My Experiment With Dietary Supplements

Most Western doctors do not traditionally prescribe dietary supplements. This is despite some evidence that they may benefit those of us with asthma. So, is it possible that I am missing out on dietary supplements that may improve my asthma control? To answer that question, I am undergoing my own personal experiment.¹

Understanding dietary supplements

Let’s go to Encyclopedia Britannica for our definition of "dietary supplement": “Any vitamin, mineral, herbal product, or other ingestible preparation that is added to the diet to benefit health.”²

It may include anything that may “supplement” your diet. For example, if you do not receive enough vitamin D in your diet or from the sun, taking vitamin D supplements may help maintain a “healthy” level of vitamin D. And this may benefit your health.

Why do most doctors not recommend supplements?

My doctor is fine with me experimenting with supplements, so long as I follow the instructions on the respective bottles. If you choose to experiment, you should do so with the approval of your doctor. Please talk to your doctor if you are considering trying anything new.

That said, why is it that most doctors in the United States do not talk much about supplements? The answer is this: Most doctors specialize in traditional medicine.

This is medicine that is taught in medical schools. For example, traditional asthma medicines include drugs like beta adrenergics and corticosteroids. They include biologics like Cinqair and Xolair. Asthma treatment also involves procedures such as bronchial thermoplasty. It may also involve things like allergy shots.³

That’s not to say that a primary care doctor will never recommend supplements, because some do. I actually had a nurse practitioner recommend vitamin D based on studies she read that it improved asthma control. But that is not generally the focus of their specialty.

Some doctors specialize in dietary supplements. They are called homeopathic or naturopathic doctors. My girlfriend has recommended that I see one of these doctors. At the present time, I am considering this but have not yet done it.

Why did I get started with supplements?

I have always known what certain supplements do. In fact, I have written an article on this topic in the past. As I noted above, a nurse practitioner I saw a few years ago highly recommended that I take vitamin D supplements.

She said there are studies showing that vitamin D improves asthma control. Likewise, she said there are studies showing that asthmatics with the most poorly controlled asthma had the lowest vitamin D levels.¹

Despite such wisdom, I did not start taking supplements until my girlfriend recommended them. She is big on homeopathic and naturopathic medicine. She takes them herself for her own health conditions. And she has recommended that I take them to benefit my health.

She did warn me that I may not notice any immediate difference. She said they must be taken every day, and that they often take time to get into your system before you notice a difference.

She said there are supplements that you can take for different conditions. For example, vitamin D may improve asthma control. And there are other supplements that are antioxidants or anti-inflammatory in nature, and these could help with inflammatory conditions like asthma and allergies.¹

What am I currently taking?

I’m just getting started on this. So my first step involved taking a multivitamin pill. Many of the vitamins I need to supplement my health are in that pill, including vitamin D. Of course this pill has a low dose of vitamin D. So, should I be taking a higher dose? This is something I will continue to investigate. Or perhaps one of you reading this has a suggestion?

I’m taking vitamin C and zinc to improve my immune system. This, so I am told, is supposed to help you fight off infections. Since respiratory viruses are my worst asthma trigger, I figured this would be a good thing to try. And I did just have a cold and it didn’t get very severe. So, perhaps it’s already working.⁴

I am also taking a probiotic for gut health. I had written an article a while back discussing the microflora theory. The theory postulates that antibiotics and our modern diet kill good bacteria in our guts. So, probiotics are supplements that contain good bacteria that work to restore gut health. This is thought to improve our health overall, and it may also improve our asthma control.⁵

What other dietary supplements are worth trying for asthma?

I am sure there are other dietary supplements worth trying to improve my overall health. And I’m sure there are others worth trying to improve my asthma control. I have a list of them somewhere in my stack of things.

In the meantime, it will be neat to hear from you! Do you take dietary supplements? Which ones do you take and why? Please let me know in the comments below.