How can you care for your lung health and preserve their vital role in your immune system?
With fire season upon us and traffic pollution picking up, the air we breathe is filled with millions of particulates, harmful chemicals and noxious gasses. We are approaching the dry season of “Metal”, according to Chinese Medicine. This is when lungs are particularly vulnerable and allergy symptoms surge. It’s important to protect and nourish these vital organs. As suppliers of oxygen to the blood, the lungs sustain just about every function in our body! Lung health is essential for the health of the brain, vessels, skin, and our ability to process emotion such as grief.
So how do we protect and enhance this vital organ?
Breathing is the greatest pleasure in life. ~ Giovanni Rapini
Here are 5 Tips For Optimizing Lung Health
1. Purify Your Air: Believe it or not, the air inside our homes and buildings is among the most contaminated. Being indoors makes our lungs work hard to clear the debris and get enough oxygen to filter to the rest of the body. And with so many people working from home, it becomes essential to make sure your vents are clear and the dust doesn’t accumulate. To help make your indoor air a source of nourishment to your body, get an Air Purifier for your home and office. And if you’re looking for a slightly more high-end option, check out the top of the line IQ Air Filters for great home, auto and office options.
2. Optimize Nutrition: Food is medicine, and our bodies rely on the nutrients in our daily diets to fight disease and stay healthy. Eat plenty of Asian Pears. They nourish the lungs and keep them moist. Garlic fights infection and helps detox the lungs. Ginger is anti-inflammatory and helps clear the lungs naturally. Reishi Mushroom heals, protects and revitalizes lung tissue. Together with a balanced, regular and mindful eating regimen that is customized for your body type, these essential foods help support lung health.
3. Travel into Nature: Get out of the city and into nature, especially if you are in a really smoky area. A recent study found that living in an area with high air pollution increases the lung disease process. And, the CDC reports higher incidence of lung cancer in metropolitan areas as compared to rural populations. While there are other reasons for this (such as higher levels of stress), air quality definitely plays a major role. So – spend as much time as you can in green places to give your lungs the fresh air their crave!
4. Exercise and Breathwork: Avoid jogging in heavily polluted areas or near busy roads. Wait for a clear day, get closer to the beach or in a park, or exercise indoors, where the air is filtered. Breathing exercises such as yogic pranayama is a great tool for enhancing lung health. You know that aerobic exercise has many health benefits for the body. Research shows that specialized breathing techniques can strengthen lung tissue and increase lung capacity!
5. Treatment options: The use of a glutathione nebulizer for lung health has been getting some attention and research. This method is more advanced and requires a clinical assessment – which you can get by scheduling an in-person or virtual session with us.
Get an acupuncture and cupping treatment as well as an Herbal Consult to optimize detoxification and heal lung tissue. Besides the many benefits of cupping and acupuncture, lung health is among the top areas where Chinese Medicine excels. From supportive treatment of complex disorders such as COPD to prevention and enhancement of lung function, regular natural medicine is a must in your toolbox to prevent disease and greatly enhance your quality of life. Contact us for more information or to book your session.
BONUS GIFT: Stress and tension makes breathing difficult, which means our bodies aren’t getting the oxygen they need. This leads to a buildup of toxins and poor organ function. Check out this video for a simple, guided breathing technique to help you calm, cleanse and center.