Asthma

What is asthma?

Incidence of asthma

Symptoms of asthma

Triggers for asthma

Causes of asthma

Prevention / remedies / treatment for asthma

References

What is asthma?

Asthma occurs when the main air passages of the lungs (the bronchial tubes) become inflamed and narrowed. The muscles of the bronchial walls tighten, and cells in the lungs produce extra mucus that further narrows the airways. This makes it difficult to breathe, leading to coughing, wheezing, and trouble sleeping.

A serious asthma attack can be life-threatening.

Asthma is a chronic but treatable condition. Many people have reduced the severity and frequency of attacks and gone on to lead a normal, active life.

Incidence of asthma

The prevalence of asthma has increased significantly since the 1970s, especially among children. It now affects up to one quarter of urban children. In 2010 asthma affected 7% of the population of the USA, 6.5% of all British people and a total of 300 million worldwide. It causes 250,000 deaths globally and 4,000 deaths per year in the USA. (1,10)

The developed (high consumer) countries of the world (USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand) have 20 to 60 times more cases of asthma per 100 people than the poor, less developed, low consumption countries. (11)

Asthma is quite common among top athletes, with 15% of the participants in the 1996 Summer Olympic Games diagnosed with asthma and 10% of them on asthma medications. It is most prevalent in high-respiration sports such as cycling, mountain biking, and long-distance running.

Symptoms of asthma

Symptoms are often worst early in the morning, at night, or on exposure to cold air.

• Wheezing.
• Coughing.
• Tight chest.
• Short of breath.
• During an asthma attack, the sufferer may use accessory muscles to help breathe. A lack of oxygen may cause a blue colour of the skin and nails.

Triggers for asthma

• Allergens including pollen, animal dander, foods (often dairy products, sugar and white flour, and processed foods), house dust and dust mites.
• Perfumes with synthetic ingredients.
• Pets.
• Cigarette smoke.
• Processed foods containing food additives, particularly some sulphite additives.
• Irritants. Household chemicals - gasses (particularly formaldehyde) from furniture, carpets, particle board, curtains, wrinkle-free clothes and materials, cleaners (most cleaners), polish, deodorisers etc. Urban and industrial pollutants, particularly from traffic. (2, 3) In the workplace, animal proteins, enzymes, natural rubber latex, flour and some reactive chemicals are the most common triggers.
• Chronic stress and anxiety.
• Cold air or rapid temperature changes.
• Excessive exercise beyond level of fitness.

Causes of asthma

Conventional medicine and doctors are not clear about the causes of asthma, thinking it is likely to be a combination of environmental factors, genetic factors, and epigenetic factors.

• Poor Breathing. Breathing through the mouth rather than the nose. Shallow breathing.
• Vitamin D deficiency causs many autoimmune diseases, including asthma.
• Excessive hygiene. The rich, developed, high consumption countries of the world have twenty to sixty times more cases of asthma per 100 population than the poor, less developed low consumption countries of the world. (11) If you have ever lived in a poor country, you will be familiar with everyday exposure to animals, foods direct from the farm, sea or abattoir, and lack of general cleanliness. Ironically, it is these conditions that set up a healthy immune system. Asthma is one result of reduced exposure to a wide variety of different bacteria and viruses in over-clean households. For example:
  Exposure to cat and dog allergens during the first few years of life substantially reduces the risk of getting asthma in later years. (4, 5, 6)
  Families with many children tend to have lower levels of asthma. (7)
• Antibiotics damage the gut biome (the delicate balance of microorganisms). (8) A study (14) published in September 2015 found that the lack of four bacterial strains in infants actually causes asthma. These essential bacterial strains are usually killed off by antibiotics given to the infant, or were never received by the infant in the first place due to a caesarean birth, lack of breast feeding or excessive hygiene. The four types of bacteria were faecalibacterium, lachnospira, veillonella and rothia.
  
  The lungs have their own bacterial biome (15), and disruption of the lung biome, which is often caused by disruption of the gut biome, is the root cause of many lung ailments including asthma.
  
  Gut biome sequencing.


Get your gut microbiome sequenced
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• Caesarean birth. A 20-80% increase in risk of asthma is attributed to the lack of this initial once-in-a-life healthy bacterial colonisation from passage through the vagina. (9, 14)
• Lack of or insufficient breast feeding. Breast feeding helps build up a wide range of healthy gut bacteria in the infant, and enables a healthy and responsive immune system to develop. Breast fed infants have a significantly different intestinal microbial biome, and an immune system that is strengthened for life. (13, 14)
• Polyunsaturated vegetable oils. Oils made from seeds and legumes, which are high in a variety of toxins that particularly cause digestive disorders. They are also high in omega-6 fats which are excessive in the modern diet and associated with asthma, allergies, runny nose and skin rashes. (12) These oils are the golden vegetable oils on supermarket shelves - corn, canola, cottonseed, safflower, sunflower, soy. (Note: unprocessed coconut, olive and palm oils are healthy oils).
• Mould. Living in damp, mouldy conditions. Living rooms need proper ventilation and dry carpets, floors and walls.
• Magnesium deficiency.
• Viral infection.
• Asthma often occurs in association with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), rhinosinusitis, eczema, hay fever and obstructive sleep apnea. All these conditions are also associated with a lack of a complete and healthy diversity of bacteria and other microorganisms in the gut.
• Maternal tobacco smoking during pregnancy. (1)

Prevention / remedies / treatment for asthma

More than half of children diagnosed with asthma will fully recover within a decade.

