Natural Cures For Asthma The Vitimins And Herbs That Work

Asthma is closely related to environmental health and allergies. People who suffer from allergies should obtain a high-quality high-efficiency particulate air filter in the home and avoid potential allergens whenever possible. Exercise may help improve lung function, but asthma patients should be aware that exercising in cold or polluted air (such as a winter morning run) can aggravate their condition.

Some asthma patients are given corticosteroids to reduce inflammation. Because these drugs can cause osteoporosis, people taking any form of corticosteroid should also supplement with calcium and vitamin D to support strong bones. The following dosages are suggested:

Calcium—1200 milligrams (mg) daily
Vitamin D—1000 international units (IU) daily
Similarly, although theophylline is rare in the United States, it is sometimes prescribed for asthma. This drug has been shown to reduce levels of vitamin B6. For people taking theophylline, the following dosage of vitamin B6 is suggested:

Vitamin B6—150 mg daily
Finally, all patients with asthma may be able to reduce their symptoms or reduce their medications by taking the following supplements that combat inflammation and target free radicals:

Butterbur—50 to 150 mg daily
Vitamin C—2000 to 3000 mg daily
Vitamin E—400 IU daily, with at least 200 mg gamma tocopherols
Vitamin A—5000 IU daily
Selenium—200 micrograms (mcg) daily
Quercetin—500 to 1000 mg daily (use only water-soluble quercetin)
Ginkgo biloba—120 mg daily
Lycopene—15 mg daily
Magnesium—340 to 1000 mg daily
Zinc—30 mg daily
EPA/DHA—1400 mg EPA and 1000 mg DHA daily
GLA—900 to 1800 mg daily
Curcumin—800 to 1600 mg daily


Product Availability
All the nutrients and supplements discussed in this section are available through the Life Extension Foundation Buyers Club, Inc. For ordering information, call anytime toll-free 1-800-544-4440, or visit us online at www.LifeExtension.com.

The blood tests discussed in this section are available through Life Extension National Diagnostics, Inc. For ordering information, call anytime toll-free 1-800-208-3444, or visit us online at www.LifeExtension.com.

Asthma Safety Caveats
An aggressive program of dietary supplementation should not be launched without the supervision of a qualified physician. Several of the nutrients suggested in this protocol may have adverse effects. These include:

Curcumin

Do not take curcumin if you have a bile duct obstruction or a history of gallstones. Taking curcumin can stimulate bile production.
Consult your doctor before taking curcumin if you have gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or a history of peptic ulcer disease.
Consult your doctor before taking curcumin if you take warfarin or antiplatelet drugs. Curcumin can have antithrombotic activity.
Always take curcumin with food. Curcumin may cause gastric irritation, ulceration, gastritis, and peptic ulcer disease if taken on an empty stomach.
Curcumin can cause gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea and diarrhea.
EPA/DHA

Consult your doctor before taking EPA/DHA if you take warfarin (Coumadin). Taking EPA/DHA with warfarin may increase the risk of bleeding.
Discontinue using EPA/DHA 2 weeks before any surgical procedure.
Ginkgo biloba

Individuals with a known risk factor for intracranial hemorrhage, systematic arterial hypertension, diabetes, or seizures should avoid ginkgo.
Do not use prior to or after surgery.
Avoid concomitant use of ginkgo with NSAIDS, blood thinners, diuretics, or SSRI’s.
Gastrointestinal symptoms (nausea and diarrhea) may occur.
Allergic skin reactions may occur.
Elevations in blood pressure may occur.
GLA

Consult your doctor before taking GLA if you take warfarin (Coumadin). Taking GLA with warfarin may increase the risk of bleeding.
Discontinue using GLA 2 weeks before any surgical procedure.
GLA can cause gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea and diarrhea.
Magnesium

Do not take magnesium if you have kidney failure or myasthenia gravis.
Quercetin

Quercetin can cause headache, mild tingling of the extremities, and gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea.
Selenium

High doses of selenium (1000 micrograms or more daily) for prolonged periods may cause adverse reactions.
High doses of selenium taken for prolonged periods may cause chronic selenium poisoning. Symptoms include loss of hair and nails or brittle hair and nails.
Selenium can cause rash, breath that smells like garlic, fatigue, irritability, and nausea and vomiting.
Vitamin A

Do not take vitamin A if you have hypervitaminosis A.
Do not take vitamin A if you take retinoids or retinoid analogues (such as acitretin, all-trans-retinoic acid, bexarotene, etretinate, and isotretinoin). Vitamin A can add to the toxicity of these drugs.
Do not take large amounts of vitamin A. Taking large amounts of vitamin A may cause acute or chronic toxicity. Early signs and symptoms of chronic toxicity include dry, rough skin; cracked lips; sparse, coarse hair; and loss of hair from the eyebrows. Later signs and symptoms of toxicity include irritability, headache, pseudotumor cerebri (benign intracranial hypertension), elevated serum liver enzymes, reversible noncirrhotic portal high blood pressure, fibrosis and cirrhosis of the liver, and death from liver failure.
Vitamin C

Do not take vitamin C if you have a history of kidney stones or of kidney insufficiency (defined as having a serum creatine level greater than 2 milligrams per deciliter and/or a creatinine clearance less than 30 milliliters per minute.
Consult your doctor before taking large amounts of vitamin C if you have hemochromatosis, thalassemia, sideroblastic anemia, sickle cell anemia, or erythrocyte glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency. You can experience iron overload if you have one of these conditions and use large amounts of vitamin C.
Vitamin E

Consult your doctor before taking vitamin E if you take warfarin (Coumadin).
Consult your doctor before taking high doses of vitamin E if you have a vitamin K deficiency or a history of liver failure.
Consult your doctor before taking vitamin E if you have a history of any bleeding disorder such as peptic ulcers, hemorrhagic stroke, or hemophilia.
Discontinue using vitamin E 1 month before any surgical procedure.
Zinc

High doses of zinc (above 30 milligrams daily) can cause adverse reactions.
Zinc can cause a metallic taste, headache, drowsiness, and gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea and diarrhea.
High doses of zinc can lead to copper deficiency and hypochromic microcytic anemia secondary to zinc-induced copper deficiency.
High doses of zinc may suppress the immune system