Introduction to the Practical Asthma Review

Hope for Asthmatics

Asthma is a national epidemic, incidence having doubled in the past 20 years. Modern medicine has no answer other than drugs—which ease but do not cure asthma—and the avoidance of provocative factors.

There is no doubt that allergens and air quality are significant. But are other factors involved in asthmatic health? Do our choices in eating, drinking, sleeping and physical activity have anything to do with asthma?

Am I, as an asthmatic more likely to get asthma after a week of sitting around, watching TV, eating donuts, drinking sodas than I am after a week of eating well, exercising, maintaining good physical condition, other things being equal?

Every doctor who has answered this question has said "Of course, in the latter, 'healthier' instance you will be less likely to get sick." If these doctors are correct, it means that our reactivity is variable. Our tendency to asthmatic exacerbation (increased asthma symptoms) differs in different sets of habits we develop in life at different times or in different circumstances.

According to official guidelines for asthma management from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), 1) an inherited or genetic tendency, 2) certain airborne environmental agents, and 3) respiratory virus are the only causative factors in asthma.

But if asthmatic reactivity is variable, then many factors—apart from accepted genetic and environmental factors—could possibly make a difference in asthmatic health. And in fact this is borne out in numerous peer reviewed studies.

What non-genetic, non-environmental factors are we talking about? For example, is the state of hydration in the human body a choice of either "well hydrated" or "dehydrated"? We all live in various gradations of hydration at different times, often somewhere between optimal hydration and dehydration. Some people are stressed by chronic suboptimal hydration. It is well known that drier mucosa are more susceptible to viral infection. Or suboptimal hydration may make people more susceptible to asthma or more sensitive to allergens by some other mechanism. Bodily hydration relates to many simple habits such as intake of coffee, tea, sweet drinks or prescription drugs.

A second example of basic factors is the digestive status of a patient. It is generally thought to be normal/healthy if there is no complaint. And digestive status is assumed to have little or nothing to do with the reactivity of an asthmatic. Yet clearly poor digestion means not only worse nutrient absorption but a greater possibility of larger particles of food entering the bloodstream, potentially causing food allergy, intolerance or some other disruption of the immune system.

And for a final example, it is thought that up to 50% of asthma is associated with respiratory viral infection. A great deal is known about viruses but where (and what!) is a science-based, common sense strategy to prevent viral infections from occurring? It might include the taking of 1000-2000 mg vitmin C in several doses daily; a diet with the high end of the 5-9 servings of fruit and vegetables recommended daily by US health authorities; maintenence of excellent hydration, and the maintenence of good physical conditioning.

These mundane factors, thought of as "lifestyle choices" or "habits", are ignored in the official NHLBI guidelines mentioned above and generally in the modern medical approach to asthma. But increasingly, scientific evidence confirms that eating, drinking, sleeping, physical activity, emotional attitudes and other factors have powerful effects on health in general and asthma in specific.

A long term strategy is needed to control the chronic condition known as asthma. Our purpose here is to develop an asthma prevention program based on the best evidence available in accepted science and peer reviewed studies.