Humans can live for many weeks without food, a few days without water, and only a few minutes without air.  

While the respiratory tract may seem like a boring topic, it is only boring if you don’t have problems with it. Ask anyone who has a serious and/or chronic problem and they’ll tell you the inability to breathe well has their attention most of the time! 

The upper respiratory tract consists of the nose and sinus cavity.  The lower respiratory tract is made up of the trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, and alveoli.  Air enters the lungs through one of two channels, the nose or the mouth.  (The upper respiratory tract connects to the Eustachian tube at the back of the throat.  This is why so many sinus infections and colds involve ear infections.)  The diaphragm is an important auxiliary organ for the respiratory system. 

The nose is filled with hairs.  As air passes through the nose these hairs trap dust and large particles that could harm the delicate linings of the sinuses and lungs.  The air continues through the sinuses.  The actual space within the sinuses is quite small, but the moist mucous membranes contained herein are very convoluted.  This increases the surface area, increases the amount of time the air has contact with the mucous membranes, and allows the cold and dry incoming air to be warmed to body temperature and well-moistened.  The air continues down the trachea or windpipe to the lungs.  If air has been taken in by mouth, however, it misses the opportunity to be cleansed, warmed, and moistened. 

A university professor I had for a jogging class once described the effects of cold, dry air in the lungs as being like freezer burn on a roast.  The meat cannot be ‘fixed’ if it has freezer burn, and neither can the lungs. 

From the trachea, the air moves into the bronchi.  These are the two main branches off the trachea.  One branch goes to each lung.  The bronchi continue to branch into smaller bronchioles, until they finally end in clusters of minute balloons called alveoli.  Alveoli are little air sacs that have walls that are very moist, flexible, and only one cell thick.  The walls are richly fed with capillaries.  It is through this fluid medium and thin wall that gaseous exchange takes place; oxygen diffuses from the air in the alveoli into the red blood cells, and carbon dioxide diffuses out of the red blood cells into the alveoli.  Red blood cells have a preference for carbon monoxide.  They will not give it up if they are given the opportunity to bond with it.  Car exhaust and faulty furnaces provide this noxious, odourless, tasteless, colorless, deadly gas.   

Cilia are located throughout the upper and lower respiratory tracts.  These special little hairs have muscles at their bases that make the hairs move in waves, pushing mucous and garbage toward the nearest exit.  Cilia are paralysed by nicotine, and tar gums them up so they can’t move.   

Breathing would simply not take place if it weren’t for the diaphragm.  The lungs are not muscular.  They cannot expand or contract on their own.  Instead, the force of the diaphragm pulling down pulls down on the lungs and creates a vacuum in the lungs, drawing air into them.  When the diaphragm contracts and pushes up air is forced out of the lungs. 

The sinuses and lungs are mucous membranes.  They require some mucous to do their jobs, to keep them moist, and to carry garbage away from them.  When there is too much mucous, and/or when it is too thick and gooey it creates congestion, blocking the absorptive surfaces of the alveoli and plugging the passageways of the bronchi, thus inhibiting the natural breathing and air exchange process. 

If respiratory problems exist, the diet must be examined.  Heavy mucous producing foods, such as dairy products (milk, cheese, yogurt, and cottage cheese) must be eliminated.  Many clients will say, “But I only have a little milk on my cereal in the morning.  Surely that’s not enough to cause a problem.”  For many people it is enough.  I recommend most of these clients should use almond milk (one part almonds, four parts water, whiz in blender) or hemp milk. 

Food allergies are often the culprits in sinus allergies, infections, and asthma.  Foods that tend to cause allergic responses commonly include milk, wheat, eggs, citrus fruit, corn, and peanuts. 

Sinus Infections 

Sinus infections are also known as sinusitis (inflammation of the sinuses).  The cause can be viral or bacterial, allergies, mucous forming foods, and even swimming.   

Typically, sinus infections are characterized by pain or pressure in the cheekbones and/or forehead, or pain resembling a toothache.  Nasal stuffiness with greenish-yellow mucous, sometimes fever and fatigue, and facial swelling are common in acute infections, but less so in chronic infections. 

Dr. Zoltan Rona (Encyclopedia of Natural Healing) lists the following as being helpful for sinus problems: vitamin A from yellow fruits and vegetables, vitamin C to help fight infection, avoid spicy foods and alcohol which aggravate sinus problems, hold a clove of garlic in the mouth for fifteen minutes to relieve a sinus headache, celery and turnip-green juice taken one tablespoon three times daily or 1 teaspoon garlic juice three times daily to clear sinus mucous.  Water consumption should be increased as this will help to liquefy existing mucous. 

Nature’s Sunshine Products SN-X, CC-A with Yerba Santa (NSP USA), Slippery Elm, and Fenugreek & Thyme can all be helpful. 

SN-X is great for allergic sinusitis.  Many people find that taking it before exposure to a known allergen prevents attacks. It is also great for colds and congestion.   

I once gave Slippery Elm to my mother who suffers from chronic sinusitis.  I told her to take six capsules per day.  She phoned me a few days later, inhaled deeply through her nose (that was interesting over the phone) and remarked as to the marvellous results she was getting…by taking only one capsule per day! 

