Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Standard treatment for this disease can do much to ease symptoms but, with the exception of oxygen, does nothing to stop the progression of the disease (and oxygen is usually only suitable for non-smokers and at a late stage of the disease).
So can anything else be done?
A basic principle is to remove anything which makes COPD worse.
The obvious culprit is smoking but air pollution can also be a factor.
Another cause is recurrent infection. These are usually treated with antibiotics. These work in the short-term but unfortunately antibiotics damage the beneficial bacteria in the gut (microbiome), leading in the long-term to a vicious cycle of worsening immunity and needing more and more antibiotics.
Prevent Infections:
One way of reducing infections is to use Vitamin D (the sunshine vitamin). Use at least 2000 iu daily. A recent study in the BMJ (2019) found it reduced respiratory infections by nearly half, even at a small dose: it also reduces the number of attacks of influenza. Zinc (15mg daily) also helps to reduce infections.
When an Infection Starts:
A very useful strategy is as soon as an infection starts use high dose Vitamin C up to bowel tolerance. Take 2 grams every 2-4 hours until bowel movements increase and then reduce the dose.
Combine this with using iodine through a salt pipe. Iodine kills all bacteria and viruses even at 1 part per million and there is no known resistance to it.
Watch Dr Sarah Myhill’s u-tube which explains how to use these two effective remedies:
Use Food as a Medicine
A study published in 2010 in the European Respiratory Journal followed 100 COPD patients for three years. One group continued with their normal diet whereas the other group increased their fruit and vegetable intake.
The results were a revelation. Patients on the standard diet became progressively worse as expected. But those taking extra fruit and vegetables improved. Their lung function was better than when they started. Fruits and vegetable have substances in them known as phytonutrients with a wide-range of health-enhancing properties such as reducing inflammation. This is the likely reason why these patients did so well.
And studies on asthma have found that the more fruit and vegetables we eat the greater the benefit. Considering COPD is considered to be a disease which inevitably declines with time this was a landmark study suggesting for the first time that lung function can improve. In terms of preventing the decline in lung function in COPD increasing fruit and vegetables may prove to be the most effective strategy we have.
Other Nutrients
Vitamin E: this helps the whole body to work better with less oxygen. It also helps the heart. Gradually increase the dose to what works best starting on 400 IU daily and increasing to 1600 IU daily as needed. Use the D alpha tocopherol or mixed tocopherol rather than the synthetic DL alpha tocopherol if possible.
