I recently received an e-mail from my sister in-law wanting to know if there was a dietary connection for asthma for a friend:
Hi Brien,
Erin just found out her girls have asthma. Do you know if there are dietary things that can reduce or eliminate symptoms? I am sure it is gluten, but wanted to check if you could point Erin to any great resources. She is totally open to alternative stuff. Thanks for any links or info you can provide.
Susan
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Here is my reply:
Hi Susan,
This is a relatively easy issue to fix and can be eliminated without drug use for the rest of the girls’ lives.
Everything in life has the ability to create stress to one’s physiology. There are chemical, physical, energetic & mental stressors. Mental stress is the most obvious: deadlines, relationships, financial worries, etc. Physical stress could be structural misalignments (posture, flat feet, etc), trauma from birth, car accident, football contusion, etc. Energetic stress could be wireless computers, cell phones, electric blankets, etc. Chemical stressors (the most interesting to me & the source of most problems these days) are sensitivities, allergies, or reactions to foods, parasites, bacteria, fungus, chemicals (pesticides, insecticides, fungicides, pharmaceuticals, heavy metals) etc.
Generally speaking the problem is today’s modern, convenient foods and manufacturing methods and the lack of understanding about the interaction with the same physiology we have had for over 10,000 years. Pasteurized dairy is the number one problem-this is proven because when people remove it from their diets their allergies, hay fever, and sinus problems are gone. Again, this is the norm…no more drugs for those that have been on them for years. This will only happen with COMPLETE removal of all pasteurized dairy. Notice I did not say all dairy. Raw dairy seems to have no negative effect with most people that have allergies. Organic Pastures has some great information on asthma & allergies on their site: www.organicpastures.com.
Do you know why pasteurization can increase the likelihood of allergies & asthma? Check out what happens to bacteria in pasteurized milk after pasteurization:
“After pasteurization, bacteria found naturally in milk are killed. During the high temperature heating process, cell bodies of these bacteria are ruptured and their contents are spilled, releasing intracellular proteins. This causes many milk drinkers to suffer histamine or allergic reactions. Almost all of these same consumers can drink raw milk and not have allergies. The high levels of bacteria permitted in milk intended for pasteurization are still found in pasteurized milk; they are just dead and not removed by the process.” (Source: www.organicpastures.com)
For the best & fastest results, I would avoid all dairy for one month and then add raw dairy back for one day and observe reactions. If there are no symptoms of asthma, allergies, sinus issues, boating, or gas I would then add it back every 3-4 days and alternate with rice, almond & hazelnut milks. We can get more specific about the various forms of raw dairy later.
Next, gluten & wheat could have an effect given they tend to weaken the immune system. A weak immune system leads to allergies, asthma and increased likelihood of cold’s, flues, digestive issues, and more. I would remove wheat & gluten for one month also.
Next there are thousands of other chemicals and stressors that influence airways: animals, dust, carpets, laundry detergent, household cleaners, etc. We can get into this in detail with the Metabolic Typing Program.
The goal to be symptom-free is to remove as many stressors as possible. It may only take one change, but it often requires many to reduce total stress load to the body. The end result is a good one…no more asthma.
Here is a link for Dr. Mercola in his newsletter he put out today. Very basic stuff. The girl’s are most likely deficient in Vit. D given 80% of Northern Californian’s have this problem. Adequate Vit. D can be achieved by 30 minutes of sun exposure without burning, avoiding sun screen during the 30 minutes of sun exposure, raw milk and fish oil with Vit. D added. As Dr. Mercola states, it is ideal to test Vit. D levels. Vit. D can be tested inexpensively at Direct Labs without a doctor’s prescription. For more information check out Direct Labs.
If you have any questions like Susan, please e-mail me at [email protected]. I will do my best to give you some solutions and resources that are out of the box. If I do not have any solutions to the problem, I have some very smart friends and partners that may.
In Health,
Brien
