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13 Natural Ways to Get Asthma Relief – And Even Avoid It Completely

asthma-post
Does anyone find it crazy that asthma and allergies strike one out of every five Americans? Since the 1980s, the death rate for asthma in kids under 19 years old has increased by 80%. (Source) It’s obvious that something’s not right. And asthma isn’t the only health problem that continues to sky rocket.

If you do your research, it won’t take you long to figure out that Big Food and Big Pharma are to blame. They’re on a team and they’re winning.

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My son has had asthma, so I know how scary it can be as a parent when your child isn’t breathing well. As it turns out, he also has food sensitivities and inflammation lurking in his intestines, which is common among kids with asthma, eczema, ADHD, autism and other auto immune disorders.

Asthma is usually a symptom of another underlying problem. If you try to uncover the cause and do what you can to fix it, you can prevent asthma as well as other serious issues from happening in the future. There are things you can try instead of having to use an inhaler or nebulizer – hopefully very rarely or ever again. The key is to fix the root issue rather than eliminate the symptoms and continue on.

Here are 13 ways to prevent, treat and even reverse asthma.

1. Try an Elimination Diet or Get Tested for Food Allergies

Elimination diet benefits, recipes & tips

There are so many unknown and unusual food sensitivities or allergies affecting many of us – including our kids. Something as common as wheat, rye, oats, soy, dairy, eggs, peanuts or nightshade vegetables could be causing all sorts of inflammation inside your child’s body. Food sensitivities are attributed to minor and major health issues. From eczema and asthma to ADHD and autism – the gut-brain connection is so evident and is nothing to mess around with.

If your son or daughter has asthma – an elimination diet could help to nip it in the bud. You must avoid the foods that are wreaking havoc on your child’s digestive system. And an elimination diet can help you pin point those problem foods – if it’s done right. But, getting a food allergy test is another option. I had my son tested and discovered he had 11 IgG sensitivity reactions.

You can read more about this in the article, When You Should Give Your Kids Digestive Enzymes.

Trust me, your child’s asthma has a very good chance of calming down after food sensitivities or allergies have been addressed.

2. Don’t Vaccinate

http://www.dreamstime.com/-image12037556Everyday it seems there are more and more parents sharing their terribly sad stories about what happened to their child after vaccination. Everyday more whistleblowers are coming out with the truth, and thankfully, more mainstream doctors are learning the importance of nutrition and functional medicine.

Perhaps in the very beginning, vaccines were meant to do something good. Back before Big Pharma realized how profitable they were and how much of an easy sell they’d be. But today, I strongly believe and agree with plenty of others who have studied it – that vaccines are a failed form of achieving immunity. In fact, many studies show they do the exact opposite of what they are trying to do. Plus, they are very risky! If you don’t understand why, read this article, 19 Things You’ll Want to Know Before You Vaccinate, as well as The Origin of Food Allergies.

I know there are two sides to everything. But there’s no need to get involved in all the drama, just read the vaccine package insert. Have you honestly ever done that?

The manufacturers warn you right there that your child could end up with autism or your infant could die of “SIDS.” Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Don’t you find it odd that sudden death can even be defined as a syndrome? Think about it! There is no SIDS! SIDS is just a label given to all the poor little babies dying after getting vaccinated.

Do you really believe the whole “put your babies on their back” campaign? Parents put kids on their belly all the time back in the day. Talk about a sneaky way to skirt around the issue and distract parents from the real reason for sudden death. After so many adverse reactions (and deaths) they changed the vaccine. But it was a smart marketing tactic Pharma.

Seriously, just remember that these “liquid potions” they shoot inside your kids’ bloodstreams only have a chance of offering fake immunity and only for a certain period of time.  Don’t you want to know the other ingredients in those “shots?” – a few of which come from aborted fetuses. Aborted fetuses!? Do you know that means the DNA and RNA from those unborn babies are mixing with your child’s DNA and altering it. BAM – autism.

You’ll probably also be interested in all the studies linking asthma to vaccines and all the info linking allergies to vaccines.

I’m a mom too – who wants to keep her kids healthy – just like you. I am not looking for an argument. I just pray for the people who are still wrapped around the pharmaceutical industry’s manipulative finger and won’t open their closed minds to the possibility of money-hungry evil behind the system. I really hope their kids don’t become another example of why I’m right. There’s already been too many of those.

