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CHAPTERLung Disorders
T
he digestive tract is injured by the chemicals in the processed food
it breaks down, the kidneys by the toxins they fi lter from the
blood—and the lungs by the air pollutants that diffuse through their
air sacs. Thus the fi rst consideration in ensuring the health of the lungs
is to breathe in clean air. The second is to increase the volume of air
you take in. Maximizing air intake has the same effect on the lungs as
exercise has on the muscles: it strengthens them and by doing so
improves their function. Diet, nutritional supplements, and herbs are
also benefi cial to the health of the lungs.Asthma
Christina is an example of how a supplement miraculously cured a
major lung problem. Now forty-fi ve, Christina had immigrated with
her husband and children to the United States from the Dominican
Republic twenty years ago. A few months after they arrived, Christina
had an asthmatic attack. It was so acute that her husband called 911, and
she was taken to the hospital by ambulance. That was just the fi rst of a
series of asthmatic attacks that led to her hospitalization fi fty times in
a fi ve-year period. In between these attacks she struggled day to day
with her asthmatic condition, wheezing after the least physical exer-
tion, including picking up a toy, making a bed, or doing the dishes. Her
doctors considered her disabled enough to authorize Medicaid pay-
ments for a full-time housekeeper.