Asthma sufferers may want to swap prescription meds for a Chinese herbal remedy, suggests the latest research. In a study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (2005, vol. 116, no. 3), researchers reported that an oral combination of three Chinese herbs could be as effective as conventional asthma medicines—minus the side effects. Corticosteroids, the common conventional asthma treatment, can increase susceptibility to infection and slow growth rates in children. During the four-week trial, patients with moderate to severe persistent asthma who took ling-zhi, ku-shen, and gan-cao showed slightly better lung function than those taking the corticosteroid prednisone. They also experienced less stomach discomfort and less weight gain.