For the past several Health Tips we have been conducting a little contest between the “wisdom of this World” and the “wisdom of God.”
This week I would like us to evaluate the way the “world’s wisdom” deals with asthma and allergies.
Webster dictionary defines “Asthma”: “a paroxysmal (severe attack or a sudden increase in intensity of a disease) often allergic disorder of respiration characterized by bronchospasm, wheezing, and difficulty in expiration.”That’s what asthma is . . . but where does it come from? What causes it? Here’s what the medical community has to say regarding its cause:
“No one really knows the causes of asthma. What we do know is that asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways. The causes of asthma symptoms can vary for different people. Still, one thing is consistent with asthma: when airways come into contact with an asthma trigger, the airways become inflamed, narrow, and fill with mucus.” “When you have an asthma attack, spasms of the muscles around the airways, inflammation and swelling of the mucosal membrane lining the airways, and excessive amounts of mucus contribute to airway narrowing. This makes airway resistance increase and the work of breathing more difficult, causing shortness of breath, coughing, and wheezing. You may have coughing with asthma because of the irritation inside the airway and the body’s attempt to clean out the accumulations of thick mucus. “So why do you have asthma and your friend doesn’t? No one really knows for sure. We do know that allergies play a role in many people with asthma but not in all. As with allergies, you can blame your family history, as there is a strong genetic component for asthma.” (WebMD)Statements like “you can blame your family history, as there is a strong genetic component for asthma” claim that if you suffer with asthma, you had nothing to do with the creating of the problem because the root cause of your asthma is in your genes. Blame Momma or Great Grandpa, or some distant relative, but not yourself in any way. Thus the medical community takes our attention away from any personal responsibility, and thus discourages a person from searching for a cause for the problem such as diet and lifestyle… or what we are feeding our child if they have asthma. Genes control everything in our body and they can cause disease when abnormal... but not always! So who controls genes? Nutrition can control genes. Genes can be silent and do nothing. Most are like that. For most genes to become active (to be expressed) something in nutrition triggers it, bad or good……”
How Great Is The Suffering
- Approximately 34.1 million Americans have been diagnosed with asthma by a health professional during their lifetime.
- The prevalence of asthma increased 75% from 1980-1994.
- It is estimated that the number of people with asthma will grow by more than 100 million by 2025.
- Asthma costs in the US grew from about $53 billion in 2002 to about $56 billion in 2007, about a 6% increase. Source
What Happens When an Asthma Attack Occurs?
While the medical community informs us that they cannot tell us what causes an Asthma attack, they can tell us what happens when the attack occurs:“When you have an asthma attack, spasms of the muscles around the airways, inflammation and swelling of the mucosal membrane lining the airways, and excessive amounts of MUCUS contribute to airway narrowing.
