Why Does My Child Have Asthma?
Dr. Kenneth Bock, a family practitioner, who has two holistic health centers in N.Y. and is the author of the book, Natural Relief for Your Child's Asthma, says: "I think it is really because of the increasingly toxic environment in which we live. It is due to the pollution, both indoor and outdoor, the types of foods we are eating, which are nutrient empty and calorie dense, and also the stresses. I think even our kids are subject to our fast paced lives."
I think he's right. And too many kids do have too much going on in their lives, and not enough rest and sleep, creating too much stress on top of the stress of their rapidly growing bodies. But I think the biggest stressor on top of all this is the stress on their growing bodies of inadequate nutrition. This may not have even occurred to you; you are probably pretty sure that your children are well nourished. You probably serve what you believe are nutritious meals and probably give your child vitamins. What else can you do? Well, quite a lot.
Can you imagine putting some outside contaminant, such as sugar or water, into your car's gasoline tank and expecting it to run well? Maybe you could just pour in a tiny bit, and it would still run okay. And then pour in another tiny bit a few hours later; keep doing this day after day, week after week, month after month---well, you get the idea. Your car would soon not be running at all! It would be "sick", only you wouldn't call it that. Maybe it would cough and sputter before it quit running, but you still wouldn't call it "sick" because you would know that you ruined it by putting what it's not made to use as fuel into it.
Well, our bodies obviously aren't cars, but have you ever really thought about how all it has to run on is what we put into it? And when it gets "run down," things start to break down inside and we get sick---we develop disease, such as asthma. (For specifics on nutrition, be sure to read all the other sections.)
Gary Null, Ph.D. nutritionist, says: "Asthma can range from mild and intermittent to severe and peristent. Its severity can change over time. Many children with asthma will 'grow out of it' as their bodies develop and mature."
This is true. And the reason the severity of asthma can change and that many children "grow out of it" is because the body's demands and the nutrition it is getting at the time are changing all the time. Once their growth slows down enough to match the fuel they're getting, their asthma can disappear. Adolescence is a common time to develop allergies and asthma because not only are they growing rapidly, but their developing hormones exact a tremendous nutritional demand on their bodies.
While I'm mainly interested in controlling asthma since it's such a life-threatening condition, the fact is that asthma is just another manifestation of the allergic reaction. Besides asthma, allergies can show up as rash, eczema, hives, puffiness, hay-fever, headache, running or stuffy nose, sinus "infections", digestive disturbances, and fatigue---but asthma is towards the worse end of the spectrum and can be incapacitating, even deadly. A "little" allergy that starts out small can gradually, or even quickly, get worse and turn into full-blown asthma. No one is immune.
We end up with asthma because the health of our bodies is not great enough to withstand the onslaught from our environment and other stressors. We can be hit by antigens and stress. Antigen is the word describing any foreign entity that our body recognizes as an invader and subsequently launches an attack to neutralize it or get rid of it. Examples of antigens are dust, pollen, mold, animal dander, chemicals, poisons, prescription and over-the-counter drugs, mites, fumes, viruses, bacteria, and even undigested food particles. Stress is anything taxing the body's functions, such as inadequate nutrients, disease, prescription or over-the-counter drugs, anger, depression and other negative emotions, lack of sleep, overwork, etc. Asthma, like allergy, is the result of toxic antigens plus stress occurring at the same time in a body unable to respond in a healthy way.
While living in the beautiful, clear, daily trade-wind and rain-shower refreshed air of Hawaii, I first became interested in spreading the word on overcoming asthma because Hawaii has one of the highest death-rates from asthma in the nation. I also knew and heard of many local people in Hawaii who ended up leaving their beautiful islands and loved ones for desert states on the mainland, on the advice of their doctors, as a last resort in trying to avoid the moisture, the molds, and the pollen of vegetation growing everywhere, twelve months out of the year. Their doctors were not able to cure them with all the medication at their disposal.
Then, what amazed me, was knowing and hearing of other people, also with asthma, moving to Hawaii, on their doctors' advice, in order to avoid the harsh, dry air, dust and sagebrush of the desert states in which they lived! I talked to people who had moved to Hawaii claiming that the humid climate helped them breathe better, and the people who were moving from Hawaii claiming that dry air helps them breathe better. However, this relief is bound to be only temporary, and it's only a matter of time before the new and different antigens of the new climate will again gain entry into the body and asthma is again produced. Unless measures are taken to produce health, the asthma will return and can only get worse. So what's going on here?
