Canadian Asthma Prevention Institute

Latest Studies on the Influence of Nutrition on Asthma

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Contents

• Introduction to RAINS Study and Synergy of Nutrients

• CAPI Retrospective Survey

• The Basis of the RAINS Study

• No Magic Bullet

• Death and Disease by Deficiency

• Over 200 Asthma Articles from Peer-Reviewed Studies

• Protocols

• Complementary Approach

• Purpose of the RAINS Study

• Method of Analysis of RAINS Study

• Cooperatively Funded - You and CAPI

• Take Time to Research our Asthma Center

• Before You Leave the RAINS Site

Introduction

With the growth of alternative medicine over the past two decades, there is an ever increasing need to scientifically validate many of the claims being made. 

Medical science is the proving ground for medical practice. We have reviewed scores of studies suggesting that a wide range of nutrients appear to have some effect on asthma symptoms, modulatiing asthma drug side-effects and/or morbidity.

The following graphic shows the range of just some of the nutrients involved. Click on any of the nutrient circles to access examples. (see full list of protocol nutrients)

When the synergy - their interactions and dependency - of nutrients is examined, the extreme complexity of nutritional influences on asthma becomes clearer. To further illustrate this point, view  just one example - that of Vitamin B6.

Based on the most recent medical studies, the RAINS Study will assess the efficacy of seven nutritional protocols on asthmatic children and adults. 

CAPI Retrospective Survey

A retrospective survey of asthmatics using similar protocols, has been completed and those results indicate many perceived beneficial changes to asthma symptoms. These changes include reduction of asthma inhalers and asthma drugs, an increase in energy, and a perception of well-being. For full details go to the CAPI Retrospective Survey.

We have also included a page of comments from Participants of the Retrospective Survey.

The results of the RAINS Study will provide data to assess whether double-blind, placebo-controlled studies on asthmatics, using the RAINS protocols are warranted, or whether further studies of different protocols are indicated.

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The Basis of the RAINS Study

Allopathy

def. allopathy - the system of medicine in which the use of drugs is directed to producing effects in the body that will directly oppose and so alleviate the symptoms of a disease. 

This has been the primary approach by asthma doctors and pulmonologists in the treatment of asthma, and other chronic diseases.

The drawbacks to the allopathic approach are that:

1. It treats only the symptoms of asthma, and not the underlying cause(s). This is why asthma is termed a chronic (long-term) disease. Currently there is no cure for asthma. At best, modern medicine can only treat the symptoms of asthma - wheezing, elevated histamine levels, coughing, shortness of breath, gastroesophageal reflux (GER), exercise-induced asthma, bronchospasm, fatigue, chronic bronchitis, inflammation of the bronchial airways, increased mucus and phlem secretion, pneumonia, rhinitis, sinusitis, etc.
2. The asthma medications used include a wide range of antihistamines, interleukin inhibitors, COX inhibitors, inhaled corticosteroids, oral corticosteroids, steroids, leukotriene modifiers, bronchodilators, short acting beta 2 agonists, long acting beta 2 agonists, anti-cholinergics,  H2 receptor, inhaled non-steroidals, and the list continues to grow by the month. 
3. Every drug used to treat asthma comes with some undesirable side effects. These side effects can range from minor to life threatening. The reason side-effects occur is that the human body has never encountered the synthetic, manmade, molecular structures of modern drugs. 

Each and every physician who subscribes to the Hippocratic Oath's highest ideal, "Above all else, do no harm,"  would prefer if there were safe, reliable, scientifically proven, non-drug approaches to the treatment of asthma. Unfortunately, to date, none have been positively identified.  

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No Magic Bullet

The Canadian Asthma Prevention Institute suggests the solution to the ever increasing number of asthma cases will not be found in a single, magic bullet, pharmaceutical drug approach.  Thousands of medical studies, over the past 100 years, indicate numerous underlying causes. It is therefore likely, that if a solution to asthma is to be found, it will be comprised of a multi-faceted assault on the prime, underlying cause of asthma - inflammation.

That inflammation is the result of two factors, each of which have thousands of different components. Those two factors are the environment (everything outside the human body) and the human body's structure and function (how the human structure interacts with the environment.)  

