Allergies
Fight Asthma Caused By Allergies With These Natural Tips
Aug 14, 2017If you or someone in your family suffers from asthma, you’re probably no stranger to crazy, frantic emergency room visits. Asthma attacks are scary. Struggling for every breath and feeling helpless when you can’t get enough oxygen is not something any of us wish for. Especially if you have allergy-induced asthma, allergy season can be very difficult.
However, if you prefer holistic treatments, you may wonder – do I really have to ingest overpowering drugs (with potential side effects) just to be able to breathe? Or is there another, more natural and drug-free way to reverse allergy induced asthma?
Natural Treatments for Allergy Induced Asthma Make Sense
Asthma is a result of increased sensitivity of the airways to allergens, and is one of the most common inflammatory conditions of the lung. However, asthma is more of an immune imbalance than it is a disease of the lungs. In other words – these allergens trigger a reaction in the immune system, causing an inflammatory reaction in lungs. The bronchial tubes fill with fluid and mucous in order to restrict the allergen and keep it out of the airway. The result – swelling that irritates the airways even further, causing an increased level of sensitivity.
Since allergy-induced asthma is caused by exposure to allergens as well as a compromised immune system, a natural treatment can be especially helpful.
This kind of asthma can be reversed with natural lifestyle interventions that boost the immune system and control inflammation. The aim is to identify allergens, desensitize the body against them, cleanse the body and environment to remove these allergens as far as possible, boost immunity and promote anti-inflammatory response of the body. And all this can be achieved with natural, drug-free therapies.
Step One: Identify and Eliminate Allergens
Identify and Eliminate Allergens
The first step to reversing allergy-induced asthma is to identify allergens that trigger inflammation in the lungs, and to successfully eliminate them from immediate surroundings. Both food and environmental allergens can trigger asthma symptoms, so it’s wise to identify and remove any possible trigger. Keep a journal that documents your asthma attacks and write down what you ate, where you went, what you did, what time of the year it is, etc. Once you identify a trigger, work on eliminating it from your life, as much as possible.
Also, cleaning agents used to sanitize bathrooms, floors, clean upholstery and polish furniture can be culprits here. If you or someone in your family has asthma, using natural, organic cleaning agents is the safest way to keep all possible allergens out of your immediate surroundings.
Allergy tests can be very useful to achieve this crucial first step of identifying allergens. Another wonderful option is the NAET treatment for allergy. NAET not only identifies allergens, it focuses on desensitizing the body against known allergens, hence reversing allergy-induced asthma permanently.
NAET combines non-invasive procedures from Western and Eastern healing practices to permanently eliminate allergies of all kinds. Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Techniques or NAET was discovered by Dr. Devi S. Nambudripad who is a Doctor of Oriental Medical and of the Chiropractic Arts, and is a Licensed Acupuncturist, R.N., and Ph.D. This treatment uses Muscle Response Testing (MRT) to identify allergic reactivity. Once allergens are identified, your NAET therapist will use a combination of spinal manipulation, acupressure and/or acupuncture procedures, chiropractic and nutritional therapies to eliminate the allergy. All this is achieved without the use of any drugs or invasive treatments, with the aim of re-programing the brain and the body to elicit a positive response to a previous allergen.
Related Article:
Related: 2 Lesser-Known Methods for Treating Kids with Asthma
It’s important to note that NAET requires patience and time, as the treatment works with only one allergen at a time and can it can take several sittings with the NAET practitioner to become desensitized to a severe allergen. You can find a NAET practitioner at www.naet.com.
Step Two: Cleanse The Body & Remove Allergens From Your Diet
Many of us assume that common allergens like pollen, dust, cigarette smoke, dander, chemicals and mold are to blame. But there are just as many allergens found in the modern diet; for example – hydrogenated oils and trans-fats.
The result of the German National Health Survey 1998 found that frequent intake of margarine of any kind is positively associated with current asthma, with low-fat margarine and low-fat butter being the worst offenders. Research has also linked trans-fats to allergy. Processed and refined foods can also worsen asthma symptoms, as food additives like sulfur dioxide, potassium metabisulfite and sodium bisulfite can trigger an inflammatory response in the body. Also, some asthmatics can be allergic to pasteurized dairy products, gluten containing grains, soy products, and peanuts.
In fact, a healthy Mediterranean style diet that focuses more on whole foods, like fruits, vegetables, fish, nuts and healthy oils like olive oil and coconut oil can cleanse the body of allergens and reduce risk of asthma. An international study undertaken to assess the association between dietary factors, asthma and allergy in children found that more frequent consumption of fruit, vegetables and fish was associated with a lower lifetime prevalence of asthma, whereas high processed food consumption was associated with higher lifetime asthma prevalence.
Another excellent way to cleanse the body is to stabilize gut flora. Research has found probiotics may have a beneficial effect in allergies like allergy-induced asthma by reducing symptom severity and medication use.
