Robert J. Green - Natural Therapies for Emphysema and COPD

To my father, Robert Green Sr., whose personal battle with laryngeal cancer and COPD inspired me to write this book.

To my wife, Patricia, whose virtue no words can describe, and my children, John, Zarah, and Joseph. You are my joy.

To Mr. and Mrs. Francesco Caccavale, without whose support this book could not have been written.

And to the Lord, in whom all healing is found. You are my light and my truth.

NATURAL THERAPIES for EMPHYSEMA and COPD

Written for physicians and their patients, the book describes therapeutic approaches including food and lifestyle choices, nutritional supplementation, herbal medicine, and alternative methods such as exercise and homeopathy. It offers physicians and their patients a place to start learning, and hopefully pursuing, alternative, nonconventional methods to deal with these diseases.

JOURNAL OF ORTHOMOLECULAR MEDICINE

Presents a commonsense approach to managing this pervasive disease through the application of traditional therapies and conventional wisdom. Firmly based on scientific research and extensive clinical experience, this text is invaluable to practitioner and patient alike.

KEN KOENIG, D.C., FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL BOARD OF HOMEOPATHIC EXAMINERS AND PRESIDENT OF WISE WOMAN HERBALS

Well written with substantial and accurate scientific evidence.... There is a demand for such information by those suffering from COPD and their families. My hope is that medical caregivers become enlightened, as well, with this book.

ROBERT F. WATERS, PH.D., PROFESSOR OF BIOCHEMISTRY AND GENETICS AT SOUTHWEST COLLEGE OF NATUROPATHIC MEDICINE

Acknowledgments

I offer my sincerest thanks to all of my former professors and to every person who was instrumental in bringing this manuscript to fruition. The following individuals are deserving of special mention, as their contributions to my life have been invaluable. Collectively, they taught me how to think critically and how to appropriately apply reason in formulating meaningful questions. Their tireless dedication to teaching and academic excellence will forever remain the bar against which I measure myself. But perhaps most importantthrough the impact of their kindness and selfless humility, I became a better person by knowing them. For all they have given me, I am forever grateful.

Robert F. Good, MD
(In memoriam)

John Kotselas, MA
Author and Lecturer in Theology

Herbert Lebherz, PhD
Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry

Sharon Satterfield, ND
Doctor of Naturopathy

William Cheek, PhD
Professor Emeritus of History

Robert Waters, PhD
Professor of Biochemistry

Henry Shatz, MA
Professor of Spanish

Introduction

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, commonly called COPD, describes a group of debilitating diseases that cause serious problems with breathing. An estimated 35 million people in the United States have one form or another of COPD, a category that includes emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and other serious respiratory problems. COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in America, claiming nearly 120,000 lives annually. In 2004, COPD care cost the United States more than $37 billion. The number of people with COPD worldwide is as high as 293 million.

Most cases of emphysema and chronic bronchitis are related to cigarette smoking, but a genetic disorder and inhalation of toxic substances can also play a role. Those who either live with COPD or take care of someone with serious respiratory problems know all too well the high price these people pay in their daily efforts to survive and carry on with life. Despite the best of intentions, conventional medicine is still quite limited in what it can offer to help with COPD. Conventional treatment for COPD most often consists of the use of powerful drugs to control inflammation and keep the airways open. These drugs can cause serious side effects and do not slow the progression of the disease.

There are alternatives to the use of strong pharmaceutical drugs to treat COPD, and that is the subject of this book. Natural medicinenutritional change, dietary supplements, herbs, and physical therapiescan ease symptoms of COPD and improve the underlying problems that cause the symptoms. Perhaps best of all, by improving the health of your whole bodynot just your lungsthe simple methods I describe in this book will enhance your well-being and quality of life for years to come.

My interest and subsequent passion to help people with COPD began more than a decade ago, when my father started to manifest the symptoms of COPD, a condition that had been diagnosed much earlier in his life. As I took care of him and became more involved in researching alternatives to conventional medical treatment, the career path in medicine that I had envisioned took on a new face. I realized that focusing on natural medicineincluding nutrition, dietary supplements, and the wisdom of traditional medical systems around the worldwould allow me to make the greatest contribution to helping people improve their health and quality of life. I became convinced that the true key to addressing chronic disease lies in embracing the principles of natural medicine and applying natural approaches to health and living.

There is no question that modern medicine has given us many lifesaving technologies and drugs. Pharmaceutical drugs are sometimes necessary to get symptoms under control. However, it was the integration of nutritional and natural therapeutics into my fathers treatment plan that made the most significant difference in his health. My father did not begin utilizing natural medicine to care for his COPD until the age of sixty-nine, but it is clear to all involved in his health care, including his conventional physicians, that it was the implementation of natural health methods that enabled him to survive and have a much improved quality of life until he went to his final rest at the age of eighty-three.

My years of study and research have drawn upon both conventional and natural medical methods and philosophies. I have thoroughly enjoyed the puzzle-solving and scientific detective work inherent in research, and it has deepened my appreciation for the scientific basis of natural medicine. Reflecting on the research and study I have done, I realized that by writing about natural approaches to health, I could reach infinitely more people with the useful information they need to improve their health than I ever could through my private practice alone. This is why I have decided to make writing about the natural approaches to health an integral part of my career.

I subscribe to the idea that the knowledge and practice of nutrition and natural health care should be accessible not only to professional health care practitioners, but also to the general public. While some of the material in this book is technical, I have done my best to explain it in terms anyone can understand. Ive included a glossary of unfamiliar terms, and suggestions for further reading in appendix 2.