Supplements for asthma - Allergies - Brief Article

Better Nutrition, April, 2002

A study by Scotland's University of Aberdeen Medical School determined that children with the lowest rates of vitamin C intake were seven times more likely to develop asthma than those with the highest consumption of this essential antioxidant. Children with the lowest saturated fat intake were 10 times less likely to develop asthma.

Research published in Alternative Medicine Review (February 2001) identified a number of supplements useful in treating asthma, including the antioxidants vitamins B6, B12, C and E. Selenium and zinc also proved helpful, as did omega-3 fatty acids, quercetin, Tylophora asthmatica and Boswellia serrata -- some of the same supplements that provide relief from allergies.

Finally, a German study found that asthma patients, who were given 30 mg of the Ayurvedic (a holistic method of healing first developed in India more than 3,000 years ago) remedy Boswellia serrata three times a day for six weeks improved by 70 percent, compared to only 27 percent of those given placebos.