Add red cabbage, sauerkraut, kimchee, kefir, kombucha, yogurt and amasai to your diet. Also, adding apple cider vinegar to diet can reduce mucous formation and boost immune function.
Related article: https://www.sepalika.com/living-well/amazing-benefits-of-probiotic-supplements/
Step Three: Eat an Anti-Inflammatory Diet
Eat an Anti-Inflammatory Diet
You must have heard the saying – ‘We are what we eat’. This seems to hold especially true for patients suffering from allergy-induced asthma.
A study done in Saudi Arabia to understand the link between diet and childhood asthma found that a healthy diet reduces risk of asthma in children. Low intakes of milk and vegetables and of fibre, vitamin E, calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium were found to be risk factors for childhood asthma. A population-based case–control study in South London, UK, to investigate the association of dietary antioxidants and asthma in adults found associations between apple and red wine consumption and asthma which indicates a protective effect of flavonoids. Intake of selenium was also negatively associated with asthma. Another study found that dietary supplementation with fish oil rich in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids reduced asthma symptoms in children with bronchial asthma. Research has also linked asthma to a vitamin D deficiency.
An anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle are critical for reversing allergy-induced asthma. It can effectively de-inflame the body by restoring natural balance and boost the immune system as well. Some foods that should become a part of your anti-inflammatory diet are:
- Probiotics like red cabbage, sauerkraut, kimchee, kefir, kombucha, yogurt and amasai
- Oily fish
- Red Onions, Garlic, and Apples as they’re rich in sulfur compounds and the antioxidant flavonoid quercetin
- Tomatoes, as they are rich in lycopene
- Anti-inflammatory herbs such as turmeric, ginger, boswellia, cinnamon, rosemary, & oregano
- High vitamin C foods like bell peppers, dark leafygreens, kiwifruit, broccoli, berries, citrus fruits, tomatoes, peas, and papayas can bring relief from wheezing and asthma symptoms
- Flaxseeds, which are rich in selenium
Exploring Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) as an Effective Treatment for Asthma
Effective Treatment for Asthma
Sometimes, unresolved emotions can also aggravate asthma. EFT, or Emotional Freedom Techniques, is a popular new drug-free asthma treatment that can help in this case to combat wheezing and congestion when all other therapies have failed.
Described as acupuncture for the emotions without the needles, EFT can work wonders when unresolved emotional factors are the trigger behind asthma. It is a wonderful drug-free option for people who often notice that their asthma symptoms are worsened by stress.
Related: 4 Tips To Reduce Stress-Related Asthma Attacks
While environmental exposure like dust mites, pollen and tobacco smoke are important triggers of asthma, medical literature doesn’t always identify fear, guilt, anger and trauma as a cause of asthma attacks as well. However, most doctors agree that emotional factors such as anxiety and stress can aggravate or sometimes even trigger asthma attacks. What’s amazing is that EFT approaches asthma treatment strictly from the emotional point of view, and many patients report impressive relief. It should be considered as a natural treatment to reverse allergy-induced asthma in cases wherein no environmental or food allergens have been identified, yet the patient experiences asthma symptoms accompanied by anxiety and stress.
Remember that while alternative, drug-free therapies can take time, they are often worth the effort. When small changes in your diet and cleaning products you use are coupled with effective non-invasive therapies, reversing allergy-induced asthma permanently becomes a possibility!
Maneera is a health and fitness enthusiast who is also a firm believer in the power of dietary supplements. A health buff, she likes to help others improve their overall well-being by achieving the right balance between nutrition, exercise and mindfulness.
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References:
Margarine Consumption, Asthma, and Allergy in Young Adults: Results of the German National Health Survey 1998 – http://www.annalsofepidemiology.org/article/S1047-2797(04)00084-5/fulltext
Dietary fats and asthma in teenagers: analyses of the first Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan (NAHSIT) – http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1365-2222.2001.01222.x/full
Trans fats—sources, health risks and alternative approach – A review – https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13197-010-0225-8
Effect of diet on asthma and allergic sensitisation in the International Study on Allergies and Asthma in Childhood (ISAAC) Phase Two – http://thorax.bmj.com/content/65/6/516.short
Probiotics for the treatment of allergic rhinitis and asthma: systematic review of randomized controlled trials – http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1081120610602190
Diet and childhood asthma in a society in transition: a study in urban and rural Saudi Arabia – http://thorax.bmj.com/content/55/9/775.short
Dietary Antioxidants and Asthma in Adults: Population-based Case–Control Study – http://www.atsjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1164/ajrccm.164.10.2104061
Dietary supplementation with fish oil rich in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in children with bronchial asthma – http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/16/5/861.short
Serum vitamin D levels and severe asthma exacerbations in the Childhood Asthma Management Program study – http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091674910006573
Lycopene-rich treatments modify noneosinophilic airway inflammation in asthma: Proof of concept – http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10715760701767307
Consumption of fresh fruit rich in vitamin C and wheezing symptoms in children – http://thorax.bmj.com/content/55/4/283