What's happening is that the antigens, whether in Hawaii or Arizona or wherever, are getting into the body and setting off the allergic reaction. Remember, asthma is only a manifestation of the inflammatory system at work in the bronchial tubes in response to the antigen---trying to get rid of the antigen which shouldn't be getting into the body in the first place. (Note: Exercise-Induced Asthma is usually caused by a different mechanism.)
The most common way for asthma to begin is when an antigen is not being kept out by the skin and mucous membrane barriers as it should be. Mucous-forming epithelial cells line the membranes of the body from the mouth and nasal passages, down the throat, throughout the lungs, the stomach, and the intestinal tract. Their job is to be the first line of defense against foreign particles entering the body. It's important to not let foreign particles enter the inner workings of the body, because, if they do, the body is immediately alerted to the invader and will mount an inflammatory response. While water and other nutrients need to be absorbed into the bloodstream, the body needs to recognize and keep invaders out because invaders could be lethal to the body. Everyone's body works the same way---we all have this epithelial cell-lining which protects the passages throughout the body. Everyone's cells are trying to allow absorption of what's needed and yet keep invaders out and keep the body protected. And everyone's body requires exactly the same type of nutrients to build these cells.
What is often different, however, is the amount of nutrients needed to carry out this process. And what is different, as well, is the amount of nutrients the individual's body is being fed in order for it to do its work.
To illustrate this point: An important study was done showing biochemical differences in individuals. It was found that some individuals require 20 times the amount of pantothenic acid (one of the B vitamins, also known as calcium pantothenate) than others do, just to function normally. If they don't get their high requirements met, allergies and even asthma result, among other symptoms.
More commonly, it's been shown (and you may have noticed this yourself) that often the tendency towards allergy (which can lead to asthma) runs in families. Since we inherit our genes from our parents, we also inherit the body chemistry that these genes govern. And, even though everyone's body chemistry essentially works the same, the amount of nutrients needed to run that chemistry properly will vary from family to family, as well as from one individual to the next.
When certain nutritional needs are not met, the adrenal glands can become exhausted. (For details on the adrenal glands, see the section, What Happens In the Body?) When the adrenal glands are exhausted, they are not able to function properly. It is important that the adrenals remain healthy because they put out the hormones which control the inflammatory response, among other things.
The inflammatory response is vital to life because that's what brings the healing entities to the site of whatever triggered it. Inflammation is the body's reaction to injury of the tissues: blows, cuts, scratches, surgery, heat and cold, chemicals, electricity, bacterial or viral invasion, or any foreign particles, i.e., antigens. When traumatized by any of these, the body responds by sending extra fluid which carries white blood cells which secrete antibodies to neutralize and enzymes to destroy, and healing nutrients to repair. The infiltration of tissues by fluids is the cause of swelling.
However vital the inflammatory response is, sometimes it can get out of hand. If it overreacts, it can be especially problematic in the airways, causing the wheezing and congestion of asthma. It is the proper balance of hormones from the adrenal glands that keeps the inflammatory response in proper balance. Since the adrenals secrete the very hormones that control the inflammatory response, the adrenals must be made healthy with nutrition if we want to get over allergies or asthma. This website explains how.
Conventional treatment: Conventional doctors manage asthma by attempting to identify and eliminate exposure to the substances that may trigger the attack. If a specific allergen has been found, allergy shots may be administered. A variety of medications are used to prevent and control the symptoms of asthma. Long-term control medications include inhaled corticosteroids such as beclomethasone (Beclovent, Vanceril) and fluticasone(Flovent), cromolyn sodium (Intal) and nedocromil (Tilade), long-acting beta agonists such as albulterol, and theophylline. The quick relief medications include epinephrine and inhaled beta agonists. Children too young to use an inhaler receive their treatments in mist form through a nebulizer. Oral steroid therapy is often needed to reduce the airway inflammation associated with more severe attacks. Many of these medications are associated with side effects.
Medication can help control asthma by forcing certain changes in the body, but this tactic is temporary; when the medication wears off or is withdrawn, sooner or later the asthma returns---unless the health of the body has increased, or the child has "outgrown" it, or the asthma triggers are avoided. Medication does not heal the body; the body must heal itself. Medication is not the best long-term solution; the body will only be further stressed by the medication, making the process of acquiring better health an uphill battle. A proper diet, aided by supplements, is what the body needs in order to heal itself.
Meanwhile, if your child is under a doctor's care and on prescribed medication, it's safest to continue with the medication. You can still work on building your child's health through nutrition until medication is no longer necessary, but don't expect your doctor to be very enthusiastic. He will probably not believe asthma can be overcome this way, because his field is medicine, not nutrition---but it can.