Alternative Therapies and Health News

Bronchitis is the inflammation of the air tubes bronchi. It is usually a viral infection that affects the nose, sinus and throat. Bronchitis might be acute or chronic. In bronchitis, large quantities of mucus get secreted as phlegm.

Bronchitis is often left to take its own course. But certain easy and natural home remedies can give instant relief and help bronchitis cure faster.

• Drink warm fluid as it helps the mucus loosen and become watery. Breathing in warm moist air also helps vaporize the mucus.
• Stop smoking completely to recover from bronchitis. Excessive smoking slows the resistance of the bronchial tubes.
• Add half teaspoon of turmeric powder in a warm glass of milk and drink twice daily (if possible in empty stomach).
• Prepare tea by adding ginger, pepper and cloves and drink twice daily.
• Drinking cabbage juice everyday is very effective.
• Having raw onion juice in the morning prevents the formation of phlegm.
• Mix powdered almond kernels in a cup of orange or lemon juice. Take the mixture daily at night.
• Gargling with salt water will give great relief to your throat.
• Slice onion in to a bowl and cover it with honey. Let it remain like that overnight. Remove the onion in the morning and drink a teaspoon of honey 4 times a day.

Asthma in children has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. Although pollutants and contaminants are considered to be the key factors in causing this disease related to the respiratory system, there are studies which relate this increased rate in asthma to dismal dietary habits of children and adults. 

Several studies have established link between this disease and diet. Sometimes, it is a combination of dietary factors rather than a single diet that increases the risk.

1. Consume lots of vegetables and fruits (especially apple). Intake of grapes, oranges, apples, and fresh tomatoes defend from wheeze and nasal allergies.
2. Vitamin A, C and E, and plant compounds phytochemicals act as antioxidants and help reduce airway stress and thus prevent asthma.
3. Kids, with more calcium intake (milk, yoghurt, cheese) are shown to have reduced asthma risk.
4. Have food items that are rich in magnesium content. Milk is a great source of calcium and magnesium. Cereal, green vegetables, beans, fish and nuts are also rich in magnesium.
5. Selenium intake helps in the protection of lungs from respiratory diseases.
6. Increase in the consumption of omega-3 fatty acids reduces inflammation and irritation in the air passage. Whereas omega-6 fatty acid is considered to increase the risk of inflammation.  Consume fresh fish rich in omega 3 fatty acid. Fish like salmon, herring, and anchovies pack the most omega-3s.
7. Instead of vegetable oil or margarine, use olive oil as it helps calm your air passage.

Certain breathing exercises can reduce the need to use rescue inhalers in asthma patients. Just 10 minutes before beginning to exercise take few puffs from your rescue inhaler.

• Sit upright and breathe slowly. Take full breaths. Avoid taking short breaths.
• Always breathe through your nose.
• Use your diaphragm muscles instead of your chest muscles to breathe. It will make breathing less tiresome. Breathing using diaphragm muscles is also called belly breathing.  Here is an easy way to practice belly breathing:
  Sit upright and rest the palm of your one hand on the belly and the other on the chest. Take deep breaths. If the hand on your belly is pushed forward, then you are using your diaphragm muscles. And if you are using your chest muscles, then the hand on your chest will move forward. Practice this several times in a day. This type of breathing will improve the strength of your diaphragm muscles.
• Practice few rounds of prolonged breathing. Breathe in for two counts and breathe out for four counts.

Light physical activities along with these breathing exercises will help asthma patients to increase the potential of their respiratory system. But it is advised to consult your doctor before starting an exercise program. 

Lung cancer has become one of the significant causes of death in most of the countries. And the cancer patients are mostly tobacco smokers. For them, it is time take a sigh of relief as researchers have discovered an alternative treatment for lung cancer. They have discovered and also confirmed the chemopreventive effects of green tea. Green tea has proved to be of great help in the prevention and treatment of lung cancer.
 
Green tea (Camelia sinensis) is a solution for the prevention and cure of many degenerative diseases like cancer and cardiovascular diseases. But it is shown to be more effective in the treatment of lung cancer. It is found that in Japan and US, though the cigarette smoking rates are similar, the number of people suffering from lung cancer is lower in Japan due to higher rates of tea consumption.

The exact mechanism of the action of green tea in fighting cancer has not been understood, explained or elucidated properly. According to the present findings, the antioxidants, which are naturally present in green tea, neutralizes the harmful molecules in the body and protects against cancer.

 When compared to other varieties of tea, the green tea contains the highest percentage of polyphenols that act as antioxidants. Polyphenols help kill cancerous cells and stops its multiplication and growth. Its antioxidant properties are considered to be more effective than those of vitamin E or vitamin C. Green tea also fights with one of the key molecules which the tobacco relies upon to cause cancer.
 

People who dislike having to go to the church, read this … Going to the church is actually good for your health. It’s not me who’s saying this, just to bring you back to the church, but a recent study has confirmed this.

The study shows that going to the church actually helps people breathe easier. Researchers studied the breathing of 1,189 people aged between 70 to 79. People who attended church regularly had better pulmonary flow rate.

