Natural cures for asthma

Crocodile meat

Among natural cures for asthma, probably the most intriguing is crocodile meat.

The Chinese swear by this. It is one of the natural cures for asthma mentioned in ancient Chinese medical texts and Chinese physicians would prescribe dried crocodile meat, to be boiled with some herbs. Some poeple, however, just boil it in water with a little salt and it seems to work that way too.

Personally I know of one Filipino girl who benefitted from this treatment. Her aunt came to know of it from working in Hong Kong and had sent her some dried crocodile meat. She said she took small amounts reguarly and by the time she finished the lot, her asthma stopped.

I was watching a nature documentary about the crocodile when it suddenly dawned on me why this remedy works as a natural cure for asthma.

The crocodile is able to remain under water for extended periods, typically 10 to 20 minutes. But if necessary, and provided it is not moving, the crocodile can remain submerged under water for up to two hours. The crocodile has very strong lungs. And in Chinese medicine, it is believed that when we eat the meat of an animal, we take on some of its qualities - in this case, crocodile meat strengthens the lungs.

There are two main types of cough medicine: expectorants that thin out mucus secretions so that they can be more easily expelled, and anti-ussives that suppress coughing. Many brands of cough mixtures contain both drugs. So you end up taking a drug to expel phlegm and another drug to suppress coughing so that the phlegm won't be expelled.

Scientific studies

There are not many any scientific studies (if at all) on crocodile meat as one of the natural cures for asthma. I initially did a search for "crocodile meat" on PubMed.com and could not find any references.

The closest mention of any scientific studies about crocodile meat being one of the natural cures for asthma - but without citation or scientific references - comes from AsiaCroc, a company that produces Crocodile Essence as a health tonic and asthma remedy. AsiaCroc's literature states:

Modern medical studies have confirmed that crocodile polysaccharides can aid the formation of a protective membrane on inflamed respiratory tract membrane to isolate it from toxic substances and restore its normal functions. Once cilia movement is restored on the membrane, germs can be removed from respiratory tract. This will reduce the incidence of an asthmatic attack.

I searched PubMed.com for "crocodile polysaccharides" and found s study on The effects of Alligator Zhikegao on relieving cough, dispelling phlegm and anti-inflammation. Note: Zhikegao in Chinese means "cough syrup" so Alligator Zhikegao probably refers to a brand of Chinese cough syrup made with crocodile or alligator meat.

The study by Chinese scientists found that Alligator Zhikegao has significant effects on relieving cough and dispelling phlegm in laboratory rats. It also reduced ear and paw edema (fluid accumulation) and has anti-inflammation and immunological regulation. The study was published in the China Journal of Materia Medica (May 2007; 32(10):961-5).

Yin and yang of asthma

Another way to understand why certain natural cures for asthma work is through the principal of yin and yang.

In the macrobiotic classification of yin and yang, asthma is considered a yin or expanded condition. This is clear when you consider that:

Asthma involves inflammation - lungs tissues get inflamed (expand) and, as a result, the air passage becomes narrower, making breathing difficult.
Asthma patients, especially children, tend to be "softies". The body is soft and the palms of the hands may be red, indicating that the blood vessels underneath have expanded.
Asthma patients have difficulty breathing OUT. This may be less obvious but they cannot breathe OUT and that is why they cannot subsequently breathe in. When you breathe out, your body contracts, so difficulty breathing out is a sign of insufficient yang / contracting energy.

The crocodile is a very strong and "contracted" creature. It's meat is tough. Although it is elongated, which might suggest that it is yin / expanded, the crocodile is elongated on the ground, unlike, for example, humans that are elongated upwards (and therefore more yin / expanded). Macrobiotic and natural food stores sell a powdered lotus root tea and all you need to do is add water and boil for a few minutes. But while the fresh lotus root tea is delicious, the powdered version takes some getting used to.

So while meat in general is classified as yang / contracted, crocodile meat is more yang within this classification. This crocodile meat more suitable as one of an asthma remedy. Other Chinese natural cures for asthma include the meat of the flying fox, which is also a very yang, compact creature.

Umeboshi / salt / salted air

Another yang / contracted food suitable as a natural cure for asthma is umeboshi, the Japanese pickled sour plum.

This is an unusual fruit, actually an apricot, that drops from the tree while it is still hard (ie yang / contacted). It is then pickled in sea salt and a herbal leaf called shiso, or "beef steak plant".