For chronic stuffiness and sinus headache Fenugreek & Thyme is a good choice.  Fenugreek has the ability to dissolve and drain old, hardened mucous deposits, while Thyme contains antiseptic oils that help to kill infection. 

Asthma 

During an asthma attack, the small sphincters at the mouths of the bronchioles spasm shut trapping air in the alveoli.  Since muscles in spasm create lactic acid, mucous is secreted as a vehicle to transport the acid out of the cells.  The spasms can be created by any number of stimuli, including exposure to allergens, over-acid diet, liver stress (not producing enough antihistamines), and adrenal stress (not producing enough of the anti-inflammatory cortisol).   

In the holistic world, we have long known that asthma has its roots in an over-acid condition, belonging to the same family as arthritis and eczema.  Recent research shows that asthmatics, during an attack, have a much higher amount of acid in the air they are exhaling, and continuing research is discovering ways to reduce the acid quickly.  It has also been shown that asthmatics do not have enough hydrochloric acid and pancreatic enzymes.  We know that low digestive acids lead to elevated tissue acids through poor digestion.  Asthmatics may be good candidates for food combining. 

Dr. Gabe Mirkin (www.drmirkin.com) also cites research in medical journals that shows adult onset asthma is often caused by a chronic, low-grade, bacterial infection.  His solution is high-powered antibiotics.  We can certainly do the same with herbs. 

Diet, again, is critical.  The common allergens mentioned earlier are just as likely to trigger asthma attacks.  Coffee, tea, green tea, refined carbohydrates (white flour, white sugar), and citrus fruits all push acid levels up. 

Symptoms generally include a tight feeling in the chest, coughing spasms, difficulty breathing (especially exhaling), and wheezing. 

I recently worked with a young family that had two daughters, ages two and four years.  Both had been diagnosed with asthma at the age of eight months, and both were on no fewer than two types of inhalers.  Neither could sleep lying down, and both would waken during the night needing an extra puff of their medications.  At their first consultation with me, I recommended all dairy products be stopped.  At their second consultation one month later I asked the older child how she was doing.  She volunteered that she was now sleeping through the night, fully reclined, and that it had been two weeks since she had used any inhalers.  How sad the medical doctors had not thought to look at dairy as a possible cause of the problem.  How wonderful the solution was so simple! 

Herbs I like to use in asthma include an extract blend of yerba santa, mullein, lobelia, and licorice root.  The yerba santa and mullein work to heal the lung tissues and move mucous.  Lobelia is a medically known broncho-dilator, and licorice works with the adrenal glands to help them produce cortisol to reduce inflammation in the lungs.  Many resources will say that lobelia is toxic, that it should not be given to children, and I am here to say it is specifically for children.  I have used it on every one of my seven children at one time or another for a multitude of problems and only ever had positive results.  Licorice bears one caution, that of high blood pressure.  Use licorice very carefully, if at all, with those who have a tendency to high blood pressure. 

Our second oldest son has had asthma since he was a very young child.  As an eighteen-month old he was frequently croupy.  At the age of five years he had his first full-blown, lasted two days, asthma attack.  We discovered what his allergies were, and during his next attack used the above-mentioned formula.  He came to me in the middle of the night gasping, “Mom, I can’t breathe.”  I grabbed his herbs, took him into the bathroom, sat him on my lap so I could bear-hug him to keep his lungs from over-inflating, and started giving him two millilitres every thirty seconds for several minutes.  The lobelia did make him vomit (he was on my lap facing the toilet, just in case), and what he brought up was huge globs of slimy mucous.  I gave him a few more squirts of the extract, he started breathing normally, and was back in bed, sound asleep, within ten minutes of waking me up.  We keep that formula handy, even now that he is eight inches taller and forty pounds heavier than me…he just doesn’t get to sit on my lap anymore. 

Preventing asthma attacks comes back to cleaning up the diet, supporting the digestive tract to enhance the hydrochloric acid and pancreatic enzyme function, and strengthening the lungs (mullein and yerba santa). 

Emphysema 

Asthma that goes unchecked and uncontrolled over years often leads to emphysema.  Emphysema can also be the result of aging, smoking, chronic bronchitis, and chronic low-grade infection.  Emphysema is the result of alveoli that are constantly over-inflated and lose their elasticity.  This prevents air from being exhaled, so stale air remains in the space that should be filled with fresh incoming air. 

As always, diet is critical.  Mucous forming and acid-elevating foods must be eliminated. 

Dr. Zoltan Rona recommends using the following daily: 400 iu vitamin E to enhance elasticity and oxygenation, 25,000 iu vitamin A, 5,000 mg vitamin C with bioflavonoids to enhance connective tissue, 1 tsp chlorophyll for cell renewal, and 200 mg coenzyme Q10 to increase oxygen supply. 

The herbs mullein and yerba santa may help to slow down deterioration or speed up tissue damage repair.  Fenugreek and Thyme will help to liquefy and move mucous out of the lungs.  Marshmallow and slippery elm may help to restore elasticity.   

The lungs should not be taken for granted.  If their integrity becomes compromised, overall health will suffer.  Caring for them is as easy as living a healthful life, eating nutritious foods, and breathing clean air.

Judith Cobb, MH, CI, NCP, ICCE