Natural Remedies for Asthma

Natural remedies are another way for you to manage and control your asthma without using prescribed medicines. Often, natural remedies include herbs, minerals, vitamins, plant medicine, and even the foods you eat. Some natural remedies can replace the need for your add-on asthma therapy, while others supplement their use. There are a few limitations to natural remedies:

  • We don’t know how safe or effective natural remedies are for treating asthma.
  • Natural remedies may not be as effective as your asthma therapy.
  • Some natural products contain allergens. For instance, chamomile and echinacea are both members of a ragweed family, which can trigger asthma in some people.

Vitamins

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is an antioxidant that protects your cells and against inflammation. We credit Vitamin C as helping to shorten the length of cold or cold symptoms. But did you also know that some people use vitamin C to relieve their asthma symptoms? Vitamin C may help to reduce your airway inflammation. However, it only appears to offer some benefit as part of your daily vitamin regimen.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A is another antioxidant vitamin that may help with your asthma symptoms. Unlike Vitamin C, which helps with inflammation, Vitamin A helps your body develop and repair lung tissue. It is unknown how Vitamin A helps with asthma. But, some believe it reverses airway obstruction.

Vitamin A Deficiencies and Asthma

Vitamin A is a crucial vitamin for lung health. However, some people are deficient in Vitamin A. A Vitamin A deficiency contributes to your risk of developing asthma and worsening asthma symptoms in children.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is another natural remedy you may consider for managing your asthma symptoms. Unlike vitamins c and a, which are antioxidative and help with cell and tissue development and repair, vitamin d is an anti-inflammatory vitamin. Vitamin D may protect you against asthma airway inflammation and prevent asthma symptoms and attacks. Before you include Vitamin D into your asthma treatment regimen, there are some things you should consider:

  • Too much Vitamin D can lead to a calcium build-up in your urine.
  • Your asthma symptoms may worsen.

Omega Fatty Acids

Omega fatty acids, like Omega-3 and Omega-6, reduce inflammatory cells. When it comes to asthma, omega fatty acids may work best for exercise-induced asthma.

Magnesium

Magnesium sulfate is a natural remedy that has known muscle relaxing and airway dilating properties. Healthcare providers use magnesium sulfate for severe or life-threatening asthma cases, such as unresponsive asthma. 

Special Diets

Certain foods increase your risk for poorly controlled asthma. If you have allergic asthma, allergens can be present in what you eat or drink. Also, Western diets are not ideal for good health or controlled asthma. These diets tend to be high in fried and processed foods, saturated fats, and red meats, which contribute to inflammation, and low in fruits and vegetables, which eliminate inflammation.

Diet and Asthma

It is no secret that some of the foods we eat contribute to inflammation in your body. Adjusting your diet can help reduce some of your inflammation. Diets high in fruits and vegetables can lower your airway inflammation, but they may not improve your overall lung function.

Cannabis

Many states approved the use of medicinal cannabis as an alternative treatment option for different health conditions. Cannabis contains cannabinoids, which have anti-inflammatory and temporary airway dilating properties. However, there are many reasons why cannabis is not an ideal natural remedy for treating your asthma.

  • Cannabis smoke affects your respiratory system.
  • Much like tobacco smoke, inhaling cannabis smoke can damage or irritate your airways and lungs.
  • Cannabis smoke can trigger an asthma attack.

Homeopathic Treatments

Homeopathic treatments are another natural remedy that helps with specific asthma symptoms. These treatment options are similar to herbal medicines because they both use different herbs. It is rare to use homeopathic treatments alone to manage asthma symptoms. If you are thinking of including a homeopathic treatment into your regimen, you should first consider these things:

  • The herbs used in homeopathic treatments are diluted and may contain allergens.
  • Homeopathic treatments may not improve your quality of life.
  • Ingesting treatments can cause side effects like asthma attacks, skin conditions, headaches, sickness, and sleep problems.