July 2008 : Life Cycles - Children's Health

Children's Health and Asthma
by Dr. Amber Belt

When I was a child, the same cycle repeated itself several times a year. I would catch a cold and usually be treated with antibiotics.   Almost every time, the cold would settle in my chest and the symptoms of wheezing, shortness of breath, and coughing would begin.   Then I would start my asthma medication.   This helped my breathing but made me nauseous, shaky, weak, and took away my appetite. I would get better in about a week, but had to have an inhaler available just in case my asthma unexpectedly flared up. I realize my story is not unique, but my childhood illnesses contributed to my interest in becoming a naturopathic doctor.   The purpose of this article is to provide you, as a parent, with hope that your child can avoid this cycle through naturopathic medicine.

Asthma is often a chronic condition that has frequent or occasional flare ups. Inflammation plays a large role in asthma and the goal of naturopathic treatment is to find and eliminate the underlying causes of inflammation while providing tools to quell flare ups should they occur. The following are several strategies to address the issue of chronic inflammation.

Diet
Often, several contributors to the overall inflammatory state of the body can be found in the diet. You can incorporate the following simple dietary strategies to decrease your child's inflammatory, asthmatic response

First, we'll review foods that you could add to your child's diet. Increasing fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, and whole grains will provide your child with vitamins, minerals, bioflavonoids, and fiber. These nutritional components provide the foundation for healthy growth and decrease the body's ability to become inflamed. I also realize that it can be difficult to coax a child to eat vegetables and that is why I recommend Cynthia Lair's Feeding the Whole Family to parents.

The following foods, in general, contribute to making asthmatic symptoms worse by being pro-inflammatory. Animal products such as meat, dairy, and eggs often contain fatty acids that make the inflammatory reaction more likely. This is also true of margarine and other products made with hydrogenated oils. Making the switch to oils that are anti-inflammatory is an important step toward reducing allergic and asthmatic symptoms. You can cook with canola or olive oil. You can use olive, sesame, and sunflower oils raw. Sugar and white flour are also notorious for worsening an inflammatory reaction, so consider replacing processed foods and sweets with whole grains and fruits. There are also natural sweeteners such as maple syrup, brown rice syrup, and barley malt that can be used at home to replace sugar. Feeding the Whole Family has great guidelines for using these alternative sweeteners.

The last dietary recommendation I make to my asthmatic patients is to eliminate food intolerances. A food intolerance test is method of testing for foods which are not well digested or metabolized in a particular body. These foods then become a source of maldigestion and chronic irritation to body tissues. In the case of a patient with asthma, the chronic irritation manifests itself in the lung tissue; and removing the food that is the chronic irritant is a key component of treatment.

Vitamins and Minerals
Many vitamins and minerals are helpful for stabilizing the body's inflammatory response. Of particular importance are antioxidants such as selenium, beta carotene, zinc, and vitamins C and E. Additionally, bioflavanoids such as quercitin help stabilize cells that release inflammatory chemicals in the body. Magnesium is an important mineral that can reduce the bronchospasm seen in asthmatics.

Herbs for Chronic Asthma
There are a multitude of herbs that can be helpful when used to tonify the lung tissue and address other issues that an asthmatic child may have. Licorice, mullein, and marshmallow will decrease lung irritation while hyssop, aniseed, and thyme will assist in expelling mucous. If your child is fearful or anxious, consider adding calming herbs such as catnip or chamomile.

While I've discussed treatments for the chronic, underlying causes for asthma, acute asthma attacks should be taken seriously and treatment should be supervised by a doctor. I hope you are able to implement some of these strategies to benefit your child's overall health and lessen his or her asthmatic symptoms.

References
Bove, Mary.   An Encyclopedia of Natural Healing for Children and Infants.   Keats Publishing.
Mitchell, William.   Foundations of Natural Therapeutics:   Biochemical Apologetics of Naturopathic Medicine.
Roberts, Susan.   Naturopathic Pediatric Essentials.   Healing Mountain Publishing, Inc.

Amber Belt is a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine and treats people of all ages in accordance with naturopathic philosophy.   Dr. Belt was born and raised in Kansas and graduated from Baker University.   She attended naturopathic school at the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine, located in Tempe, Arizona.   Upon graduation, she was awarded the High Academic Achievement Award as well as the Student Leadership Award.    She is currently enjoying building a practice in Lawrence.   You can find more information about Dr. Belt and her practice by visiting www.AmberBeltND.com or calling (785) 218-0606.

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