• Breathe properly. Breathe through the nose at all times, including while sleeping. Learn to breathe deeply and slowly rather than with shallow and quick breaths.
• Vitamin D. Build up good vitamin D sufficiency and get out in the sun.
• Probiotics. In particular, supplementation with bacterial strains of faecalibacterium, lachnospira, veillonella and rothia. (14) A faecal transplant would probably also provide these essential bacteria.
• The Sugar Cure.
• Mould and damp-free rooms with proper ventilation in which to live, work and sleep.
• DMSO.
• Gum turpentine.
• Magnesium.
• Apple cider vinegar.
• Hydrogen peroxide.
• Diet high in antioxidants and anti-inflammatories. This means a wide range of fresh vegetables (especially raw salad vegetables), a limited amount of fruit (fresh sour berries and sour citrus are great), and in general the type of diet recommended in Grow Youthful.
• Earthing or grounding.
• MSM.
• See details of remedies recommended by Grow Youthful visitors, and their experience with them.

References

1. Global Strategy for Asthma Management and Prevention. Global Initiative for Asthma. Updated to 2011, pdf available online.

2. Peat JK, Tovey E, Toelle BG, et al. House dust mite allergens: A major risk factor for childhood asthma in Australia. 1996. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 153 (1): 141-6. PMID 8542107.

3. Custovic A, Smith AC, Woodcock A. Indoor allergens are a primary cause of asthma: Asthma and the environment. 1998. Eur Respir Rev 53: 155-8.

4. Celedon JC, Litonjua AA, Ryan L, et al. Exposure to cat allergen, maternal history of asthma, and wheezing in first 5 years of life. 2002. Lancet 360 (9335): 781-2. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(02)09906-3. PMID 12241839.

5. Ownby DR, Johnson CC, Peterson EL. Exposure to dogs and cats in the first year of life and risk of allergic sensitization at 6 to 7 years of age. 2002. JAMA 288 (8): 963-972. doi:10.1001/jama.288.8.963. PMID 12190366.

6. Perzanowski MS, Ronmark E, Platts-Mills TA, Lundback B. Effect of cat and dog ownership on sensitization and development of asthma among preteenage children. 2002. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 166 (5): 696-702. doi:10.1164/rccm.2201035. PMID 12204868.

7. Strachan DP. Hay fever, hygiene, and household size. 1989. BMJ 299 (6710): 1259-60.

8. Murk, W; Risnes, KR, Bracken, MB. Prenatal or early-life exposure to antibiotics and risk of childhood asthma: a systematic review. June 2011. Pediatrics 127 (6): 1125-38. doi:10.1542/peds.2010-2092. PMID 21606151.

9. Neu, J; Rushing, J. Cesarean versus vaginal delivery: long-term infant outcomes and the hygiene hypothesis. June 2011. Clinics in perinatology 38 (2): 321-31. PMID 21645799.

10. World Health Organization Fact Sheet Fact sheet No 307: Asthma. Retrieved December 2012.

11. Worldwide variation in prevalence of symptoms of asthma, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, and atopic eczema: ISAAC. The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) Steering Committee. Lancet 351 (9111): 1225-32. April 1998.

12. Lowe AJ et al. Associations between fatty acids in colostrum and breast milk and risk of allergic disease. Clin Exp Allergy. Nov 2008, 38(11):1745-51.

13. Dennis J. Hartigan-O'Connor, Amir Ardeshir, Nicole R. Narayan, Gema Mendez-Lagares, Ding Lu, Marcus Rauch, Yong Huang, Koen K. A. Van Rompay, Susan V. Lynch. Breast-fed and bottle-fed infant rhesus macaques develop distinct gut microbiotas and immune systems. Science Translational Medicine, 3 September 2014: Vol. 6, Issue 252, p. 252. ra120. DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3008791.

14. Marie-Claire Arrieta, Leah T. Stiemsma, Pedro A. Dimitriu, Lisa Thorson, Shannon Russell, Sophie Yurist-Doutsch, Boris Kuzeljevic, Matthew J. Gold, Heidi M. Britton, Diana L. Lefebvre, Padmaja Subbarao, Piush Mandhane, Allan Becker, Kelly M. McNagny, Malcolm R. Sears, Tobias Kollmann, William W. Mohn, Stuart E. Turvey, B. Brett Finlay. Early infancy microbial and metabolic alterations affect risk of childhood asthma. Science Translational Medicine 30 Sep 2015: Vol. 7, Issue 307, pp. 307ra152. DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aab2271.

15. Tomasz P. Wypych, Lakshanie C. Wickramasinghe, Benjamin J. Marsland. The influence of the microbiome on respiratory health. 9 September 2019, Nature Immunologyvolume 20, 1279-1290.