Hi people, today we’re going to be looking at how to cleanse the lungs! Be inspired by this remarkable organ and learn how to take good care of them. Oxygen is essential to life, and there’s no organ more essential to the way we process oxygen than the lungs! 

Around 37 million Americans have chronic lung diseases, such as asthma, COPD (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), lung cancer, or pneumonia. The colder months are a time when our lungs are more susceptible than any other time of the year to illness. This is why it’s beneficial to cleanse the lungs; we’ll explore this in a minute. 

First though, let’s get more familiar with this industrious organ that allows us to breathe fresh air, and some of its close friends.

As your body goes about its everyday processes like eating, breathing and moving, you produce carbon dioxide as a waste product. Your lungs exchange the carbon dioxide inside you for oxygen in your immediate habitat. As you become more or less active, the respiratory center in your brain is able to detect your body’s levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide and regulate them as necessary. 

When you’re more physically active, your breathing can speed up to sixty times its normal speed. This allows more oxygen to be transported around your body to your muscles, while emitting more carbon dioxide through heavier exhalations.

Amazingly, your body has evolved to breathe automatically without your conscious input, and you could go your whole life without ever thinking to breathe. There’s a lot of amazing things about your lungs that you may not know…

15 Fascinating Facts about Lungs 

1. You breathe about 22,000 times every day.
2. You inhale around 11,000 liters of air every day.
3. You emit approximately 17.5mm of water through your breath every hour.
4. Your lungs are the only organ in your body that can float on water.
5. Your body only uses 5% of oxygen you breathe in; the rest is exhaled again.
6. Your lungs contain about 300 million alveoli (miniscule air sacs in your lungs).
7. It’s possible to live with just one lung (and many people do).
8. The rising and falling of the chest isn’t produced by the movement of air around the body, it’s produced by the movement of the diaphragm.
9. If your lungs were stretched out end to end they would be the size of a tennis court.
10. Women and children generally breathe faster than men. 
11. Some people can breathe through both nostrils, but most only breathe through one.
12. The right lung has three sections, called lobes, but the left lung only has two.
13. Your lungs are physically connected to your chest bone and spinal cord.
14. Lungs also help you to talk by pushing air through your voice box.
15. If they were spread out end to end, the  airways in both lungs would be roughly 2,414km long.

Environmental Lung Aggressors

As one of the most vital major organs, your lungs are crucial for your overall wellbeing and require proper care. 

Even if you don’t smoke tobacco (which is a wise choice and investment in your long-term health), there are many everyday environmental factors that put the health of your lungs at risk:

• Bleach - disinfectants are known to directly cause or be an irritant to people with existing lung issues such as asthma.
• Mold - also known to trigger symptoms of allergies and cause them, can be incredibly harmful to health. Occurs in  excessively moist places.
• Fire Retardants - contain chlorine and bromine, which can be highly irritable to your respiratory system.
• Dust - dust and detritus lives in carpets and rugs and can get stirred up when you walk through it, contributing to inflammation and allergic reactions.
• Paint - most commercially available household paintscontain potentially harmful chemicals that can damage your lungs and exacerbate breathing issues.
• Synthetic Fragrances - Synthetic scents enter your system via the lungs and skin, and are known to cause health issues in people with existing lung problems.

How to Cleanse the Lungs

Mother nature has provided plenty of offerings for the good of lungs everywhere. Herbs such as Oregano,  can serve your lungs and entire respiratory system with a number of actions:

• Opening up airways to allow a better flow of oxygen around the body.
• Relieving congestion and inflamed nasal passages.
• Relaxing the muscles associated with the respiratory system.
• Soothing soreness of the body and stress of the mind.

One of the most common ways of cleansing the respiratory system is adding herbs to hot water and inhaling the steam to get the therapeutic goodness straight into your lungs. Here is a list of herbs commonly used to fortify and cleanse the lungs:

Ginger

Infamously anti-inflammatory, Ginger Root Tea is a powerful panacea for a sore throat as well as clearing lung congestion.

Mullein

A lung tonic often recommended by Dr. Sebi, Mullein helps to cleanse your system of common respiratory symptoms like coughs and colds. 

Oregano

This common kitchen herb contains special components bestowing it with desirable decongestion properties; ideal for cleansing your airways and opening your lungs. Oregano is also a natural antihistamine, protecting you from mold, dust, and other inflammatory chemicals in your environment. This Homemade Vinaigrette is a tasty way to get more oregano into your diet, as well as more thyme.

Thyme

Thyme has a long history as a treatment for coughs in Europe. This herb is as delicious as it is therapeutic, possessing potent antibacterial and mucous-clearing properties. Thyme is exceptionally safe to use for cleansing the lungs.

Exhale…

Reflecting on the incredible job your lungs do, you’ll recognize they put in work for you. Give thanks to their never-ending work ethic that allows you to breathe freely without effort, and treat them to the proper components from respiratory-supporting herbs. 

Lungs keep you alive, so keep them clean, air out the old, and inhale a brand new breath of life.