Natural Alternatives to Traditional Asthma Treatment

• apples
• carrots
• tomatoes
• leafy vegetables

Nutritional Supplements

Many supplements and herbs may claim to cure or treat asthma, but very few have actually been proven to help. A few do show promise, however.

• Butterbur. A chemical from this perennial shrub found in Europe, Asia and North America is believed to relieve smooth muscle spasms, such as bronchospasm, as well as having an anti-inflammatory effect. Unfortunately, butterbur is related to one of the most potent allergens around, ragweed. So, if you're allergic to ragweed, you'll want to avoide butterbur.
  
• Bromelain. This is a chemical found in pineapples and is also believed to have an anti-inflammatory effect.
• Boswellia. This herb is thought to interfere with leukotrienes, substances that help to cause the inflammation common to asthma.

Special Breathing Techniques

There are a couple different breathing techniques that have shown promise in treating asthma:

• Buteyko Method
• Papworth Breathing

Buteyko breathing involves taking shallow breaths and accumulating carbon dioxide in the airways, which is thought to relax the smooth muscle in the airways, similar to a bronchodilator medicine's effect. Some studies have shown that Buteyko breathing may reduce the need for asthma medicine, but the studies thus far have been small, so more research is needed to validate the usefulness of this therapy.

Papworth breathing is a treatment that's been in use since the 1960s, mostly by physical therapists, but had never been proven beneficial scientifically. A recent small study in London suggested that this integrated breathing and relaxation technique resulted in a lessening of asthma symptoms by one-third and improvement in mood. It is basically a diaphragmatic breathing method. More research is needed to validate this method too, but using it can't hurt.

Yoga & Other Eastern Disciplines Like Qi Gong

Yoga, Qi Gong, and Tai Chi all emphasize slow, controlled breathing along with certain body movements designed to relax and tone the muscles and to reduce stress. These effects can certainly be beneficial for people wiht asthma, especially in calming down after taking your rescue inhaler for an asthma attack.

Sublingual Immunotherapy

You're probably familiar with allergy shots, also known by the medical term of immunotherapy. The idea behind allergy shots is to introduce tiny amounts of your allergens into your body, so that you slowly build up a resistance to them. Allergy shots are highly effective for many people in eventually curing -- or at least greatly lessening -- asthma and allergy symptoms.

Unfortunately, allergy shots can be somewhat painful, expensive, and take a long time. In Europe, they've been using an alternative to allergy shots for decades that is just recently starting to take root in the US. It's called sublingual immunotherapy, or allergy drops, or SLIT for short. Sublingual means under the tongue and allergy drops are placed under your tongue. They consist of tiny amounts of your allergens, just as with the shots. But, obviously having a small amount of liquid placed under your tongue is much more pleasant than getting stuck with a needle every week for a year or two. It seems more "natural", doesn't it?