note: Consult your health care practitioner before taking any herbs and supplements and for individualized dose information. All dose recommendations are for adults.

Oregon-based freelancer Victoria Dolby Toews, MPH, is the author of User‘s Guide to Sexual Satisfaction (Basic Health, 2003) and User‘s Guide to Glucosamine and Chondroitin (Basic Health, 2002).