Asthmatic's Delight: A Recipe for Life by the Cricket, University of Daytona, Florida
followed by an Editorial Commentary on Asthma and this Recipe from the Perspective of Chinese Medicine
Magnetic Moon, August 2003. Volume 2:1
Asthma is a condition whereby the lungs clog up with mucous as a reaction
to certain stressors. These stressors can be physical, emotional, mental, or biological, for example
exercise, a fight with a spouse, deadlines, or allergens.
Most folks are familiar with the attack caused by allergens, however they
are not the only or the prime cause of attacks.
Any stressor can start the process. A combination of stressors can make the attack
severe. Asthma can kill. During an attack, lungs fill with mucous causing inflammation and
narrowing of air ways. Spasms further worsen the situation.
The person experiencing the attack becomes frightened since they can't breathe
further worsening the attack.
Asthma can be controlled without drug therapy. Medical Doctors treat it with
stimulants that dilate the bronchial tubes and with steroids to reduce
inflammation. The inhaled versions of these drugs are
atomized by use of propellants, which are injurious to the lungs. So you survive but
you get worse. The stimulants are prescribed in high enough doses as to be
addictive.
I developed the recipe below to treat and cure my own Asthma.
I was born with the condition. Life was my first stressor.
My treatment consists of herbal tea to get rid of the
mucous and ease attacks, avoidance of stressors as much as possible,
and engaging in activities to de-stress the system. Find my treatment
program below.
Tea: 1 teabag each of Chickweed, Stinging Nettle, and Orange Pekoe Tea(Lipton).
Steep herbs in one cup boiling water and sweeten with raw honey. Drink up
twice daily. This is the dose to clear the lungs and prevent attacks
or to make them less severe. Drink extra cups as needed to control
attacks. Once Asthma has become less severe, reduce maintenance dose to once a
day and then reduce further as you get better. For children divide their
weight into the average adult weight of 120-160. Apply the fraction to
amount of tea in said cup. Average mug is 8 oz. So a 30-40lb child would
take 1/4 a cup or 2oz twice daily. Just refrigerate the leftover and give
next day warmed up.
Acute care: Use Stinging Nettle extract. Squirt in mouth under tongue
swallow and then sip beverage. The taste isn't so hot but it will get the
active constituents into your bloodstream faster than mixing with water
and then drinking. The membranes absorb it so that it gets
into the bloodstream immediately. It will open your lungs and relax
the spasms.
Sweat baths: A native American sweat lodge is ideal. But a sauna or even
your bathroom can work if that is what you have. You want intense heat
just long enough to cause the mucous to free up and come up. Hot compresses
on your chest are useful if you are bed-ridden. The idea is to use moist heat to help
loosen and spit up the old gunky mucous in your lungs.
Avoidance: Avoid whatever is the stressor. Even if that includes your other
half. If it's the job, search for a new one that is less stressful. Avoid whatever
triggers the attacks if you can.
Laughter: Laughter is the best medicine. It de-stresses the system and helps
to clear the lungs by forcefully pushing air through them. So watch or
listen to whatever makes you roll on the floor with pure, sweet laughter.
Why?: It is important to reduce the mucous in your lungs and de-stress the
body to allow it to heal and stabilize. A demulcent and expectorant,
Chickweed's mucilaginous nature helps thin mucous from irritated membranes.
This makes life easier on your immune system so it does not need to over-react
and send extra mucous to the area. Nettle specifically treats Asthma, working
like magic to stop spasms and opens the lungs. The orange
pekoe has tannic acid, is also an expectorant which helps brings up the
mucous thick mucus. Orange pekoe contains Theophylline, a stimulant
and a bronchodialator. This combination enables you to breathe more freely
as well as helping to reduce the number and severity of attacks.
Finally: Add the stressors back in. What?! You just told me to avoid them.
Yes, but stress is a part of life, and you gotta LIVE not just survive. You
must desensitize yourself to the stressors. That means once your attacks
are few and far between you can handle a mild occurrence if it happens.
Reintroduce the stressors in small doses and increase exposure very, very
gradually, unless it has in the past caused severe life-threatening
attacks. Then see a professional allergist or herbalist for help in desensitizing your
system. Raw honey is good, especially if it is from local bees.
There are pollens in the honey in minute amounts, and by taking honey you
can help your system get used to them and recognize them as harmless.
You may want to see a professional to help you identify the allergens. Alternatively,
keep a diary of what you eat and drink, what you did and felt each day.
Log each attack and its severity. Then find the common thread.
The pattern will be different for each person. It can take years to totally
get used to some stressors, but it can be done. Cat dander was a bad one
on my list. I worked years to desensitize my system to it.
One day I noticed I wasn't wheezy or itchy eyed, as usual, after I had been to
visit my friends with cats. One week I did and the next week my body decided it
was OK.
Makes: 1 happy human
Contact the author: cricketlind@operamail.com