Can Vitamins and Herbs Help My Breathing ?

Walk into any store these days, and there are miles of aisles full of vitamins, supplements, teas, herbs, and more that claim to help with every breathing issue there is. I am wary of each and every one of them, largely due to possible interactions with other drugs you may be taking. For people with lung problems, more often than not, it’s what you take out of your diet (and environment) that will help you more than what you take in.
Step one is to find out what you may be sensitive or allergic to. Many people are allergic to dust, pollens, weeds, even smog. Most of my patients don’t need an allergy skin test to figure out exactly what inflames their airways, but if the coming season of Spring makes you want to go stock up on Kleenex, a skin test might just be able to identify the ONE thing that sends you running for your inhaler. Allergy shot series are not fun, but often preferred for those who have an allergy to only one or two things. Once finished, desensitization is complete, and many people can lose the allergy pills and the subsequent haze that often accompanies taking them. Not to mention the cost! Some people need to take seasonal allergy shots for Fall as well, most notably for allergies to Pine and other trees that don’t lose all of their leaves in Winter.
As for food sensitivities, Doctors often start with the ‘Elimination Diet’, whereby you cut out all dairy and see if there is any improvement. If not, cut out all Soy. Then Wheat. Then eggs. What’s missing is I have never heard any MD tell their patient to cut out the chemicals they are consuming: Aspartame, artificial colors, non-dairy creamers, etc. If you’ve gone gluten-free, dairy-free, everything-else-free, and are still having problems, my recommendation is to first cut out all artificial colorants. If that helps, you are on the right track. Next, cut out all  artificial sweeteners. Then, all High Fructose Corn Syrup. Lastly,  soybean oil, canola oil, and margarine.
Next week: Supplements that may help ease breathing symptoms.