3. Breastfeed Your Baby

Breastfeed!

This is obviously for future reference if you’re not expecting. Consider it a preventative measure going forward. It’s something that you can share with your friends or family members who will be having a baby, or just remember it the next time you get pregnant.

The nutrients in mama’s milk are critical to her baby’s health. There’s a reason God gave women the ability to breastfeed, and no food engineer or factory can recreate the “liquid gold” that’s found only inside the creation of the human body. If you can breastfeed – do it. The benefits are countless. Period.

As far as asthma and breastfeeding goes, researchers have proven that it reduces the risk of your baby developing asthma and allergies.

Here is part of the conclusion from the study found on GreenMedInfo.com:

“The current study indicates that exclusive breast-feeding prevents development of allergic diseases in children. The study findings opens a big avenue for interventional role of breastfeeding. Therefore, we recommend breastfeeding is as one possible way to reduce the risk of onset asthma and allergic diseases.”

Breastfeeding is one of the first and most important ways to keep your newborn healthy.

4. Switch to Raw, Almond or Coconut Milk

How I Reversed my Son's AsthmaDaNelle, from Weed ’em & Reap, has an awesome story about how she reversed her son’s asthma. One major change she made was the switch to raw goat’s milk. She does tell us that even raw cow’s milk alleviated her son’s asthma.

If you’re unsure about raw cow’s milk, you should read this article – What’s Your Beef With Raw Milk Anway? You’ll find some good information that will help you see the benefits and wrap your mind around the controversy behind it.

DaNelle made many other changes besides ditching pasteurized cow’s milk, although she says that change is definitely one that stood out. In her story, she concludes –

“My son went from needing an inhaler & steroid everyday, to only needing it when he was sick or during physical activity, to never needing it.”

If your kid has asthma – you need to read her story.

If you’re still not into raw milk or your child has a milk sensitivity, almond or coconut milk are a great alternative. For some people, it’s not even an alternative – it’s a preference.

5. Eat Seasonal Organic Foods

Image Credit: Suzie's Farm Via Flickr.com
Image Credit: Suzie’s Farm Via Flickr.com

Eating whole foods that are organic and in season just makes sense. Doesn’t it? Although, it’s easy for us to forget about what foods grow during which seasons because of modern food processes and worldwide distribution. So, maybe it doesn’t come that easy – anymore anyway.

It’s really quite simple though – food has much better flavor and nutritional value when it grows during its natural time of year.

The Worlds Healthiest Foods calls the seasons the “backdrop for eating,” and it’s something we should definitely try to focus more on.

Eating organic will help eliminate some unhealthy things from your diet. Real organic farmers avoid using toxic synthetic pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and nitrogen fertilizers used to make food grow. They allow their animals to go outside and eat grass.

Other farmers give their animals feed with sewage sludge,  GMOs and rendered animal by-products. They give their animals antibiotics because of their unhealthy diet and stress. These antibiotics are in the animal meat you are eating! Conventional farmers inject their animals with growth and breeding hormones. And we wonder why girls get their periods prematurely, and men grow boobs.

6. Ditch the Processed Foods & Fake Sugar

Image Credit: Cobalt 123 via Flickr.com
Image Credit: Cobalt 123 via Flickr.com

Avoiding processed foods was the other big change DaNelle made to successfully reverse her son’s asthma.

“What I think made the asthma go away all together was our huge reduction in processed foods.  DaNelle said. “I don’t purchase any processed food anymore, although being kids, they get some probably a couple times a month from some soccer game or birthday party or grandma’s sleepover.  I let them make their own decision whether or not to partake because I don’t believe in depriving them. I am confident that as we continue with our Traditional Whole Food’s lifestyle, continue to drink raw milk and avoid processed foods as much as possible, that my son will completely be cured from asthma.”

Let’s face it – what we eat matters, and it matters a lot. There’s a plethora of boxed, frozen and canned “foods” made with white flour, sugar, genetically modified this and that, additive, artificial sweeteners, preservatives, food dyes and the list goes on forever.

