How to get rid of asthma ?

Usually, you don’t even notice when you are breathing. Air that passes through your nose gets cleansed by the tiny hair, moves into your windpipe and then branches into your bronchial tubes before getting distributed into the lungs. During an asthma attack, the muscles surrounding the bronchial tubes tighten up and thus make you gasp for air. This muscle constriction (tightening) usually begins with a irritant such as a virus, fungus or bacteria that can come from dust, environmental pollutants, feathers, pets, food additives, tobacco smoke, chemicals etc. These irritants stimulate inflammatory responses in the body, which are responsible for the asthma attacks. Although a few people may be hereditarily prone to asthma, experts feel that environmental pollution is the main cause.



Nutrition To The Rescue:
Eating correctly can help reduce the frequency of attacks. No amount of medications can banish asthma completely without nutritional support. Although nutrition is not the answer to asthma, but it forms the cornerstone for its treatment.



Diet:
A diet plan for patients suffering with asthma should incorporate the following things:

* Fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, pulses and brown rice are helpful.
* Your diet should be moderately low fat, preferably vegetarian.
* Go slow on red meats and dairy products.
* Garlic and onion contain quercetin that reduces the inflammation and mucus.
* Ginger juice taken with honey in hot water also helps to reduce mucus formation and reduces frequency of attacks.
* Wheat grass juice helps the body to get rid of toxins and mucus.
* Avoid cold stuff like ice-creams, soft drinks and cold sherbets. The bronchial tubes may go into spasm.
* Fasting for one day in a week on raw fruits and vegetables will also help the body to get rid of toxins and reduce mucus. Besides raw fruits and vegetables are loaded with phytochemicals (Plant chemicals) that work in mysterious ways to keep us healthy.

Nutrients That Help:

Omega-3 Fats: These fatty acids are found in sea-food and flaxseeds. They work by reducing inflammatory responses, thereby preventing the blockages in the air passages. You can get Omega-3 fats by consuming flaxseeds (alsi) about 2 powdered tablespoons daily. Taking fish oil capsules also helps but if you are sensitive to asprin, check with your doctor before taking any fish oil capsules.
Magnesium: This mineral works as a bronchodialator and helps relax muscles. It opens up the air passages. Asthmatics can consume about 400 mg of magnesium aspartate daily.
Licorice: It helps in reducing inflammation and thus prevents frequent attacks.
Vitamin C: Helps to cut the risk of wheezing by reducing inflammation of the tissues surrounding the bronchial tubes. It also helps to reduce allergic reactions to dust, pollutants, pets and fumes. It helps boost immunity and prepares the body to fight the allergens, thus reducing the frequency of asthma attacks.


Natural Foods For Controlling Asthma:

Banana: A low-cost, delicious fruit that is available round the year. It has a high nutritional value with a rare combination of energy, proteins, vitamins and minerals. Banana is very useful for those who are allergic to certain substances and suffer from asthma. The reason underlying this is that banana is rich in those amino acids, which are anti-allergic to asthmatics.
Grapes: A high therapeutic value -- owing to their easy assimilation property - makes grapes beneficial for asthma. The fruit as well as its juice has a favourable influence in controlling the disease since being rich in moisture grapes increase the moisture of the lungs.
Orange: The most popular citrus fruit, orange is an effective remedy to control asthma. All you have to do is mix a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of honey in orange juice. Orange acts by its saline action on the lungs and protects from secondary infections.
Bitter Gourd: Karela or bitter gourd has excellent medical virtues and has been used as a folk medicine for respiratory disorders from ancient times. A teaspoon of root paste mixed with equal amount of tulsi leaf juice taken for a month acts as an excellent medicine for asthmatics.
Garlic: A food, herb, medicinal plant and a beauty accessory since time immemorial, garlic owes its medicinal values to a volatile oil called allyl sulphade, that has a marvellous therapeutic value. The garlic pod is peeled and boiled in 120 ml of pure malt vinegar. This mixture is strained and mixed with equal amounts of honey and then preserved. A teaspoon of this mixture taken every day helps to reduce the severity of the attacks.
Ginger: A teaspoon of fresh ginger juice mixed with a cup of fenugreek decoction acts as an expectorant in asthma.
Spinach: It is a rich source of essential amino acids, iron, vitamin A and folic acid. Infusion of fresh leaves prepared with fenugreek seeds and mixed with a pinch of ammonium chloride acts as an effective expectorant for treatment of asthma. It soothes the bronchioles and forms healthy tissue in the lungs, thereby increasing resistance against respiratory infections.
Safflower Seeds: These are beneficial in the treatment of bronchial asthma. Taking half a teaspoon of the seed powder along with a tablespoon of honey acts as an expectorant and reduces the spasms by liquefying the tenacious sputum.
Honey: This sweetner is rich in ethereal oil and alcohol that is beneficial in asthma. Inhaling the air that comes in contact with honey brings relief and the patient is able to breathe deeper and easier.



Thus by consuming a diet that is rich in essential nutrients you can effectively control your asthma.