Eighty percent of asthmatic children have low levels of stomach acid and pepsin. This hurts digestion and lowers nutrient absorption, gradually increasing food allergies. Stomach malfunction impairs vitamin B12 nutrition. In childhood asthma, a series of vitamin B12 injections often eliminates asthmatic wheezing entirely. When I’m working with an asthmatic child, I almost always ask a nurse to teach the parents how to give the injections at home.

Depending on the child’s size, I use between 1,000 and 3,000 micrograms of vitamin B12 daily, and taper off both the quantity and frequency according to the response. If you find the vitamin B12 hasn’t reduced symptoms at all after 2 or 3 weeks, you should discontinue the daily injections.

For both childhood and adult asthma, magnesium and vitamin B6 intravenous injections given during acute attacks almost always eliminate them, although sometimes you need more than one injection to do the job. Both of these nutrients are also good to take orally, and can cut down on the frequency of asthma attacks. For adults, I usually recommend taking 50 to 100 milligrams of vitamin B6, along with 200 milligrams of magnesium three times a day.

As far as herbal treatments for asthma, Boswellia is the best bet. In one clinical study, 80 patients with chronic asthma were treated with 900 milligrams per day of Boswellia gum resin. Seventy percent of patients taking the Boswellia improved. Improvements were observed for shortness of breath, number of attacks, and respiratory capacity as well as indicators of inflammation.

These treatments are all good for reducing the symptoms of asthma, and sometimes they can even eliminate it altogether. But for adult asthma, allergy elimination or desensitization are usually necessary in the long run. For help with allergy screening and treatment, contact the American Academy for Environmental Medicine at www.aaem.com.