Propolis for asthma

by peter
(toronto, Ontairo, canada)

Hi, can you suggest anything for asthma. I've had asthma all my life and understand that there are certain triggers ie: foods, grass, smoke, dust etc and triggers to my asthma and wheezing but can you suggest anything that would help asthmatics besides exerice/yoga which I already do.

Angela's Comments:

The first recommendation I make to asthmatics' is to eliminate all dairy from their diets for 1 week and monitor their allergies and asthma symptoms. This has done more for so many people I know that I can't even count. Another common allergen many people have is gluten. After doing the dairy elimination diet, I'd suggest trying gluten as well. You may be surprised...

I'd also recommend trying bee proplolis. Propolis has shown some promise in studies for asthmatics. I've listed a study below:

Propolis Useful in Treating Asthma, Other Allergic Disorders

Propolis has a good reputation for having beneficial effects in asthma patients. But the mechanism was not clearly understood so scientists looked at the effect of a compound called CAPE (caffeic acid phenethyl ester). CAPE is the most extensively studied component in propolis and has shown tremendous results in many other studies for conditions ranging from inflammation to athletic performance.
The scientists concluded that propolis (more specifically the CAPE in propolis) inhibited the inflammatory and immune response that asthmatics often experience.

They went on to say that "this study provided a new insight into the mechanism of CAPE in immune response and the rationale for propolis in the treatment of asthma and other allergic disorders."

I just recently began using propolis with a long term allergy and asthma sufferer. Results have been very promising so far. Their occurrence of chest colds has decreased to zero so far. I'm having him continue with the propolis through the summer so it will be interesting to see how his allergies improve.