The power of food is truly astonishing. Asthma isn’t the only problem we can overcome with proper food and nutrition alone. Changing your lifestyle – the way you eat – has the power to heal you. A diet free from allergens, rich in organic whole foods, high in good fats and with no processed junk, refined sugar, and flour will make a enormous difference in your lives. I’ve seen it happen.

Take a glance at this natural health & nutrition pyramid for an idea of what an ideal diet looks like.

7. Cook With Herbs & Spices – Especially Turmeric

The power of everyday herbs is impressive, and they all have a purpose in your body. Their healing potential is inspiring. Food that comes from the Earth, that grows on a plant instead of made in a plant will keep you healthy. Food that grows on trees, bushes and in the ground are here for a reason. They are meant to keep us alive and well.

Make sure to include a variety of herbs and spices in your diet. Doing this, in addition to the others mentioned, can make for positive changes with many health issues – including asthma. Since asthma is considered an inflammatory disorder, finding ways to eliminate the inflammation is key.

Many herbs and spices inhibit inflammation in our bodies. That’s why eating things like turmeric are helpful. Herbs and spices also naturally fight bacteria, fungus and a variety of pathogens. Simply upping your intake of certain herbs and spices like turmeric, ginger and oregano can help keep inflammation down.

If you’re wondering how you can cook with turmeric, Emily Ho from The Kitchn gives us 7 great ideas on how to eat and drink turmeric.

8. Use Healthy Fats Like Coconut or Olive Oil

Coconut Oil Gift SetYet another dietary tip that will only help your child’s overall health and move him towards being asthma free. In Dr. Weil’s list of therapies for long term control and prevention of asthma, he advises us to:

“Eliminate polyunsaturated vegetable oils, margarine, vegetable shortening, all partially hydrogenated oils that might contain trans-fatty acids, all foods that might contain trans-fatty acids (such as deep-fried foods). And use extra-virgin olive oil as your main fat.

Don’t get me wrong, we need some omega-6 fatty acids. But these days, omega-6 fats outweigh omega-3 and 9 fats, which is throwing us way off balance.  An excess of omega-6 fats creates inflammation which will promote asthma symptoms.

Read this study from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) that gives you the statistically significant evidence.

Cooking with organic, cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil and coconut oil is best. Did you know that coconut oil has numerous benefits? You’ve probably heard the myth about how fat is bad for you. It makes your cholesterol spike and can cause heart attack or stroke. Well, that may be true when it comes to GMO laden vegetable oils and partially hydrogenated crap found in all things processed and deep fried.

But when you eat omega-3 foods like salmon, avocado, nuts, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, olive oil, coconut oil and flax seeds – your child’s body will thrive and be protected from asthma symptoms.

coconut oil ad

9. Get More Omega-3s

vega savi seedIn addition to reducing your omega-6 fats, your omega-3 fats need to increase.  Almost all of us are deficient in omega-3s. I’ve even read that at least 99% of Americans are. You can learn more about sings and symptoms of deficiency in this article about Essential Fatty Acid Deficiency. In fact, asthma, eczema and allergies are all considered symptoms of an EFA imbalance.

There are plenty of foods that are high in omega-3s. I think getting your nutrients from food is the best way to go. That means lots of fish, nuts and seeds. A lot of people also take an omega-3 supplement, which is not a bad idea. It’s better to be safe than sorry. And if you don’t love the foods that have omega-3s in them, it’s probably the best way to go.

Here’s a list of Omega 3 foods and supplements that will help your kids get their needed intake of EFA’s:

10. Drink plenty of Non-Fluoridated Water

The Truth About Fluoride Infographic

If your child is drinking and eating food made with fluoridated water, his asthma and allergies could be worse. (Source)

Fluoride in water, as well as chlorine, can compromise your child’s health and just cause more asthma reactions.

Have you heard the truth about fluoride?  A former EPA scientist, Robert Carlton Ph.D  says, “Fluoridation is the greatest case of scientific fraud of this century.” It’s a toxic waste. It doesn’t help keep your kid’s teeth healthy.

