More and more babies, children and adults are suffering from asthma. More than 17 million Americans have asthma. The number of cases increased by 75% between 1980-1999; it continues to increase. According to the just-released report from the Pew Environmental health Commission at Johns Hopkins School of Public health, “America is in the middle of an asthma epidemic–an epidemic that’s getting worse, not better.”

What is asthma? The word asthma originates from an ancient Greek word meaning panting. Essentially, asthma is an inability to exhale. When you inhale, you breathe oxygen into your lungs through progressively smaller airways called bronchioles. Your lungs contain millions of bronchioles, all leading to alveoli: microscopic sacs where oxygen and
carbon dioxide are exchanged. Once the exchange is made, you breathe out carbon dioxide. While inhaling oxygen, you are also breathing in other airborne particles, which I’ll refer to as “irritants.” In the body’s natural survival system, the lungs respond by constricting when exposed to any irritants. If the body is working properly, the irritant is either
coughed or sneezed out or the bronchioles relax so that the irritant can be released with carbon dioxide. People with asthma are unable to relax the bronchioles; the breath gets trapped and the panting begins. Because the bronchioles cannot relax, they become inflamed. This signals the immune system to deliver white blood cells and other immune
factors to the airways. These so-called inflammatory factors cause the airways to swell, to fill with fluid, and to produce thick sticky mucus. This not only makes the breathlessness and the inability to exhale properly worse, it also creates a phlegm-producing cough and wheezing. If the breath cannot get out, you suffocate and die.

Twenty-five years ago, when I was told I was going to die because of this disease, I did research on the cause, treatment and cure of asthma. I found that the cause was unknown. The triggers were pollutants (air and household), animal dander, emotions, hormones, and food allergies. The treatment was usually oral and inhaled corticosteroids and there was no cure. Twenty-five years later, I find that the cause is still unknown to orthodox physicians and researchers. The triggers are still pollutants (air and household), animal dander, emotions, hormones, food allergies and everything from thunderstorms to cockroaches. Researchers attribute the escalation of the disease to the increase of pollutants in the air.

The treatment is still oral and inhaled corticosteroids along with one or more of the following: antileukotrienes, cromolyn sodium, nedocromil, inhaled beta2-agonists, methylxanthines, and anticholinergics. And there still is no cure. Interesting! I had asthma. I had allergies to animals, dust pollen– almost everything. I spent most of my younger years in bed or visiting the doctor. I couldn’t run and play with the “normal” kids because my asthma was so bad my chest would constrict with pain and I would wheeze and gasp for breath.

After 25 years of trying to cure me, the doctors gave up and admitted that the drugs that were keeping me alive were also killing me. Dissatisfied with the results of my own research, I studied how the human body works. I found out the facts about health and disease. I discovered that most disease is preventable and that the cause of most disease is
toxicity. The only diseases that are not preventable are rare degenerative genetic conditions. Common diseases and conditions such as cancer, diabetes, obesity, arthritis, asthma, and the rest, are pervasive, preventable and totally unnecessary. I also found that the mind and emotions play a large part in the overall health of the body. I knew the first thing I had to do was believe I could get better. It took only two weeks on a water fast for my body to clean up most of the toxins. I can still remember the first deep breath I took without pain. I cried. Now I eat mostly organic fruit because fruit provides the organic nutrients supplied by nature, without toxins.

Also, learning to breathe properly is a must. I used yoga and visualization. My friend Anita worked with the Boteyko Breathing Method and has had incredible results. Taking responsibility for my body was the most frightening thing I have ever done, because it went against everything I was told. Remember that the research told me there was no cure
and the doctors told me I was going to die. But I made changes, and the rest is history. I’m alive today, I’m healthy–and I have two dogs!

Do you have asthma? You can choose to be part of the epidemic or be free of this crippling and scary condition by taking responsibility for your body, cleaning out the toxins, being positive and trusting yourself.

Note from Pete at NaturalhealthWay.com: Besides the excellent recommendations above, there is an amazing herb called yamoa that people claim to cure asthma (and hay fever)! It is reported to somehow program the body to stop reacting to allergens that trigger asthma and hay fever. It only has to be taken for 1-2 months and the results are seemingly long lasting. I was skeptical until I tried it for hay fever. I took it for 2 months and did wonders for my respiratory allergies.*