An umeboshi popped into the mouth will produce an immediate yang / contracted effect. When a person is having an asthma attack, this yang / contracting effect will immediately reduce the inflammation of the lung tissues and help the person breathe more easily.

Make sure, however, that you buy natural / organic umeboshi. Those made with artificial colouring and other food chemicals can worsen your asthma.

If you do not have umeboshi, you can try anything salty - such as a salted pickle, or even just taking a small pinch of salt - as salt has a yang / contracting quality. No guarantees that it will work, because there are just so many things that you can try. But no harm in trying.

As a more long-term solution, it would be beneficial to visit the seaside often breathe in salted sea breeze. In Europe, here is people looking for natural cures for asthma would also visit salt caves or salt mines to breathe in the salted air. Based on the same principle, a British company has developed a device called a saltpipe, for people with asthma and other respiratory illnesses to enjoy the benefits of salted air.

Personal experiences with natural cures for asthma

Although I am not normally asthmatic, I have weak lungs due to tuberculosis at age 5 and on two occasions during adulthood, I did experiece mild asthma attacks - with symptoms like wheezing, difficulty in breathing etc.

The second time it happened, I had umeboshi with me. I popped one into my mouth and, within a few minutes, was breathing normally again. About 15 minutes later, I was back fast and sound asleep.

The first time it happened, I did not know about any natural cures for asthma yet. But what my wife did at that time, totally improvised, also proved helpful. She got me to sit down facing her and she guided me in my breathing to help me relax. Then she placed her hands on me and sort of concentrated. We did not know it at that time, but we were actually performing some sort of "energy healing". And later, I read that energy healing, too, is effective as one of the natural cures for asthma.

Things to avoid

Why did I get those two asthma attacks in th first place? This brings us to another important aspect of healing asthma... Apart from what natural cures for asthma to take, asthma patients should also know what foods and food substances to avoid.

Western medical literature tells us that there are certain asthma triggers that can spark off an asthma attack:

dust mites and dust mite droppings - these cannot be seen and the best way to avoid them is to avoid things like carpets where they can hide. Have mostly smooth surfaces. It is not practical, however, to have a hard and smooth bed so least change your bed sheets often.
allergens can be anything, including dust mites and pollen, which is also hard to avoid as it is in the air. They also include various food chemicals such as food colouring.
irritants are things that "irritate" including various chemicals as well as perfume
cigarettes - the easiest to avoid. While in the army, I once met an asthmatic furiously smoking away, trying to induce an asthma attack so that he can obtain a medical certificate to be excused from training.
MSG / monosodium glutamate: This is a major asthma trigger which, for some reason, does not get mentioned very often. MSG is a highly controversial food additive, described by some scientists as an "excitotoxin", a substance that excites brain calls until they die! But while the many effects of MSG are argued to be "unproven", it is medically accepted that MSG does trigger asthma.

In Chinese medicine, the list of foods to avoid as part of natural cures for asthma is a longer one. These include foods that produce phlegm, including - chicken, oranges, banana, deep fried and oil foods and dairy products. In addition, the Chinese recommend avoiding "cold" foods including most fruits as well as raw salads.

This brings me to the two occasions when I had asthma. The first was after I ate a salad for dinner on a cold and rainy night. It taught me an important lesson about cooked vs raw foods.

The second time was after one week of holidays in Italy, during which I could not resist their wonderful gelato (ice-cream) daily. Milk and dairy products are, in fact, one of the major causes of asthma and for many children with asthma, this is the most important of all natural cures for asthma - avoid milk and milk products. In many cases, this alone is enough to stop asthma.

Natural cures for asthma - exercise

Finally, I should mention about exercise.. On the one hand, exercise is considered one of the asthma triggers and people with asthma are often advised to refrain from exercising.

On the other hand, exercise helps greatly in strengthening the lungs and this can only benefit the asthma patient. When I was learning swimming, I remember one parent asked my swimming instructor about asthma, and he declared witth absolute confidence: "No problems! All the children, after they learn to swim - no more asthma."

Such a statement might make some asthma medical specialists gasp! Because of all forms of exercise, swimming is the one form that is most likely to trigger asthma. At the same time, however, swimming probably strengthens the lungs more than any other form of exercise.

So who is right? The medical specialist or the swimming coach? The way I see it, exercise will definitely help, just that the asthmatic patient has go easy and gently. Exercising to the point of exhaustion can be dangerous for the asthmatic. But regular, gentle exercises will, over time strengthen the lungs and keep asthma at bay.

Click here to read about natural cough medicines, which are also helpful as natural cures for asthma.