by Audrey-Anastasia Alleyne

Created on: April 28, 2009

Apart from pain, one of the most unpleasant experiences for a human being is having difficulty to breathe. Inability to inhale or exhale life giving breath is a rather frightening experience for those who suffer from asthma. That shortness of breath, the wheezing sounds when you breathe that tightness of chest and chronic coughing is the result of the bronchial tubes constricting or producing spasms. This makes it difficult for you to get enough air in your lungs.

Severe spasm attacks can make asthma a life-threatening ailment. The patient needs to be aware of a variety of methods which can help to both prevent asthma attacks and also to obtain relief. Prescription medication, and adequate vitamins and minerals do a good job, but there are also natural remedies, which from ancient times have given relief to many ailments; long before the birth of prescription drugs.

Make essential fatty acids a priority in your diet. Invest in corn oil, canola oil or cold-pressed virgin olive-oil; they can play a great role in relieving asthma discomfort. Supplementing your diet with one or two tablespoons of any of these oils in a light vinaigrette dressing can be quite beneficial. The use of alcohol is usually prohibited for many diseases. However, in the case of asthma, pure alcohol is actually recommended. It is said to act as a bronchodilator, and so can help asthmatic constriction to a certain degree. A bronchodilator is a substance that relaxes and opens up the bronchial tubes.

We rarely drink it in its pure form though. Pure alcohol is an additive in beer, wine or distilled spirits. Use alcoholic beverages in modest amounts however, and you can gain some relief to your air passages. If for some reason, drinking a glass of wine or distilled liquor or a beer a day makes your tightness of chest, wheezing or cough worse, then you need to discontinue it.

Like alcohol, coffee is usually discouraged for many ailments. However with asthma, strangely enough, the caffeine in coffee, and the theobromine in tea are also said to act as bronchodilators. So unless you avoid caffeine for other health reasons like heart problems for example, ingesting caffeine contained in three to four 6-ounce cups of regular coffee throughout the day can help you by relieving mild wheezing and constriction of asthma.

Heinz Apple Cider Vinegar appears to be a major home remedy for many ailments according to Joey Green who wrote the book "Amazing Kitchen Cures." Green suggests that if you start to feel congested and about to wheeze, that you should take "a teaspoon of Heinz Apple Cider Vinegar." This he says "may stop the onset of a full-blown asthma attack."

Back to nature works. Our grandparents used natural remedies long before the birth of prescription medicine. There is always a natural remedy for a complaint. Seek to find one, and you will be rewarded.

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