The winds are up, the trees are budding, the grasses are turning green. You know what that means: allergy season is here.
We can tell at GreenAcres when sinus season descends. People flock to our stores with migraines, sniffles, watery eyes, even upset digestive systems. There must be a correlation between the sniffles and tummy. Customers are just plain miserable.
Our market team members have their favorite products, but we’ve noticed that several are quick to point out one of supplement founder Terry Lemerond’s go-to remedies—a special bark resin called “boswellia.” In fact, Terry has put it in several of his supplements, BosMed+ and BosMed 500 being the ones we’re going to hone in on today.
In ancient times, this special resin extract used to be called frankincense. Today it’s better known as boswellia and is used in treating everything from asthma to irritable bowel syndrome. It’s one of Terry’s miracle drugs, and it has helped many with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) and emphysema.
Terry, in his weekly newsletter, tells us that many anti-inflammatory medicines have their genesis in the scrapings of tree bark. Boswellia is native to India and the boswellia tree thrives in arid environments. Terry tells us that harvesting the resin is a very hands-on, labor intensive occupation similar to tapping sugar maples for their syrup. 
When the bark is stripped from the trees, the resulting sap begins to “tear.” The gum from the tears is what was once called frankincense. When the Magi presented gifts to the Christ Child, frankincense was said to be among them and considered most precious.
Boswellia assists in a broad spectrum of respiratory illnesses. It opens airways and reduces bronchial and sinus swelling. The particular kind of boswellia Terry uses in his formulas have no side effects. Treating asthma and allergy symptoms can be tricky. Allergies change from state to state and city to city. We have a customer who had a whole series of the old “scratch” allergy tests done in California, and when she arrived in Kansas had to have another series done since the allergens were entirely different.
Terry explains asthma as “…a chronic condition that is all too common. There are multiple causes of asthma, and they often work together in ways that aren’t completely understood. An asthma attack can be triggered by a number of things: pollen and allergies, dust, cold air, nervousness or tension, exercise, or pollution. Some individuals are more prone to asthma than others, so genetics may play a part in this, too.
“When someone has an asthma attack, his bronchial airways narrow and tighten. The inflammation produces mucous, which adds to the ‘out of breath’ feeling. Severe attacks can be very frightening, and unfortunately, the anxiety over possible attacks can make even mild symptoms much worse. While there are medications that alleviate symptoms, they can also bring about a number of side-effects, including agitation, aggression or depression.”
Boswellia helps in a variety of ways, the number one being its anti-inflammatory effects. Most diseases have inflammation as their genesis and therefore, anything that helps inhibit inflammation gets to the root of the problem.
As with any botanical compound, not all boswellia acids are created equal. Since Terry is a supplement formulator responsible for creating the Curcumin supplements which (no surprise!) contain boswellia, we, at GreenAcres, have had good luck with BosMed+ and BosMed 500. If you try either of them, we’d like to know how you responded.
Matt, one of our owners and the Bradley Fair store manager, is keen on Terry Lemerond’s products, so naturally we recommend them. But there are several other boswellian supplements in our stores. No matter which GreenAcres Market you visit, ask our knowledgeable market team what they suggest.