Asthma, Allergies, Arthritis, Stress
Answered by: Susan Eagles
Question from: Johanna
Posted on: July 22, 1998

My sister has asthma, allergies and arthritis (could be allergy related) She suffers from anxiety and stress from her physical and sexual abuse as a child. She is only 30, so we would like to experiment with the following, and would like to know if there are any contra-indications between the herbs or anything significant we are missing. First, in addition to diet and attitude changes she will be using the following in her cooking as much as possible, garlic, basil, ginger, marjoram and parsley... Then we would like to make just one tincture of all the following: Burdock, Comfrey, Elecampane,Ephreda, Evening Primrose, Goldenseal, Lobella, Marshmallow and Slippery Elm......... We would add a couple of drops of this tincture to a Ginko tea three times a day.....

You have a great start for a healing remedy. Working with the diet and stress alone will show the biggest improvements. The herbs will support this effort.

The asthma, allergies, arthritis and stress are probably related. First it is important to work with the stress, to help the system come into balance and to increase the effectiveness of any remedies. Counseling, support groups Yoga, Tai Chi and meditation are all helpful. St. John’s Wort is calming and anti-depressive. It nourishes nerve tissues and should be used long term.

Next you want to deal with allergies. With allergic reactions, nutrients from food and medication are not properly absorbed. Allergies in the diet can be identified with a diet diary, listing foods eaten and symptoms felt each day, then eliminating any food causing adverse effects. The most common food allergies are dairy products, eggs, gluten products, oranges, tomatoes. Sugar and chocolate should be eliminated. You might want to eliminate all of these to start with. Whole grain rice , fresh fruit and vegetables should make up a major part of the diet. Once the symptoms have cleared, you can reintroduce these foods slowly back into the diet.

Evening Primrose Oil is nutritious and can be helpful in allergies and arthritis. It is most easily taken as a capsule.

Next you want to work with the digestive system to help nutrient absorption. German Chamomile tea is good for the digestion and allergies and is relaxing and anti-inflammatory as well. Three cups a day.

Either Goldenseal or Plantain can be taken to help repair tissues that have been inflamed. Plantain is anti-allergic, so would probably be my choice here.

Ephedra and Lobelia both work to dilate the bronchial tubes to make breathing easier. Lobelia may be preferable, since ephedra speeds up the nervous system, a reaction you don’t want in stress.

Marshmallow is soothing to the intestinal tract, and is helpful in inflammation in this area. Comfrey is similarly soothing. Depending on her conditions, I might change the Marshmallow to Meadowsweet, which is a digestive, good for arthritic inflammation and pain and supportive of the liver.

Burdock is an excellent blood tonic, which also supports the liver and the lymphatics.

Comfrey is an excellent healing remedy for internal tissues.

Depending on how your sister responds, other remedies that you may want to consider are: Dandelion root gives strong support to the liver, which performs so many functions in support of digestion and elimination of toxins; The adrenal glands are overworked with stress. They can be supported with Licorice or Borage.

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