Asthma-Free Naturally: Everything you need to know about taking control of your asthma. Patrick McKeown
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natural defence mechanism to help maintain the carbon dioxide level. In a person with asthma, this defence mechanism activates when the carbon dioxide level declines too much. Overbreathing also causes cooling and drying of the airways, two effects that have been recognised to play a role in producing asthma symptoms (for a more detailed explanation, see Appendix 2).
People with asthma are better off than anyone else who overbreathes because they are equipped with an instant defence mechanism to prevent the loss of carbon dioxide. People who do not have this defence mechanism suffer from many of the diseases of civilisation for which there is no cure.
It is worth noting that before 1900, people who had asthma often lived longer than the rest of the population and that death from asthma was unknown. ‘Having asthma generally meant having a long life free from many diseases, but nobody could explain why asthma prevented other diseases or why asthmatics lived longer than other people,’ Professor Buteyko noted. At the end of 19th century, Professor of Medicine at Oxford University Sir William Osler, wrote in his Principles and Practice of Medicine textbook: ‘We have no knowledge of the morbid anatomy of true asthma. Death during the attack is unknown.’
Overbreathing resulting from modern living is the cause of breathing-related diseases. Hyperventilation is not just a result of asthma, hyperventilation is the main contributor of asthma.
Professor Buteyko believes that genetic predisposition determines which illnesses people develop from overbreathing. As a result, each person who hyperventilates or overbreathes is affected individually, based on hereditary factors.
Symptoms of hyperventilation
Some of the symptoms of hyperventilation affect:
♦ The respiratory system in the form of wheezing, breathlessness, coughing, chest tightness, frequent yawning, snoring and sleep apnoea.
♦ The nervous system in the form of a light-headed feeling, poor concentration, numbness, sweating, dizziness, vertigo, tingling of hands and feet, faintness, trembling and headache.
♦ The heart, typically a racing heartbeat, pain in the chest region, and a skipping or irregular heartbeat.
♦ The mind, including some degrees of anxiety, tension, depression, apprehension and stress.
♦ Other general symptoms include mouth dryness, fatigue, bad dreams, nightmares, dry itchy skin, sweaty palms, increased urination such as bed wetting or regular visits to the bathroom during the night, diarrhoea, constipation, general weakness and chronic exhaustion.
Why do we overbreathe?
Earlier on, I explained that when we overbreathe permanently, the respiratory centre in the brain is trained to accept a lower level of carbon dioxide. There are many reasons why we overbreathe, although not all of them may apply to everyone. These factors are more prevalent in countries experiencing increasing modernisation and affluence, and that prevalence helps explain why there are such high incidences of asthma and other diseases of civilisation in the same countries.
Briefly, these factors include: incorrect eating habits; the belief that it is good to take ‘big breaths’; stress; more home heating; wearing too much clothing; lack of physical exercise, and pollution. Each of these are explored in more detail in Appendix 1.
Benefits of reduced breathing
Reduced breathing due to what is called the Bohr effect leads to better oxygenation of all of the body’s cells and tissues which in turn enables all the organs to function more efficiently. Almost everyone who has attended Asthma Care clinics in Ireland has reported not just a significant improvement in their asthma, but also an improvement in their general health and well-being.
In addition, they reported increased energy levels; less dependence on stimulants such as caffeine; increased calmness; reduced anxiety and normalisation of weight – all within a relatively short period of time. Chronic complaints such as headaches, constipation and spasmodic conditions – caused by incorrect breathing and dietary factors or as result of side effects from asthma related medication – were also gradually eliminated.
Breaking the overbreathing habit
As babies we instinctively know how to breathe using the diaphragm, with the tummy moving up and down with each breath. For the most part, the breathing volume matches the exact needs of the metabolism; this is how the human body was intended to function and results in good health.
Parents strive to protect their children, yet by becoming over-protective they often contribute to problems for their offspring later in life. Parents habitually tend to over-dress young children and live in rooms that are too warm or too stuffy, while the children can also be exposed to an unsuitable diet which includes too much sugar and too many sweets, chocolates and fizzy drinks to which they soon become accustomed. It is then a simple progression along a slippery slope to a diet high in junk food, artificial additives and sweeteners, sometimes before a child even starts school.
Children are often advised by many sources to ‘take a deep breath’. However, in this situation the word ‘deep’ is used in the wrong context and a deep breath in this case is actually a ‘big’ breath – filling the lungs but not using the diaphragm. So what are the necessary steps to break this habit?
♦ Step One
Acknowledge the bad habit – in this case overbreathing – and the reason why it is a bad habit. It is at this stage that the correct method of breathing is learned as well as the various ways of redressing the incorrect approach to breathing.
♦ Step Two
Often it is not until the breathing pattern has been corrected that it comes to light that it was incorrect in the first place. Therefore the solution lies in detecting the problem before it has even occurred. This pattern of detection and correction, caused by slipping back into bad habits, may continue for some time. Eventually, perhaps after much trial and error, becoming aware of the breathing pattern at an earlier stage can prevent overbreathing.
Psychologists claim that, with the correct attention and discipline, a bad habit can be broken and a new and better habit instilled in just 21 days. However, when it comes to learning a new way of breathing a little more time is required as the body becomes accustomed to a fundamental change in something as basic and essential as breathing. In reality, the time it takes is insignificant when compared with the benefits accruing from correct breathing.
♦ Step Three
With both time and effort good breathing should become routine, after all practice makes perfect. Eventually the good habit becomes like second nature and requires no conscious effort. Sticking to the better breathing routine will then require only intermittent attention to confirm the breathing is correct. The effort and discipline committed to learning this method of breathing will now pay off; this is a time to feel good.
Basic breath retraining
There are three basic steps towards breath retraining.
♦ Step One
Become very aware of your breathing. Feel, watch and listen to your breathing as much as you can during the day, paying particular attention to what causes you to take big breaths.
Ask yourself some questions. Is your breathing a still, silent activity or does it involve large inhalations and body movements? Are you going about your daily activities with your mouth open? Do you take a big breath as you stand up from your chair or before talking? Do you heave big sighs, yawn or sniff regularly? Do you wake in the night or early morning with a dry mouth? Is your nose blocked when you wake or do you wake feeling that you have not had a good night’s sleep?
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