Stop Coughing and Breathe Easy with Ivy Leaf Extract

ARTICLE BY | Terry Lemerond
Stop Coughs Safely and Start Breathing Easy

When you have a cough, congested or constricted lungs, or other respiratory symptoms associated with asthma, bronchitis, or colds, you want soothing relief, without feeling drowsy or jittery.

Fortunately, nature has provided an excellent medicine to help: ivy leaf extract. It relieves the irritation and frequency of coughs, opens bronchial pathways, and reduces symptoms of acute respiratory infections - without the complications of conventional drugs.

Ivy Leaf Extract: Nature’s Cough Reliever

As anyone with a garden knows, climbing ivy (Hedra helix) can be a pesky problem, overtaking your yard and home if not cut back frequently. But medicinally, it has remarkable benefits. Ivy leaf extract is a clinically proven medicine that is an excellent choice for anyone with bronchitis, asthma, or other respiratory conditions.

Clinical work with ivy leaf extract began in the 1950s, so it has a validated record for use as a natural medicine. Key compounds in ivy, called saponins, are considered to be the heavy lifters for its many benefits.

Researchers have found ivy has multiple modes of action: as an expectorant, it helps bring up mucus from the lungs; as a mucolytic, it helps dissolve mucus; and as a bronchial dilator, it helps open up airways in the lungs, so you breathe easier. In other words, it really addresses the entire range of issues that make respiratory conditions so tough to treat. And unlike many conventional solutions, it can be used by children, so it’s a safe and effective choice for your entire family.

One of the major benefits of ivy leaf extract is that it reduces and calms troublesome and painful coughs without completely and artificially blocking that necessary action. Because as much as we don’t enjoy it, the body needs to cough in order to help clear out excessive mucus and rid the lungs of bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens.

This is one area where ivy leaf extract is especially useful. An analysis of doubleblind, placebo-controlled clinical trials found that within just two days, the Bronchial Severity Score (a common clinical measure of respiratory symptoms) was significantly improved in participants with acute respiratory tract infections. In just four days, the ivy leaf extract group scores were at a point that took seven days for the placebo group to reach. The final analysis showed the positive results for the participants receiving ivy extract were double those of the placebo groups, with 18 percent of the ivy users completely free of coughs in seven days, versus only 9 percent of those receiving a placebo. Two weeks later, 56 percent of the ivy leaf participants were cough free, versus 26 percent of participants receiving a placebo. And while the remaining participants treated with ivy were not completely cough free, their symptoms were considered mild and residual, consistent with anyone recovering from a cold or respiratory illness.

Ivy extract works well at making coughs productive because it helps the cillia, brushlike cells in the lungs that both trap pathogens or particles (like pollens) and propel them, with the help of mucus, out of the body. That’s what makes a cough useful —when it helps the body rid itself of infections or allergens. But because ivy leaf doesn’t excessively dry out those cillia cells, it also doesn’t cause dryness in the lungs and throat that some over-the-counter and prescription medications can.

Asthma Treatment or Add On

Ivy leaf has also been shown to inhibit a signaling cascade that induces bronchial constriction. Scientific research shows that, in addition to reducing cytokine IL-6, it moderated other receptors and inflammatory responses in lung epithelial cells. Since these actions were effective, but not dramatic, it means ivy leaf extract could work well as an adjunct treatment for asthma, alongside conventional treatment.

In fact, clinical work has found ivy leaf extract could be helpful for children with mild asthma induced by allergies, even if they are already using an inhaler as their primary conventional medicine.



Ivy Leaf Battles Bronchitis

Clinical studies have shown the value of ivy leaf for a variety of bronchial conditions. Two open observation trials found that symptoms including expectoration and cough improved in 90 percent of the cases, and that respiratory pain (a crucial factor, considering the muscles involved in coughing) disappeared completely for 60 percent of participants.

In a multicenter trial with ivy leaf extract in patients suffering from chronic bronchitis ranging from young children to older adults, over 80 percent saw excellent results in just four weeks. Of those participants, cough symptoms improved in 92 percent, respiratory pain in 87 percent, and expectoration (productive cough, getting rid of mucus) in 94 percent.

And comparable results have also been seen for children with obstructive respiratory conditions. In one case, after only seven days, respiration returned to normal, with the effectiveness rated as ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ by 90 percent of the physicians and 87 percent of the patients.

Ideal for the Whole Family

Ivy leaf extract is an amazing natural medicine. It thins mucus, makes coughs more productive, and eases constriction in the lungs and respiratory tract. Ivy leaf stops the inflammatory cycle that can make both acute and chronic coughs and conditions so difficult to live with. As a clinically validated botanical for both children and adults, it is an absolute essential for dealing with colds and flus, allergies, asthma, or any time you or your loved ones need to breathe easily again.
Terry Lemerond is a natural health expert with over 55 years of experience. He has owned health food stores, founded dietary supplement companies, and formulated over 500 products.