How to Treat Emphysema Problem Naturally

How to Treat Emphysema Naturally

Emphysema is a chronic, debilitating disease of the lungs that is characterized by coughing, wheezing and extreme shortness of breath. It may be caused by smoking or by long-term exposure to pollutants in the air, and it is often preceded by chronic bronchitis. Thousands of people in the United Kingdom are crippled by one or both of these diseases, and their incidence is increasing. Emphysema is one of the major diseases responsible for causing disability in working men who should be in the prime of their productive lives.

Today's medicine is certainly keeping more emphysema victims alive. But too often, although they may be alive, they are scarcely living. There is hope, though, for those who suffer from chronic obstructive lung disease. And that hope is not based on some miracle drug but on a therapy that is completely natural and depends on the activity of the patient rather than the doctor.

Pedaling back to health

For a period of five years, Dr. Harry Bass conducted an experiment in rehabilitation with 12 men and women who all suffered from bronchitis and/or emphysema. These patients were in bad shape. They had all stopped smoking — not necessarily because of a desire to improve the poor state of their health, but because they were simply too short of breath to smoke! Physically, they had deteriorated to a dangerously low point. They suffered from chronic shortness of breath (dyspnoea) and — as measured by the amount of oxygen — could perform work at only about 25 percent of the reaching their cells capacity of even the most unfit but 'healthy' members of society.

What made Dr. Bass's problem even harder to solve was the vicious cycle of inactivity. Shortness of breath limited the patients' activity, which further shortened their breach. The only way out of the cycle, he decided, was graded exercise. For that graded exercise, he chose a stationary bicycle.

First, the patients were given a thorough clinical evaluation, including a medical and detailed respiratory disease history, physical examination, pulmonary function tests, and chest X-rays,' said Dr. Bass. The average age of the participants was approximately 60: the oldest was 75, the youngest 42.

I instructed them to exercise at home using a stationary bicycle with an odometer (to measure distance) and variable wheel tension. After five years of graded exercise training, 8 of the 12 who remained active claimed that they could "do more" with less shortness of breath. Oxygen requirements at a resting state decreased in 11 of the 12 and remained unchanged in 1. Oxygen requirements for exercise decreased in 10 patients and remained unchanged in 2. Heart rate was the most useful index to clinically assess fitness. All patients had a decrease in resting and exercise heart rate.

One man was 75 when the experiment was begun,' Dr. Bass continued. 'Recently, he traveled to Africa on a safari. Another man who was 75 now goes out every day and puts in a full shift with his construction company.

Significantly, during the five years of exercise training, hospital days were reduced to one-fifth of those needed by these patients during the five years preceding their exercise training. Complications associated with their lung disease were reduced to one-third of the former level.

In the past, it was commonly believed that pulmonary function deteriorates at a constant rate in patients with the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, despite therapy. Therefore, it was felt that exercise programs for sufferers of emphysema and bronchitis were worthless. Dr. Bass found, however, that lung function did not deteriorate in eight of the patients he studied.

The healthy-lung vitamin

No matter how useful the exercise, if you live in a city (or commute to one) or if you smoke, you're up against lung damage. Smog, cigarette smoke, and car exhaust contain nitrous oxide (N02), a noxious gas that harms the lungs and makes us susceptible to lung problems such as emphysema. But there is a nutrient that seems to protect the sensitive tissues in our lungs against N02-induced damage: vitamin A.

Experiments performed at the Delta Regional Primate. Research Center of Tulane University in New Orleans has shown that animals exposed to pollution suffered far less damage when they were supplemented with vitamin A. According to James C.S. Kim, that's because vitamin A is needed by the lungs to provide mucous cells, which serve to trap toxic substances. From there, cilia (hair-like projections on the cells) escort the foreign particles oui of the body.

Without adequate vitamin A, however, the lung cannot produce mucus-secreting cells, and the cells become dry and hardened. Moreover, they lack the cilia necessary to sweep away toxic substances. So the lungs become susceptible to all kinds of infections and disease. Dr. Kim believes that vitamin A safeguards the lungs and that supplements may help forestall emphysema and other lung problems associated with old age.

For more information on the subject, See Also LUNG PROBLEMS.