< previous page | page_46 | next page >
Page 46
| conversation and physical movement. It is so debilitating that it ranks third among the diseases for which Social Security gives disability benefits. Patients often have a history of heavy smoking or live in areas of high air pollution. |
| The herbal treatments for emphysema are similar to those for asthma, with an added emphasis on nutritional support for the immune system. See the suggestions for asthma therapy. Some physicians prescribe a low-carbohydrate diet because sweets, simple carbohydrates and sugar tend to worsen emphysema symptoms. In 1992 British researchers published a double-blind, randomized crossover study to test the effects of fats and carbohydrates on emphysema. They found that small dietary changes in the balance of carbohydrates to fats affected exercise tolerance and breathlessness significantly. The more carbohydrates the patients consumed, the worse their symptoms. |
| Vitamins C and E, magnesium and bioflavonids are important supplements for those with emphysema and so are omega-3 fish oils. In 1994, the New England Journal of Medicine reported on a study of nearly 9,000 smokers and former smokers that showed the more fish they ate, the less chance they had of developing emphysema. |
| In the 1950s, Robert Atkins, M.D., served as a medical resident in the Columbia Chest Division of Bellevue Hospital in New York City. This division was dedicated to the treatment of emphysema and was run by two Nobel Prize winners. As Dr. Atkins explained in the November 1995 issue of his Health Revelations newsletter, oxygen had always been known to benefit people who had emphysema or COPD, but doctors administered it intermittently, fearing that a supplemental supply would signal the brain that it need not breathe so often. However, several studies have shown that patients do well when oxygen is administered continuously, especially at night. Two trials in the 1980s showed a 50 percent improvement in the rate of death when people with COPD received continuous oxygen therapy. |
| Smoking is a major cause of emphysema. The relaxing expectorant herbs lobelia and coltsfoot can be helpful in |
< previous page | page_46 | next page >

If you like this book, buy it!