Under this barbaric term are two diseases: chronic bronchitis and emphysema, characterized by breathing difficulty, chronic cough, and excess bronchial mucus clogging the airways.

If this phenomenon occurs for at least three months each year and for at least two years in a row, without a specific ENT or bronchial cause (Pariente, 1993), the problem is considered chronic. Although little publicized, BPCO strikes one in 20 French people annually, i.e. about 4 million French people, resulting in 15,000 deaths per year, twice as many as lung cancer!

Symptoms of the disease begin insidiously, around the age of 50, with a morning cough accompanied by mucus expectorations. This non-specific inflammatory phenomenon causes edema of the bronchial wall and an excess of secretions, sometimes accompanied by reactionary spasms of the bronchial musculature. When the bronchial tubes are partially blocked, it is called bronchitis asthmatiform. The consequence of the obstruction is respiratory failure of varying degrees. The situation gets progressively worse with the onset of shortness of breath, wheezing and constant fatigue.

In a second stage, elastases and other enzymes secreted by the white blood cells attack the components of the bronchial wall: this is called broncho-emphysema. The loss of elasticity of the fibers and cartilages of the wall leads to fibrosis and dilatation of the bronchi, which is the next stage of emphysema.

Of course, there are some factors that contribute to this

Primarily due to smoking, BPCO is also the consequence of chronic exposure to certain pollutants (cement, solvents, silica dust, toxic gases, products used in agriculture). Automobile pollution, domestic pollution (mold) and urban air pollution are also incriminated in the occurrence and aggravation of the disease.

It is considered an occupational disease in miners (coal or iron) and in workers exposed to the inhalation of vegetable textile dust.

As far as treatment is concerned, it is obvious that it is essential to stop smoking and other possible pollutions. As usual, official medicine deploys a heavy artillery of bronchodilators and cortisone to combat chronic bronchial inflammation.

The use of antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs, mucolytics and bronchodilators does not bring any definitive solution and does not modify the terrain, nor does respiratory physiotherapy or oxygen therapy, which only slow down the evolution of the disease.

It is important to be aware that, in some individuals, the bronchial wall serves as an emunctory and elimination route for waste and food toxins carried by the blood and often coming from a small intestine that is too permeable. The bronchus, which has become an emunctory, is permanently infiltrated with leukocytes, inflamed, edematous and weakened.

As for other elimination pathologies, the ideal solution is to dry up the source of toxins and to rebalance the permeability of the small intestine wall by adopting, among other measures, an adapted diet.

Some foods thin the secretions of the lung mucous membrane (mucus) that clog the airways and make it easier to expectorate, which helps in the case of bronchitis. On the other hand, dietetics is totally impotent on emphysema and bronchial dilatation which are the two serious complications of chronic bronchitis.

The importance of vitamin C

Let's remember the importance of vitamin C, especially for smokers, who are vulnerable to bronchitis and should be careful to compose menus high in vitamin C. Studies show that smokers have abnormally low levels of vitamin C, probably because it is rapidly used by the body to counteract the toxic effects of oxidizing agents in cigarette smoke. It is estimated that they would need 3.5 times more vitamin C than non-smokers to make up for the losses caused by smoking and to maintain their vitamin C intake at a just sufficient level.

Antioxidants also play a crucial role in protecting lung tissue from damage that can lead to chronic obstructive bronchitis and emphysema.

• Don't forget the harmfulness of high-salt diets, a common cause of respiratory disease, including emphysema. An excess of sodium would seem to cause an imbalance in the sodium/potassium quotient and trigger excessive reactions in the bronchial pathways and nerve centers, resulting in lung damage and inflammation.
• A key to success: stopping excess lung mucus production.

The means used by the lungs to get rid of foreign agents (bacteria, viruses, various pollutants) contained in the air we breathe is an immunoreaction. These foreign agents (particularly bacterial DNA) induce the production of interleukin 8 (IL-8), a pro-inflammatory substance that increases lung mucus production and activates white blood cells against the invaders. But the DNA (the person's own) of the white blood cells that were killed in this battle will in turn be considered a new foreign agent in the lung, which will cause a new immunoreaction. A real vicious circle is then set up, continuously amplified and whose consequence is the accumulation of mucus in the lungs.

Treatment of excess mucus production:

• will promote a better respiratory capacity,
• will facilitate breathing,
• will increase the oxygenation of the blood.

Wild salmon DNA

In order to help people suffering from excessive bronchial secretions, American researchers have turned to a completely different path full of promise. Using a homeopathic concept based on the look-alike theory, they deduced that since DNA was responsible for this inflammatory chain reaction, DNA should be used to stop the process. They have developed a nutritional supplement, sold in Europe under the name of Mucolynat, made from the DNA of wild Pacific salmon. The word DNA should not be misleading: it is not a matter of genetic manipulation but of a patented technique that allows for the targeted extraction of DNA from the salmon, which is then diluted and energized in the same way as homeopathic medicines are made.

Clinical studies have shown that this product increases the strength and beating frequency of the pulmonary cilia, which increases the natural elimination of excess pulmonary mucus. In addition, this product makes the mucus less viscous, making it easier to expectorate. During these clinical studies, doctors also noticed, somewhat by chance, the effectiveness of the product in the case of sinusitis or ear infections.