Natural Asthma Remedy
The Water and Salt Solution
by Nancy Hearn, CNC

asthma inhalerHow to reduce the need for an asthma inhaler

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The most natural asthma remedy involves drinking enough water to fully hydrate your body and adding a natural, unrefined salt to your diet.

This may not sound plausible to some people, but I know from personal experience and the testimonies of many others that it does work.

I had asthma as a child and have had a propensity toward asthma ever since. Even now, whenever I neglect to drink enough water, I experience shortness of breath and am reminded to start drinking more water.

If you are looking for an inexpensive, natural asthma remedy that may help prevent or manage your asthma condition for the long-term, you might want to consider this potential solution.

Asthma and Dehydration

There are obviously many causative factors leading to the symptoms and condition of asthma. But I believe dehydration is at least one of the primary underlying causes of asthma.

The main reason asthma and dehydration are connected is because of histamine’s role in the body’s regulation of water and drought management. 

We know that people with asthma have excessive levels of histamines in their lung tissues. We also know that when the body is dehydrated, histamine production and activity increases, along with mucus build-up.

Dr. Batmanghelidj, author of “Water: for Health, for Healing, for Life,” explains, “Increased histamine release in the lungs causes the spasm of the bronchioles. This natural spasmodic action of histamine on the bronchial tubes is part of the design of the body to conserve water that would normally evaporate during breathing.”

In other words, the constriction of the bronchial tubes occurs because there is not enough water to keep the cells in the lungs and the tubes hydrated. The tissues become inflamed due to the overactive histamine response.

Water Counteracts Histamine Overactivity

The simple solution to this specific scenario is to increase water intake so that the tissues in the lungs and bronchials become hydrated.  When properly hydrated, the body will not try to conserve water by increasing histamine production.

Adrenaline is the natural antidote to excess histamine production.

Dr. Jans Jordan (Journal of Circulation, February 2000) discovered that after drinking 8 to 16 ounces of tap water, the adrenaline producing nerve systems are stimulated for more than 90 minutes. 

Thus, drinking 8 to 16 ounces of water is the most effective way to immediately counteract histamine over-activity. 

Water and Salt Are Both Needed

In addition to drinking more water, our natural asthma remedy involves adding a small amount of natural, unrefined salt to your diet. 

When water intake is increased, urine production will also increase, at least for a few days or weeks. Increased urine production can lead to a loss of salt, along with other important minerals. 

Thus, the intake of a natural, unprocessed salt, such as Celtic sea salt or Himalayan pink salt is essential. Both of these salts contain over 80 trace minerals.

In addition, when water is abundant in your body, the salt will help to thin out the mucus secretions in the lungs. 

According to Batmanghelidj, “Water and salt will tell the brain that the missing components in a dehydrated body—in asthmatics in particular—have entered the system. The brain will immediately instruct the bronchioles to relax, and breathing will become much easier.”

However, please note that too much salt without enough water may have the opposite effect and cause the bronchial tubes to constrict.

Thus, do not take the salt if you are not committed to drinking the full recommended amount of water.

To read more details about the importance of water and salt balance in the body, see our article on Water and Salt – Balanced Intake Is Essential for Health and Hydration.

Natural Asthma Remedy

This natural asthma remedy is simple and inexpensive. It is based on Dr. Batmanghelidj’s water cure protocol. It is designed to help restore homeostasis, or balance, in your body.

Even though drinking more water can provide immediate relief to symptoms of asthma, it can take weeks or months to fully re-hydrate the body and experience long-term benefits. So be patient and give it a good 3 months or more.

  1. Drink one half your body weight in ounces of water daily. For example, if you weigh 180 pounds, you would drink 90 ounces of water (about 3 quarts). I recommend using a glass quart jar to keep track of how much you drink each day. 
  2. For every 16 ounces of water, take 1/8 teaspoon of natural salt. Before drinking your water, dissolve the salt in your mouth, not in the water. When dissolved in your mouth, the salt will be quickly absorbed into your blood and will attract the water into your cells. Dissolving the salt in drinking water does not seem to have the same therapeutic effect.

Editor's Note:  I have found the 1/8 teaspoon of salt is too much for me, based on my size and weight. If I have been slack in drinking water and intentionally start increasing my water, I will dissolve just a pinch of Celtic sea salt crystals on my tongue before drinking every 16 ounces of water. However, for normal everyday use, I simply add the Celtic sea salt to my food rather than dissolving it on my tongue or putting it in my water. So my point is that I think you have to experiment for yourself and take into consideration your size, your weight, your activity levels, how much you are sweating, and so forth.

The Right Type of Water and Salt

It is essential that the right type of water and salt be used. Tap water is fine—as long as it is thoroughly filtered of unhealthy contaminants, especially chlorine and fluoride! You can see our drinking water filter reviews and recommendations here

Bottled artesian well or spring water will also work as long as the water is stored in glass bottles or stainless steel, not plastic.

We do not recommend using either distilled water or reverse osmosis water for this protocol since these waters are demineralized and may create more of a mineral imbalance in the body. You can read more on drinking demineralized water here.

The only salts that I can recommend for this protocol are either Celtic sea salt or Himalayan crystal salt. Beware of salt products in grocery and health food stores that are labeled “natural sea salt,” but are still highly refined and devoid of the key elements of natural sea salt. 

Cautions:  This natural asthma remedy is not a cure or treatment of asthma and should not replace whatever medical treatment you are using.  If you are on a salt-restricted diet or have any serious disease or are currently under medical treatment, you should not change your water and salt consumption without medical supervision.

Himalayan Crystal Salt Inhaler

The Himalayan Crystal Salt inhaler is a convenient, drug-free tool that is designed to deliver healing salt vapors to the upper respiratory tract.

Breathing through the inhaler draws air across mineral-rich granules of Himalayan Crystal Salt.

The salt vapors (1) help to reduce mucus buildup, (2) moisturize dry mucous membranes, and (3) ease constricted breathing.

The use of salt therapy for respiratory ailments has been around for ages. Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, inhaled steam from boiling saltwater and recommended it to others.

I keep my salt inhaler by my bedside and have found it helps with wheezing, coughs, and blocked sinuses.


References

F. Batmanghelidj, M.D.; Water: For Health, For Healing, for Life; 2003.

Watercure.org; What Is the Water Cure?

Campaignfortruth.com; F. Batmanghelidj, M.D.; Asthma – The Water and Salt Connection


Further reading . . .

Water and Salt – Balanced Intake Is Essential for Health and Hydration.



Return from Natural Asthma Remedy to Health Benefits of Drinking Water




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"This was the best and most straight forward info on the net yet. I asked a question and got an answer that made sense. Thank you so much!" - Linderlinder

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"Thank you for the information, Nancy. I appreciate it. Your article and findings are very helpful,  referring to dehydration." -  Carolyn

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