Herbs for Cleansing the Lungs

You don't have to be a smoker anymore to have lungs that are full of toxins. Urban environments, second-hand smoke, and a host of chemicals have led to many of us having toxic chemicals in our lungs. One of the best ways to deal with this problem is through the use of herbal remedies.

Disclaimer

Herbal remedies may cause a negative reaction with other herbs or with any medications you might be taking. Consult your physician or an integrated medical practitioner to ensure that the herbs you wish to take will not conflict with anything else you are taking. Most if not all of these methods will not work if you are still smoking or inhaling large amounts of chemicals during the process.

Herbal Cleansing Tea

Here are recipes for two herbal cleansing teas that are connected with the cleansing of the lungs. Mix one part lance-leaf plantain, with one part lungwort, one part mullein flowers, and two parts speedwell. Take one teaspoon of the mixture and steep it in one-half cup of boiling water. You can sweeten it with honey and sip 1 to 1 cups throughout the day. This tea is so effective because all of the ingredients tend to help the body relieve itself of phlegm and toxins. Another tea consists of hemp nettle, shave grass, and witch hazel in equal parts. Put one heaping teaspoons into one-half cup of cold water, bring it to a boil, steep it for one minute, strain, and sip 1 to 1 cups per day. Most of these ingredients here and in further sections can be found in your local natural foods store or over the Internet.

Essential Oils

One treatment you can do at the same time as the teas is the application of essential oils. Create a chest rub using fifteen drops of any combination of oregano, tea tree, and eucalyptus oils in one ounce of olive oil. Rub this oil on the chest at morning and at night to help clear up lung passageways and to detoxify. Another herbal oil called myrtol can be taken in capsule form. It is absorbed into the body through the intestines and then shortly after it begins to expel accumulated mucus and toxins from the mucous membranes and the pulmonary alveoli in the lungs.

Other Cleansing Herbs

Balsam fir is a cone-shaped tree that is often used as a Christmas tree, though it has great lung cleansing properties as well. Take it as a capsule (marketed as balsam gum) to help clean the lungs and help you give up smoking. An infusion of elder flowers can also clear some of the toxins and mucus from your lungs. Add four grams of the dried flowers to a cup of boiling water, steep for ten minutes and then strain out the flowers to create the tea. Lobelia is also known to remedy the lungs when combined with mullein and coltsfoot. Use one part of each and a teaspoon of the herb mixture as you did for the earlier teas.

Further Help

There are many things you can do to complement your lung cleansing. Try including nutrients like vitamins A, C, E, selenium, cysteine, and CoQ10 in your diet. Avoid tobacco smoke of all kinds along with avoiding dust mites, molds, pollens, and chemicals. Going on long walks during which you breathe in deeply can be helpful as well.