Hi all

My 2 year old son has asthma occssionally when he has a cold - not everytime. He currently has it and wheezes a lot and coughs a lot in the night. I do not give him anything for it, as when I went to get the initial prescription filled it was some hugly expensive amount for all the gadgets - this was about a year ago. He only seemed to have it a couple of times since then. He has had many colds since then.

My son is not raw, as it is very difficult for me to get him to eat raw in the current environment. I want him to be able to enjoy the lack of having colds, and asthma too, that I do, since being mostly raw myself. I'm trying to get him to eat more raw - he won't eat vegetables though. Fruit he loves.

Anyway, are there specific foods to avoid with asthma? I have read to avoid cow's milk and dairy products, which I don't give him at home anymore, but they do at childcare.

I am quite concerned now as he wheezes quite badly. I prefer to avoid doctors totally now.
Thanks
Heidi

Hi there HeidiH,

I read this conversation a couple of nights ago and I was completely enthralled by what I picked up from it all!

It could be the answer you are looking for in regards to asthmatic problems and their cures. If you decide to give it ago and it works out peachey for your son, please drop us back a line as I have never expereinced asthma but if this is a simple cure to be true and correct than I am happy to spread the word as loud as possible to all that need it!

http://www.naturalnews.com/Report_water_cure_0.html

Healing, love & passion to you both,
salt water

edited only to make link clickable

Hi Heidi,

I see a lot of parents profesionally with children with asthma and food allergies and in the last 2 years I have been running raw food classes especially for them. Since I'm so passionate about this topic and this is my area of expertise (I'm studying clinical nutrition) I thought I'd respond. I feel for you and your little dude. Asthma is really stress full. The good news is that you can conquer this. 
   
There are 2 types of asthma : extrinsic and intrinsic asthma. Extrinsic asthma is an allergic condition.
Intrinsic asthma is related to a broncial reaction triggered by various factors such as toxic chemicals like food additives and preservatives, cleaning products in the home, but this can also include cold air, stress and infection.   

Asthma sufferers have been found to have the following things in common:

Lack of magnesium (according to many studies, including various double blind studies).
Most people are deficient in magnesium. Magnesium is a muscle relaxant. Leafy greens are a good source of magnesium, as are drinking coconuts, seeds, nuts and legumes and grains, and raw chocolate. (Raw chocolate also contains caffeine, around 3 percent I believe, which is used in asthma drugs for acute attacks as it quickly helps to dilate the bronchi, but I would not recommend it for really young kids because of the side effects) I would avoid all grains as they are inflammatory. Most commonly eaten fruits are low in magnesium.   

Lack of vitamin C.
Asthmatics require more vitamin C in their diets. Vitamine C is a natural anti-histamine and is proven to decrease bronchoconstriction.   

Probably deficient in niacin, vitamin E and vitamin B6.

Allergies. Asthma sufferers generally have multiple allergies that can be either food or airborne such as dust or mold. Sulphur dioxide (used to preserve dried fruts and in 'health' bars and biscuits containing fruit) is a common trigger in asthma attacks. One dried peach can cause a full blown  attack. In clinical nutrition asthma is called an 'allergic disorder'.

Un-balanced gut flora. Asthmatics generally respond really well to a course of probiotics. (check with kinesiologist)
Generally there is a serious overgrowth of Candida Albicans. It's important to eat fruit on it's own, not mixed with fats to avoid candida proliferation. Wait at least half an hour before and after fruit.         

It's true that most asthmatics improve drastically when removing dairy and wheat from their diet.  A tell tale sign of a food allergy is a child that really craves these foods and gets very upset or angry when these foods are withheld. (we crave the foods we allergic too) A good kinesiologist can tell you exactly what your child is allergic to. They can also eliminate the allergies. Seeing a good kinesiologst will take all the guesswork out of it and give you concrete things to work with.   

Remedies: Diets high in anti oxidants, Vitamin C, selenium, Carotenes, Omega 3, vitamin E.
This means foods like peppers, all berries, plums and pears, grapes, apples, some citrus fruits (although citrus is a high allergy food) kiwi's, avo's, cucumber, celery, carrots and lots of green veggies, especially from the cabbage family. (banana and kale smoothies!) All green, yellow and orange fruits are high in carotenoids. For Vitamin E: seeds and nuts.  Brazil nuts contain a lot of selenium.   

'a long term trial of a vegan diet provided significant improvement in asthma symptoms in 92 % of the 25 treated patients'. (The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods, Drs M Murray, J Pizzorno, L Pizzorno)
On this diet patients only drank spring water (chlorinated tap water was forbidden) Grains were very restricted or eliminated. It was found that onions, garlic and berries have anti-asthmatic effects, with onions being extremely beneficial. Also, I have been told by clients that a tea made from 2 parts chamomile, one part aniseed and a bit of honey is helpful and also helps to promote sleep. The steam can be inhaled for quick relief.     

Dear Heidi, I hope this helps. I'm sure your child care will be supportive and cooperative. My son's kindy has been really good in accepting that his diet is different. If you tell them he can't have wheat and dairy because of his asthma, or any dried fruit, they will understand. Good luck with it all.

With Love and Light,
Jojo
 

Thankyou for your response Jo. It is very useful. I have been working on getting him to have some green smoothie - casually offering when I have them daily. He often drinks half a cup now, which is an improvement from not trying them at all.

I'm not worried about him. He only has the asthma when he has a cold, so it's not all the time.

I've changed to unsulphered dried fruit at home. Still trying to convince hubby that milk is not good, but he rarely has it. He does eat a lot of commercial bread though - I have to get on with making dehydrated breads.

We are making progress slowly.