EMPHYSEMA

Herbalist James Sloane's Natural Remedies

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James Sloane

Treating Emphysema

There is a loss of two major structural proteins involved here. Collagen and elastin.

Both require the amino acids lysine, hydroxylysine, proline, hydroxyproline and glycine that we get in our diet easily enough.

The other primary components are vitamin C and silica that tend to be what is lacking leading to losses of these structural proteins.

Smoking in particular reduces vitamin C levels as the smoking taxes the adrenals. The adrenals are so dependent on vitamin C for proper function that they get priority of any vitamin C available in the body. When the adrenals are taxed they have a higher requirement for vitamin C and they "suck up" most of the available C leading to a deficiency for other tissues leading to problems such as emphysema, diverticulitis, bone and cartilage loss, tendon issues, aneurysms, wrinkles, etc.

Silica levels decline with age due to declining levels of stomach acid that increase the conversion of silica in to orthosilicic acid, which is the form of silica absorbed by and utilized by the body.

Stomach acid levels decline due to reduced methylation, which is made worse by high pH waters, antacids, proton pump inhibitors (acid blockers), ingesting baking soda, calcium carbonate (coral, oyster shell, dolomite) and magnesium oxide. And unfortunately the nutrients required for the production of the body's methyl donor SAMe are dependent on sufficient stomach acid for absorption. Therefore as stomach acid levels decline the decrease in methylation interferes with stomach acid formation further reducing stomach acid formation.

With the loss of collagen and especially elastin there is a loss of strength and elasticity of the alveoli and they stretch out and remain stretched out instead of rebounding leading to interference with gas exchange in the lungs.

Restoring lung elastin requires vitamin C sources, silica sources and collagen/elastin stimulators.

For vitamin C sources I prefer amla, acerola cherry or rose hips. Great food sources include mango, papaya, kiwis, berries, citrus and peppers.

For silica the best way to get silica is with food grade diatomaceous earth, which I addressed in previous posts here that can be found by typing in "silica" in the search box.

If using herbs I recommend nettle leaf, butcher’s broom, couch grass or the best is powdered bamboo shavings as powders, not tinctures or teas. Keep in mind that silica is poorly soluble so you will get very little in tinctures or teas, which is another reason I rarely use either of these medicinally. I do not recommend horsetail grass (shavegrass) because it contains nicotine and constricts blood vessels. This can be dangerous for people with conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, Raynaud’s disease, Raynaud’s phenomena, or other circulatory disorders.

There are various collagen/elastin stimulators but the easiest to obtain is gotu kola.

I also recommend supplementing with trimethylglycine (TMG), which is a great methyl donor to help with maintaining stomach acid and tissue repair among other benefits. Methylation is required for about 4,000 reactions in the body.

Avoid stimulants such as caffeine and nicotine to reduce stress on the adrenals.