Joanna Maselko, of Temple University says, “Pulmonary function is an important indicator of respiratory and overall health, yet little is known about the psychosocial factors that might predict pulmonary function, At the same time, religious activity is emerging as a potential health promoting factor, especially among the elderly. We wanted to determine whether there was a connection between the two”.

A previous study also showed that churchgoers live longer than those who rarely visit the church. Going to the church regularly has other benefits too - it promotes social contact, provides emotional support, reduces the feelings of isolation that many older people experience and boosts psychological and physical well-being. Wow…the many benefits of believing in God I guess …

Recent studies provide new insights into the role that diet might play to combat allergies and asthma, especially in children. These studies were conducted because the incidence of allergic diseases has increased over the past few decades, especially in children. One child out of three is allergic today and one in two people are likely to be suffering from at least one allergy by 2015.

Studies suggest that the way in which children are fed early in life may have a direct effect on the subsequent development of allergies and asthma. The three main key findings were the benefits of breastfeeding, intake of certain nutrients, and probiotics.

Breastfeeding a baby exclusively, without providing any other liquid or food is effective in reducing the risk of allergies later in life. Exclusive breastfeeding for four months protects the child, reduces the likelihood of dermatitis (skin allergy) and reduces the risk of recurrent wheeze (or asthma).

The second area of importance is the components of the diet. A diet rich in antioxidants such as vitamin C, vitamin E and selenium, from fruit and vegetables sources, may have a protective effect. And it appears that reducing sodium intake, increasing magnesium intake, eating apples and avoiding margarine might help some asthmatics.

The role of probiotics and prebiotics in the diet is also important. Probiotics protect against the development of allergies by producing changes in the gut that can stimulate the immune system.

Asthma is a serious condition that should always be checked by a doctor. Medications like aspirin, advil, chemotherapy and antibiotics can sometimes cause asthma attacks . Here are some remedies to reduce the effect of asthma :

• Mix 10-15 drops of garlic juice with warm water and drink it for quick asthma relief.
• Mix 1/4 cup onion juice, 1 Tbsp honey and 1/8 Tbsp black pepper. And eat the paste.
• Mix licorice and ginger together. Take ½ tbsp in 1 cup of water for relief from asthma.
• Drink a glass of 2/3 carrot juice and 1/3 spinach juice, 3 times a day .
• Add 30-40 leaves of Basil in 1 liter water, strain the leaves and drink the water throughout the day.
• Take some Radish, Honey and Lemon juice, put them in a blender. Mix for 20 minutes and then put in a pan and keep on the stove on low heat. Take one teaspoon in the morning everyday.
• If you don’t have your medicine on hand when you sense an attack, drink a cup of coffee. Or drink any Soft drinks with caffeine (colas). caffeine is known to calm the effects of an attack.
• Eat some honey or hold a jar of honey under the nose and inhale the air, you will start breathing easier and deeper.
• Three or four dry figs should be cleaned thoroughly with warm water and soaked overnight. Then eat them in the morning,
• The juice of one lemon, diluted in a glass of water should be taken with meals everyday.
• Take five grams of Indian Gooseberry mixed with one tablespoon of honey. It should be taken every morning.
• Buy wild cherry tree bark from your local herbal store. And make tea with the bark. You can drink it hot or cold everyday.
• The roots of the bitter gourd plant is also used for the treatment of asthma. A teaspoon of the root paste, mixed with an equal amount of honey or juice of the tulsi leaves, given every night for a month, acts as an excellent medicine for this disease.
• Prepare a soup of drumstick leaves, by adding a handful of leaves to 180ml of water and boiling it for five minutes. Allow it to cool, add a little salt, pepper, and lime juice. Take once daily.
• A teaspoon of fresh ginger juice, mixed with a cup of fenugreek decoction and honey, is very good for asthma. The decoction of fenugreek can be made by mixing one tbsp of fenugreek seeds in a cupful of water. Take this once in the morning and once in the evening.
• Take ten garlic cloves and boil in 30 ml of milk. This mixture should be taken once daily. Steaming ginger tea with two minced garlic cloves in it can also be taken every morning and evening.
• The herb bishop’s weed has been found valuable in asthma. Half a teaspoon of bishop’s weed should be mixed in a glass of buttermilk and taken twice daily.
• Safflower seeds are also beneficial in the treatment of bronchial asthma. Half a teaspoon of powder of the dry seeds, mixed with a tablespoon of honey, should be taken once or twice a day.
• Use a herb called ‘ginkgo biloba’, it contains ginkgolide B which is very helpful for asthma patients.
• Mullein oil is also good for asthma. Take it in the form of tea.
• Eat salmon 3 times a week and take salmon oil capsules.
• Put some Roman chamomile flowers in a bowl of boiling water for a steam inhalant.
• Mix 1-2 ml eucalyptus essential oil in a 23 ml carrier oil(almond, sunflower or whaeatgerm oil) for a chest rub. Place a few drops on a pillow or handkerchief as an inhalant.
• Take some sage leaves and burn them to inhale.
• Take some thyme leaves, mix with water and put on a stove. Inhale the steam.