If you’re worried that your asthma medications are doing nothing for your wellness, it might be time to spice things up a bit. This is according to a new study, presented this month at the American Thoracic Society 2013 conference in Philadelphia, which found that adding ginger to asthma medications may make them more effective. In lab tests, the scientists found that adding ginger compounds to the drugs increased relaxation of airway smooth muscle (ASM) tissue samples.
According to lead researcher Dr Elizabeth Townsend, from Columbia University in the United States, ‘These compounds may provide additional relief of asthma symptoms when used in combination with beta-agonists.’ She added, ‘Asthma has become more prevalent in recent years, but despite an improved understanding of what causes asthma, during the past 40 years few new treatment agents have been approved for targeting asthma symptoms. In our study, we demonstrated that purified components of ginger can work synergistically with beta-agonists to relax ASM.’
Here in Britain, we have some of the highest rates of asthma in Europe. As it stands, asthma affects the wellbeing of 5.4 million people in the UK, or 1.1 million children (1 in 11) and 4.3 million adults (1 in 12). In 2010, there were 1,143 deaths from asthma in the UK, including 16 children aged 14 and under. 1 in 14 Scots receive treatment for the condition, or 72,000 children and 296,000 adults.
When you have an asthma attack, the bronchial tubes that carry air into and out of your lungs tighten up and constrict. Beta-agonists help to relax your airway muscles, which opens up your airways and allows you to breathe more easily. Asthma is actually a fairly recent phenomenon, as it was classified as a rare disease until the mid-1950s. However, in developed or industrialised countries in particular, more and more cases have since been reported.
So why has such a major change occurred, and how can such a small thing like ginger be so effective in reducing asthma? Professor Anthony Seaton, of the University of Aberdeen has been researching diet and asthma with 2,000 pregnant women and their babies. He commented, ‘I think diet is the factor that has made the biggest contribution to increased asthma in wealthier countries. I can’t see anything else that has changed that could have had this effect.’
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