Natural Alternatives for Steroid Inhalers

I quit using Advair because of serious side effects. Then I tried an inhaler that did not have salmeterol. Same side effects (choking, adrenal fatigue, and lots of others). So I quit that and substituted vitamin B5 (anti-inflammatory and mucolytic) and vitamin C and mullein extract. They work well without side effects. What else can anyone recommend to further improve my result? I am still using an albuterol nebulizer and an antihistamine and would like to lower my dependence on albuterol. Many thanks for your replies.

[M4Y0U]

Green+ Daily Detox would be a good all-in-one formula to try. Go for the powder formula please. Also have a look at Pycnogenol, it is a wonderful natural product supported by science to help various conditions.

M4

[allmymarbles]

Many thanks. I see that Green+ contains NAC which is specific to the lungs, so that is interesting. The  radical scavengers, such as pycnogenol, are good detoxifiers, but not that helpful for lung problems. I will look into Green+. If you have suggestions for other anti-inflammatories, I would appreciate it. Again thank you for your help.

[gymdandee]

Avoid foods associated with a high incidence of allergy and intolerance, including soy foods and drinks, cow’s milk, cheese, and chocolate. Choose foods and drinks
that reduce inflammation, such as white tea, nutrient-dense vegetables, walnuts, and purified water. Use air purifiers in your home. Some are especially designed for asthma suffers. The humidity in the house should be below 50 percent to prevent mold from growing. Supplements are effective. A combination of curcumin and quercetin blocks inflammatory reactions associated with the bronchiospasms characteristic of asthma attacks. Stomach acids play an important role. Studies
have shown that as many as 80 percent of asthmatic children have low levels of stomach acid. This may contribute to food allergies that
worsen asthma attacks. Betaine HCL tablets, given at mealtime, can restore stomach acid levels. If a warm sensation is felt in the stomach, reduce the dosage until it
disappears. A naturopathic physician can help you with this. Know your supplements. Antioxidants reduce the accumulation of free radicals in the lungs
and can help reduce lung damage as well as bronchiospasm. Antioxidants include vitamin C (buffered), natural vitamin E, selenium, magnesium, flavonoids, and vitamin D3. DHA oil also reduces inflammation in the lungs. Magnesium is known to significantly reduce the severity of asthma attacks. An extract from the plant
Coleus forskohlii (forskolin) is especially useful. In tests, forskolin relaxes spasmodic bronchioles, the main problem in asthma. The dose is 50 mg two to three times a
day. Forskolin is used to increase cyclic AMP (adenosine monophosphate), a major component in energy metabolism of cells. Take vitamin D3. New guidelines recommend that everyone, including children, get 2,000 IU of Vitamin D3 each day. Vitamin D3 deficiencies are very common, and a deficiency early in life can disrupt immune function. These higher recommended doses suppress immune overactivation and decreased inflammation in the lungs. Vitamin D3 also reduces infections by viruses, bacteria, and fungi by stimulating the body to produce protective antimicrobial peptides. The higher the dose, the more protective proteins the body produces. Probiotics may help in unexpected ways. Probiotics may have preventive effects on unborn babies if taken by pregnant women, and
a study is under way to see if giving probiotics to asthmatic children will reduce symptoms.(One probiotic, lactobacillus GG, has shown positive results.)
probiotic bacteria in the gut helps regulate and tame the immune system  80 percent of the immune system is in the gut wall.

[M4Y0U]

D3 is a must if you lack sun exposure that is true.

Anyway allmymarbles please try both Pycnogenol and Green+. The conbination of both will be very helpful fr you. I can't say all the benefits you get from pycnogenol but yes it may help the lungs as it helps anything related to blood vessels and oxygenation. It's a very powerful anti-inflammatory, good for joints pain, good at better use of collagen, good for cardiovascular system, muscle tone, skin aging and I skip some. I know it sounds like too good to be true but it's supported by over 200 scientific researches and they all go in favor of Pycnogenol and trust be, in the scientific community they are very skeptic about natural products so this is like the holy grail of natural products.