How To Prevent Asthma
If excessive MUCUS is at the heart of an asthma attack, it’s in our best interest to learn what causes the excess mucus. Here’s what Gary Null (M.D.) has to say in his “Complete Encyclopedia of Natural Healing”:“In all respiratory conditions, mucous-forming dairy foods, such as milk and cheese, can exacerbate clogging of the lungs and should be avoided. Very simply, when more mucous accumulates in the lungs than can be expelled, asthma attacks develop. This belief has long been held in practiced medicine, and many medical doctors still stand behind this theory.”Many other doctors and researchers are now beginning to agree that undiagnosed milk allergies may be the underlying problem. “Milk is one of the two or three most common food allergens in the American diet,” says allergy specialist Dr. James Braly in “Alternative Cures”. Dr. Frank Oski, chief of pediatrics at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, believes that “50 percent of all school children may be allergic to milk.” Mike Adams at Natural News tells us this:
“Lack of water is the second leading cause of Asthma, and the sad fact is that most Americans live their entire lives in a state of chronic dehydration. The constriction of capillaries in the lungs is the body’s way of reducing water loss during respiration. This physiological response is frequently and inappropriately diagnosed as asthma by doctors. What doctors need to be prescribing is water, not steroids, and they need to be telling their patients to drink only water, not soft drinks, not juices (containing sugar), not punch, and certainly not cow’s milk. “Whether milk is the source of the mucous, or whether milk causes an allergic reaction that causes the body to produce mucous, or both – research suggests that milk definitely worsens asthma. Research reveals that a diet free of both milk, cheese, and meat, another common allergen, can greatly lessen asthma symptoms or completely alleviate symptoms. Once milk has been ruled out as the cause of Asthma, then insufficient intake of water should be considered.”Suzanne Havala, a registered dietitian from North Carolina, who was co-author of the American Dietetic Association’s 1992 edition of its position paper on vegetarian diets stated at a Washington press conference:
“after weaning, there is no need for milk of any sort. Vegetarians and their children get all the calcium they need from leafy vegetables, broccoli, etc.”Dr. Russell Bunai, a pediatrician associated with the PCRM, who later took a two-year sabbatical from his practice to review the world literature on the subject. In Ghana where he served as a medical missionary, he noted that the traditional diet contains no dairy products and that asthma and other allergic problems occurred only in people who adopted more westernized diets that included cow’s milk. He says
“Of all mammals, only humans drink the milk of another species.”Andrew Weil, M.D. writes:
“If you or your spouse has allergies, asthma, eczema, autoimmunity, bronchitis, or sinusitis, or if your child is experiencing frequent colds and ear infections, it is worth experimenting with total elimination of cow’s milk in all its forms.”Neil Nedley, M.D., in his book “Proof Positive” tells of:
“...a Scandinavian study of 35 patients who had suffered from bronchial asthma for an average of twelve years. All of the participants were receiving long-term medications; 20 were on some of the most potent asthma medications that we use, the cortisone-type drugs such as Prednisone. These compounds can help people manage their asthma better, but they can also have significant long-term damaging side effects. In this research study, these 35 chronic asthmatics were asked to go on a total vegetarian diet for a year. After 4 months, 71% showed improvement and within one year 92% showed significant improvement.”
Why Are We treating The Symptoms Instead of The Cause?
I believe the answer to this question is revealed in a statement that can be found on the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America website which reads in part:“You can help AAFA in a variety of ways to support our education, advocacy, and research programs. Every contribution is 100% tax deductible. Since 1993, AAFA has been the provider of patient-centered information for the more than 60 million people with asthma and allergies in the United States. Through a gift to AAFA, you can memorialize a person who is no longer with us, or you can celebrate a birthday, anniversary or other milestone to honor a friend or family member who is living with asthma or allergies.”My dear friend, dealing with symptoms provides “job security” for the scientific community, for the AAFA and for all other disease foundations and societies, as well as doctors, drug companies, insurance companies, government Health Care programs, and all others involved in the so-called "health care" industry. Rather than seeking the cause of asthma and eliminating the cause, the medical community treats the symptoms – with drugs. And what drug do they use to treat the symptoms? Asthma inhalers are what most doctors will usually prescribe for the symptom. But research shows that ingredients found in asthma inhalers actually worsen the condition, creating a cycle of dependence on the inhaler. Asthma inhalers are largely unnecessary in the first place, since nearly every case of asthma can be reversed through simple dietary change.
How To Deal With Asthma and Allergies... God's Way
Simply eliminating the cause of asthma and allergies will usually eliminate the problem along with the symptom! The primary cause of asthma is mucus and the allergens contained within the Standard American Diet. As with so many of the other diseases that plague mankind, the solution is a 100% plant-based diet. Yes, the solution is found in God’s Original Diet that He told mankind to consume in Genesis 1:29:“And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb (VEGETABLE) bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the FRUIT of a tree yielding seed: to you it shall be for food.”The body will almost always heal itself of whatever the problem, when the cause of the problem is removed and good nutrition and exercise are provided.
