Cleanse your lungs and enjoy the following benefits:
- Who smoke
- Who are frequently exposed to air pollution,
- Those with chronic respiratory conditions such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cystic fibrosis
Breathing in air pollution, tobacco smoke, and other pollutants can affect the lungs. This can even cause health issues. Maintaining the health of the lungs is important to keep the rest of the body healthy.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), exposure to air pollution results in 4.2 million deaths per year worldwide. Cigarette smoking is the cause of death for one in five people in the USA.
What is a lung cleanse?
Our lungs are doing a lot for us. And though most of us don’t think of the lungs as something we can work out. Actually, you can take steps to make them work better.
The air we breathe can be polluted with several forms of pollutants. Everything from pollen and chemicals and second-hand smoke can be caught in the air and enter our lungs.
Our lungs are mainly self-cleaning organs. But there are certain things you can do to make them function at an optimum level.
Lung cleansing may be effective for people who have a health problem that causes breathing difficulties, like asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or cystic fibrosis. You can also benefit from a cleanse whether you are a heavy smoker or have to take some inhaled medications. So, it is best to take steps to cleanse your lungs.
There are several ways you can cleanse your lungs. These include making lifestyle adjustments and doing workouts to help the lungs rid itself of excess fluid.
Is it possible to cleanse your lungs?
Lung health is important to a person’s overall health. The lungs are self-cleaning organs that tend to heal themselves after their exposure to toxins stops. For example, when someone quits smoking.
After the lungs have been exposed to pollutants, such as cigarette smoke, a person’s chest can feel full, congested, or swollen. Mucus gathers in the lungs to trap microbes and pathogens that lead to this feeling of heaviness.
People will be able to use special methods to help clean the lungs of mucus and irritants. This way, they can alleviate chest pressure and other painful symptoms.
Some of these strategies can also open up airways, increase lung function, and decrease inflammation, reducing the effects of pollution and smoke in the lungs.
Ways to cleanse your lungs
Below, we’re looking at breathing exercises and lifestyle improvements. These will help remove extra mucus from the lungs and improve breathing.
1. Steam Therapy
Steam therapy, or steam inhalation, includes inhaling water vapor to clear the airways.
People with lung conditions may find their symptoms weakening in cold or dry air. This environment can dry the mucous membranes in the airways and restrict the flow of blood.
Conversely, steam brings energy and moisture to the air. This improves breathing and helping loosen mucus between the airways and lungs. Inhalation of water vapor can provide instant relaxation and make people breathe more easily.
A small study was conducted on 16 males with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This is a lung illness that makes it difficult to breathe. The study showed that steam mask therapy resulted in slightly lower heart and respiratory rates than non-steam mask therapy.
However, the participants did not report any lasting change in their respiratory function.
This therapy could be a successful temporary solution. But researchers need to do further studies before fully understanding the effects of steam therapy.
2. Practice percussion
Percussion, or chest percussion, is a procedure that may help drain fluids from the lungs. It’s for you to lay down with your head lowered and tap gently on your back and work from top to bottom.
It is often combined with postural drainage. It is a procedure in which you change the body’s position to make it easier for fluids to pass out of the lungs. You may be on your side, your stomach, or your back.
Most patients with cystic fibrosis or pneumonia have percussion and postural drainage. The back of the person is tapped tightly with the hands that loosen the secretions. The tipped posture helps to move the secretions up and out of the lungs.
3. Green Tea
Green tea contains many antioxidants that can help to reduce inflammation in the lungs. These compounds can also protect the lung tissue from the negative impacts of smoke inhalation.
A research was conducted with more than 1,000 adults in Korea. It found that people who drank at least 2 cups of green tea a day had stronger lung capacity.
4. Change your house filters
In addition to getting an air purifier, you need to change all the filters in your house. And clean all the pipes, such as those in the toilet or the air conditioning or heating vents.
Make sure to replace the furnace filter every six months, too.
5. Eliminate artificial scents, cleanse your environment and your lungs
You may think that you’re helping the air in your home by making it smell good with air fresheners, candles, or those famous wax candle warmers. However, these fragrances are also full of toxic chemicals that can irritate the lungs.
Even household cleaners can serve as irritants. So, check your cupboards and replace all-natural cleaning products if possible.
6. Change the diet
Your diet will affect your lung’s health in a number of ways.
Vitamin D: Eating high-quality vitamin D foods will enhance your lung health. A 2017 study of asthma patients showed that healthy doses of vitamin D decreased asthma attacks that needed corticosteroid therapy. The best food sources for vitamin D are usually animal products, such as tuna, sardines, and eggs. However, it can be fortified with breakfast cereals.
Anti-inflammatory foods and drinks. Some foods and beverages contain anti-inflammatory antioxidants. Reducing airway inflammation will help you breathe more easily—and antioxidants will help. Try green tea. The Korean study found that drinking green tea just twice a day decreases COPD’s risk in people 40 years of age and older. Other anti-inflammatory options are berries, broccoli, turmeric, and dark chocolate.
Healthy fats: You should also choose a lower diet in carbs and higher in healthy fats. Metabolizing foods produce more carbon dioxide and use more oxygen than metabolizing fats.
7. Get more aerobic workout
A workout routine that includes physical activity will help improve lung capacity. Aerobic workouts may include:
- Walking
- Running
- Cycling, whether outdoors or indoors
- Swimming
- Dancing or dance-inspired workouts such as Zumba
- Boxing
- Sports such as tennis
If you have a chronic lung disease, it is best to talk to a doctor.
The bottom line
For improved lung health, start with prevention and make healthier choices. For example, quitting smoking, getting a regular workout that’s right for your fitness level, and maintaining a healthy diet will all help your lungs.
You can also talk to the doctor about other things you may do to improve your lung health.