[Paxiled]

Dealing with asthma or COPD, whichever the poster suffers from, is difficult.  A natural approach should be backed up by an allopathic approach when emergencies arise, as natural medicine tends to be long and slow and trial and error.  Mullein is a good clearing agent, but is usually used in combination with other agents, not alone.  Two good companies that make formulas are Ridgecrest Herbals Lung Ease and Planetary Formulas mullein formula.  Other clearing herbs are lungwort, pleurisy root -- well, there are a lot of them from different herbal traditions.  As for Pycnogenol, I would personally combine it with grape seed extract.  They are both sources of, and I can't spell this, proanthacyanadins, which is in theory a potent antioxidant  (we know it is, but don't know it is when used as a supplement).  They differ in what they contain other than this ingredient, and grapes are human food, whereas pine bark, the source of the trademarked product Pycogenol, isn't.  You can also save money by buying pine bark extract rather than the trademarked Pycnogenol, but the advantage of Pycogenol is you know if it has that name whoever sells it is selling the same product, and most of the research done was paid for by the company that trademarked the name.  It's a proprietary product, not a generic substance.  The best natural bronchodilator is ephedra.  Many drugstore dilators contain ephedrine and pseudoephedrine; the plant ephedra, or Ma Huang by its Chinese name, is the original source of this ingredient.  It is stimulating.  Chinese medicine and ayurvedic medicine would also work on the liver, cleansing it of toxins, and ayurvedic medicine would also emphasize keeping the colon cleansed of toxins, both to inhibit inflammation.  A product called Moducare is said to modulate the immune system instead of stimulate it; overstimulation of the immune system causes inflammation.  Natural antihistamines include bromelain, quercitin, freeze dried nettles, Chinese skullcap (scutellaria), homeopathic histamine, vitamin C (Pycnogenol should always be taken with C -- it works better that way), and many others.  There are also many natural antiinflammatories.  Boswellia and Devil's claw are being researched right now for asthma sufferers, and there are more.  This is why seeing a naturopath, ayurvedic physician, homeopathic physician, holistic nutritionist, practitioner of TCM (Traditonal Chinese Medicine) might be a good idea, since there are so many remedies from so many different cultures to try.  Good luck.

[Paxiled]

Oh, and don't take Daily Detox regularly.  Liver cleansing should only be done periodically, so you don't wash out the good stuff.  And there are far better liver cleansers than that one.  

[M4Y0U]

Green+ Daily Detox is to be taken daily as it's not really a potent detox but more a daily intake of the good stuff... Have a look at the formula and dosage they recommend. Taking it on and off is what you want to avoid since your system get used to it as you gotta start it slowly and gradually increase the dose until you get to the appropriate dosage.

[allmymarbles]

Very complete and informative. Just what I need.

[allmymarbles]

Also very complete and informative. Your are all a wealth of information. My thanks to M4YOU, gymdandee and you. I will follow up on all your suggestions.

[Paxiled]

I was thinking of the Daily Detox tea.  I'm not familiar with Greens Plus Daily Detox, though I am with Greens Plus.  It's not a product I would recommend to an asthma sufferer because it contains so many different foods and some might be allergenic.  Someone with that kind of problem would be better off trying things one at a time.  But again, that's Greens Plus, I don't know their detox product.

[M4Y0U]

I would also try balsam fir gum.

[gymdandee]

We don't know what triggers your attacks but if your house has forced hot air you should put in a Space Guard air filter and don't use an electronic air cleaner as
they give off Ozone and that is more of a problem for you than the benefit of the cleaner. If you do have hot air you should also have a humidifier on the heating unit and make sure you keep it CLEAN!!!!!

[allmymarbles]

I developed emphysema by inhaling organophosphates from a venting system. (Beware of buildings that do not have windows that open. They disinfect the venting system with that poison.) The worst part of my problem is chronic bronchitis. Getting rid of Advair helped with that considerably, but I still need to reduce its severity. The problem, basically, is inflammation.