It’s ALCOA’s, the largest producer of toxic fluoride waste, smart idea for cheap disposal. And now it’s in our water, it’s the active ingredient in toothpastes and it’s causing serious health issues and even death. Did you know Hitler added fluoride to the water of his prisoners to give them what he called “a mild lobotomy?” It messes with our brains, it gives us cancer, arthritis, dementia, digestive issues and death. A chemist named Charles E. Perkins once said, in 1954, that “any person who drinks artificially fluoridated water for a period of one year or more will never again be the same person mentally or physically.”

In order to avoid the health risks of drinking fluoride, buy reverse osmosis or distilled water filters. You can fill up your own water jugs at many of your local grocery stores with RO water.

11. Find Ways to Decrease Stress

Try massage on your kidsStress kills. It has such a negative impact on our health and only causes our problems to get worse. According to the American Lung Association, emotional stress is actually a trigger for asthma. Unfortunately, stress is a part of our daily lives – even for kids. So, we need to figure out ways to make relaxation, sleep and exercise part of our daily lives too. We have to focus every day on reducing our stress and anxiety.

Some people might think I’m nuts, but massage is part of my kids’ bedtime routine. Each night they look forward to “their rubs” starting with their feet, hands and back. Massage is loaded with health benefits. Then there’s yoga, breathing exercises, physical exercise, quiet time, sleep and laughter.

Try to make a plan for how you will decrease the stress in your life. Think up a few situations where you commonly feel stressed (our stress wears off on our kids), write them down and figure out a way to fix it. Maybe there’s a way to be more organized, timely, or to take something off your plate.  This isn’t just a goal, it’s a necessity.

12.Eliminate Toxins in Your Home

Taking off your shoes at the door can reduce toxins by about 60%

Toxins aren’t just in our food. They are in our cleaning supplies, our make up and lotions, the air we breath outside and in our schools and even our homes. In fact, our homes are much more toxic than the outside air. Have you heard about the risks associated with flame retardants? Do you know that kids develop autism because of the heavy metals found in everyday cooking utensils, paint and toys?

It’s a well-known fact that environmental toxins also cause asthma and allergy symptoms to worsen. Just look at all these studies from the NCBI.

Sometimes I’m really surprised by how many of our bodies can handle everything they do. We should be thanking God for our detoxifying organs. But some people have a hard time detoxing naturally on their own. And they are the ones who end up with health issues that stem from toxic overload. For a more in depth understanding of all the toxins we consume, read 5 Reasons to Detox Your Body and What Toxic Chemicals is Your Body Absorbing.

There are plenty of ways to eliminate toxins in your home. Read about these 6 Ways to Naturally Purify Your Home. But basically, you can start by taking off your shoes at the door. Something as simple as this can help reduce toxins by 60%.

Open the windows when the weather is right. Use natural, plant-based cleaning supplies. Don’t use paint with lead and make sure you don’t have lead paints on your walls right now. Use fluoride-free toothpaste and natural personal care products. Natural Healthy Concepts has a nice selection of natural baby care products you could check out.

You can also try using a few salt lamps, get some house plants and diffuse some essential oils.

13. Diffuse & Use Essential Oils

Theives-OilScience continues to prove that the use of essential oils and aromatherapy may reduce pain and inflammation, help with stress, support a healthy immune system, ease cold and flu, neutralize toxins, etc. Some studies even confirmed essential oils have the ability to destroy cancer cells and other abnormal cells or pathogens.

Bacteria, viruses, mold and germs can’t live in the presence of many essential oils. One of my favorite blends to use is the cleansing Thieves oil.

Combine clove, lemon, cinnamon, eucalyptus and rosemary and use a candle lamp, plug-in or ultrasonic nebulizer to diffuse it into the air. The toxins will flee, the air will be more pure and healthy to breath and asthma symptoms may subside.

There are many other ways to use oils besides diffusing them. For a list of ways to use essential oils as well as more benefits and several great recipes – check out this article.

There are ways to reverse asthma, allergies and avoid other health issues from happening. These 13 things will take you on the right track.

For more motivation, you should read Dr. Fuhrman’s book – Eat to Live. As a doctor who does what he preaches, he has seen real transformations in himself and hundreds of his patients.

Take what you will from this. But hopefully a few of these lifestyle changes will stick with you and improve your child’s overall health.

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Featured Image Credit: KristyFaith via Flickr.com