Asthma: A new approach to relief

It's a disease that affects approximately 15 million Americans, and new cases are showing up in record numbers. Especially dangerous for the elderly, this disease is also a serious problem among teenagers. African American children are 200 percent more at risk than white children.

The disease is asthma. Asthma is primarily an allergy-related disease, and allergies in general are on the rise in the United States, with an incidence assuming epidemic proportions. Not just a collection of bothersome symptoms, asthma can be a killer. Death from asthma is on the increase, showing a 300 percent increase in the last 10 to 15 years, with similar epidemics in New Zealand, England, and Australia.

What Is Asthma? Asthma is a breathing disease in which the airways become obstructed or narrowed as the result of chronic irritation or inflammation. The chronic nature of the inflammation causes the airways to become hyper-reactive to many different irritants. Allergies often trigger asthma, and cigarette smoke aggravates the condition.

Allergies are often inherited, and so many people have a predisposition to develop asthma.

The two classic symptoms of asthma are a chronic, recurring cough, usually a dry cough, and wheezing. The wheeze is expiratory, an audible breathing out. Especially if it occurs at night, wheezing is a dangerous early sign of the disease. Shortness of breath and labored breathing also occur with asthma, along with tightness in the chest. The tightness usually happens in the morning, but it can occur at any time. Some people describe the feeling as similar to the sensation of a belt being tied around their chest. Symptoms can occur to 10 to 20 years before asthma is ever diagnosed. Weight loss can occur in severe cases when people are too sick to eat. Additionally, sometimes during a severe asthma episode, the asthmatic may become cyanotic or blue. The pink in the fingernails turns blue, a condition that can be quite dangerous.

How Is Asthma Diagnosed? Because asthma shares many symptoms with other diseases, its diagnosis involves a pulmonary test. Pulmonary specialists can make a definitive diagnosis, evaluate the asthma's severity, determine how much immediate attention the condition requires, and prescribe the appropriate treatment. Every person with asthma should rule out allergy as a major contributing cause to asthma.

What's the Problem with Inhalers? Many adults and children today carry inhalers, a breathing device containing a prescription medication that has the ability, much like adrenaline, to expand constricting airways during an asthmatic episode. The inhaler medication dilates the airways so that air can move in and out of the lungs more easily. However, although the inhaler dilates the airways, it does nothing for the inflammation or irritation in the airways. In fact, it may make the irritation and inflammation worse. By using the inhaler, the asthmatic obtains momentary relief, but is concurrently causing the condition to worsen. The next time the asthmatic has an episode, it may be more severe because of the medication. In addition, medical research indicates that inhaler medication may be the primary cause for the increase in mortality from asthma throughout the world. Inhalers have a function, but they must be used with caution and under the guidance of a physician. Overuse is one part of the problem. Instead of using the inhaler two or three times a day, some asthmatics use it four to eight times a day in anticipation of problems. Those are the people that seem to develop severe asthma, sometimes life-threatening asthma.

What Are the Best Treatments for Asthma? The good news is that asthma is reversible. One key is to recognize the underlying causes of the disease. Food allergies are a common cause of asthma. Food allergies are not the only cause of the disease, but the link is extremely common. Hundreds of research articles tie food allergy to asthma. Other allergens -- such as dust mites and animal dander -- can also contribute to the condition. Allergic patients can become allergy-free by changing their diet to eliminate allergic foods and improving their nutrition. A clear relationship exists between asthma and under-nutrition or improper nutrition. The science of nutrition and herbal medicine has come of age. A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, study reported in the medical journal The Lancet showed that homeopathic remedies for asthma work better than placebo. All kinds of nutritional remedies are available to eliminate allergic foods, and herbal remedies can reduce the inflammation with no side effects.

Persons with asthma can and should exercise, but for many asthmatics, exercise provokes coughing. However, many great athletes are asthmatic, such as Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Despite her asthma, Joyner-Kersee developed into one of the greatest women athletes in the history of the world by learning to control her condition. Exercise, paradoxically, is part of effective asthma therapy, but it must be done in a proper and controlled manner.

How Are Food Allergies Diagnosed? A simple blood test can identify allergic foods that could be triggering asthmatic symptoms. Immuno Laboratories is widely recognized as the leading toxic food testing facility in the world. Since 1978, Immuno Laboratories has performed more than 350,000 food allergy tests and is the only lab in the world that can accurately reproduce its test results.

In contrast to traditional allergy testing that tests for immediate reactions, Immuno Laboratories tests for delayed reactions to 115 foods. Many allergic food reactions can take up to three days to produce symptoms and are almost impossible to detect without Immuno Laboratories' sophisticated blood test. Because it has been proven to be so accurate, the Immuno Laboratories test is money-back guaranteed. With these results, a physician qualified in the areas of nutrition, herbal medicine, and asthma can design an eating and lifestyle program that will not only relieve asthma symptoms, but also allow asthmatics to exercise without having an asthmatic attack. Such a program is especially critical for pregnant women. A good nutritional dietary program that eliminates allergens from their diets will not only help their asthma and eliminate their dependence on medication, but may also help prevent allergic problems in their babies.

Click here for a symptom self test see if any of your symptoms are linked to reactions to foods toxic to your system - they may be foods you eat every day!

Sue's Story Sue had allergies most of her life that ultimately developed into asthma. Her condition became so severe that she was hospitalized because she couldn't breathe. The doctor prescribed meprednisone that relieved her asthma symptoms, but caused other problems. Sue learned about Immuno Laboratories and was tested. Within two weeks she learned that she was allergic to cane sugar, beef, bananas, and haddock. She immediately eliminated those foods from her diet. As a result, Sue's asthma problems disappeared and she lost 17 pounds in the process. She is completely off medication and breathing well. In Sue's case, she was eating a banana a day, a food that happened to be one of the common allergies that provoked an asthmatic attack. Treating the Cause, Not the Symptoms All people who have asthma are not allergic to bananas like Sue, but they may be allergic to other foods that are triggering their asthma. The best way for asthmatics to improve their health is to learn what is causing the problem and to address those issues, rather than focusing on simply treating the symptoms. Good nutrition can reverse many allergies, including asthma, and relive the debilitating symptoms that curtail so many people's lives and activities. Good nutrition -- and the elimination of food toxicities -- can give asthma sufferers their lives back.