Most scientific studies examine the influence of one particular drug. And, while the idea of testing the effect on the human body of a synthetic, manmade, molecular substance like a new drug, makes perfect sense in the realm of allopathy, when it comes to testing the body's reaction to essential nutrients, an entirely different approach must be considered. This is immediately recognized when the function of essential nutrients is understood.

A good example of how the magic bullet approach is now finding it's way into nutritional approaches to asthma is the work being done by Pilot Therapeutics. They have developed a nutritional compound that mimics the results of three of the most common "inhibitor" asthma drugs - Zyflo, Accolate Singulair and Celebrex.

The compound is comprised of Dihomogamma Linolenic Acid (DGLA) and Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA). It has been shown that compound can decrease the production of Arachidonic Acid, one of the primary factors in asthma inflammation.

This is accomplished at the end stages of both the omega-3 and omega-6 pathways.

The approach, while may proving to be effective in reducing Arachidonic Acid, ignores the likelihood of nutritionally related problems further "upstream" in the pathways. These problems may include any or all of the following:

• Nutritional deficiencies in minerals and vitamins which can result in deficiencies in enzymes which are the catalysts for the cascade of changes in the pathways
• Deficiencies in omega-3 fats in our diet, leading to increased Arachidonic Acid production
• Excess omega-6 fats in our diet, leading to increased Arachidonic Acid production.

Thus, while Pilot Therapeutics solution may indeeed work for asthmatics, it ignores potential causal factors, to the possible detriment of overall health.

Please visit our detailed explanation of essential fat pathways.

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Death and Disease by Deficiency

Essential nutrients have been used by, recognized by, and integrated into, the cellular structure of every living organism on this planet since the beginning of bacterial life, billions of years ago. 

Completely remove any one of these nutrients from the body, and within a relatively short time, death will result. Reduce the levels of any of these nutrients to below what is required for health, and sickness manifests. 

The amounts of these nutrients, required on a daily basis, can be miniscule, as is observed in the case of vitamin B12. Your body requires only a few micrograms of B12 each day. The RDA is only 2 micrograms. Your blood only contains about 5 nanograms (billionths of a gram) per liter, less than a speck of dust. 

You couldn't see that amount, even under a microscope. It represents less than one trillionth of your bodyweight. Yet if you lack that infinitesimal speck, your whole body declines into the serious disease of pernicious anemia, which gradually destroys the myelin sheaths protecting your nerves, leading to blindness, insanity, and certain death.¹⁷³

We are all familiar with the deficiency diseases of scurvy, rickets and beriberi. We've been taught that if we don't eat enough vegetables and fruits (containing vitamin C, B1 and D), we will contract one of these diseases.

However, science is only just beginning to understand what happens to the cellular structure when other essential nutrients are lacking. 

And, perhaps more importantly, we are only beginning to understand the healing capacity the human body is capable of, when these nutrients are delivered in sufficient quantities to optimize the maintenance, repair and replacement of cells.

It is apparent from many studies that the concept of synergy is a key element of nutritional health. It is critical to understand there is not a single nutrient which works independently. Each has an effect on other nutrients, and, on dozens of enzymes, co-enzymes and other complex, chemicals and systems throughout the body. 

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Over 200 Peer-Reviewed Studies

The RAINS Study is based on over 200 peer-reviewed, scientific studies of a wide range of nutrients and their effects on asthma and the health of the human cell. We are constantly searching the latest journals for further support of supplementation, and will continue to add the studies to this site.

We are unaware of any other study on asthma that has examined the effects of a wide range of nutrients when used in combination, and, which also use protocol guidelines based on critical dose-dependency factors.    

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Protocols

The RAINS Study will examine the influence of pharmaceutical-quality nutritional supplements and, dose-dependant, highly bioavailable, antihistamine, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory flavonoids on asthma symptoms. “Nutritional supplements” include minerals, essential fatty acids, vitamins and cofactors. 

The RAINS Study Protocol Nutrient supplier was selected from over 500 manufacturers/suppliers of nutritional products.

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Complementary Approach

The RAINS Study is a collaborative or complementary approach to asthma treatment. This means the study is not a replacement for your current asthma medications. Complementary means that participants in the study are encouraged to work in conjunction with their physicians. Any contemplated reduction of, or change in medication during the course of the study should be discussed with your physician.