Bronchitis
My wife has been suffering from bronchitis for the last eight months! She has not used antibiotics but is coughing to the point of breathlessness. She has never smoked and I am really worried about her. Can you help?
The immune-boosting Chinese herb, Cordyceps - which is also known as the caterpillar fungus - is also widely used to treat respiratory problems, including chronic bronchitis which, when it persists, places enormous stress on the body.
According to ancient Chinese herbals, if you use the raw herb, its potency is (apparently) increased when you cook it with duck. Thankfully, you can ignore this since you can now also get it in both supplement and powder form from health stores. The range that provides the same standardised dosage that has been used in clinical trials is Planetary Formulas. The Cordyceps Full Spectrum tablets cost £17.59 for 60 tablets. Mail order from Revital (0800-252875)
The other remedy you should take is the antioxidant, N-acetyl cysteine (NAC); a mucolytic agent that has been shown to help reduce the number of acute attacks, and lower the rate of hospitilisations among bronchitis sufferers taking 400mg a day for at least six months.
I know your wife is not currently using antibiotics, but anyone who is should also take a probiotic supplement to rebuild levels of good gut bacteria too. You can mail order Biocare’s Lactobacillus acidophilus powder, which, in independent tests on probiotics, outperformed the rest, on 0121-433 3727.