Our lungs are the most neglected part of the human body. Lung health is important for an individual’s general health. The lungs are more vulnerable to contamination due to exposure to chemicals and contagious viruses. Moreover, it is noticed that one in every five persons loses their life from smoking. The accumulation of tar in the lungs transforms healthy pink lungs into black, so cleaning your lungs is essential.
Mucus assembles in the lungs to grab bacteria and other infectious agents, which gives rise to this feeling of heaviness. If you spend unlimited time breathing in cigarette smoke, heavy pollutants, viruses, and other contaminants, you may face breathing problems. So, in such conditions, the aim of cleaning out your lungs sounds very pleasant.
When you quit smoking, it will take time to heal your lungs from the severe damage to your lungs. Lungs can clean themselves, and they will begin this process once they are no longer revealed to heavy pollutants.
You must follow the following steps if you want to keep your lungs clean and healthy.
Regular Exercise
Whether you are young or old, slim or obese, normal, or living with any disability, being active can help your lungs to remain healthy. Any physical exercise can be very helpful for you to remove sputum from your lungs. Become a morning person and start a timely workout routine. The exercises put a pleasing effect on the flexibility of the chest, vertebral column, and ribs.
If you want your body and respiratory tract to return to normal shape, follow any suitable breathing exercise. Some exercises mobilize the mucus in the lungs to be discharged simply and more quickly. Moreover, aerobic exercise enhances the capacity of the lungs. It also hardens your muscles, and bones and makes your mood better.
Follow a Diet rich in Antioxidants
If you want to improve your lung health, ensure that you eat foods that will assist you in keeping your lungs mobile and working. Selecting the best foods for maintaining healthy lungs can help upgrade your lifestyle. Foods containing omega-3 fatty acids can help clean up your lungs and effectively work the pulmonary system. The positive news is that some foods and drinks can help cleanse your lungs without many tablets and supplements.
- Walnuts: Walnuts are enriched with omega-3 fatty acids. Eating even a small amount of them can help cope with asthma and other respiratory disorders, like bronchitis.
- Ginger: Ginger helps in alleviating congestion, cleaning out air tracts, and triggering enough circulation to the lungs, plus it improves lung health.
- Apricots: This fruit is best for keeping your lungs healthy due to the presence of vitamin A, and some amount of protein.
- Beetroot: It comprises compounds that boost lung function as they are enriched with nitrates.
- Garlic: Garlic is filled with allicin and possesses some anti-inflammatory characteristics, which lessen the harm caused by free radicals.
- Chilli: Chilli is hot and tasty due to the enrichment of the compound capsaicin. This assists in the secretion of mucous, thus removing it from the respiratory passage and shielding the mucous membrane in the respiratory tract.
- Pomegranates: Pomegranate juice stops the development of lung tumors. It comprises a large number of antioxidants as well as ellagic acid.
- Oranges: Citrus is filled with vitamin C and also a small amount of vitamin B6. These help the lungs in the transportation of oxygen. Oranges have some beneficial antioxidants and are full of vitamin C which is renowned for coping with infection.
- Grapefruit: This fruit minimizes the risk of developing a tumor (benign or malignant. In fact, its acidity cleanses the lungs.
- Good coffee: Caffeine, present in coffee is a drug that is very identical to theophylline. Theophylline is a bronchodilator medicine that is prescribed by doctors to open up the respiratory tract in the lungs and therefore mitigate the symptoms of asthma. This is really good news for those who love coffee. Many studies reveal a relationship between regular coffee and fit lungs. This might be due to the presence of caffeine, which has anti-inflammatory properties.
Chest Percussion
Chest percussion is a physical therapy used often in severe long-term pulmonary diseases and many other conditions, like cystic fibrosis, to help remove the mucus from the respiratory tract. In this therapy, you just have to gently tap your chest and back. Coupling chest percussion and postural drainage clears the excess mucus from your airways.
Green Tea
Another way to keep your lungs clean is by drinking green tea, an easy solution for healthy lungs. Due to polyphenols (compounds that improve the immune system), green tea has anti-inflammatory characteristics that may help minimize infection in the lungs. These can also save lung tissue from the dangerous effects of smoking. To clear the lungs, you should develop a routine to drink at least two cups of any herbal green tea, preferably in the morning and post-dinner.
Avoid Other Smokers
Inhaling in the smoke from cigarettes can have harmful effects on your lungs as smoking itself. Yes, it is very difficult to deal with other smokers when trying to quit smoking. You must limit your vulnerability to harmful pollutants from industries, mines, and exhaust vapors that can destroy your lungs. It also includes ignoring friends, relatives, or colleagues while smoking.
Conclusion
We are not denying the fact that quitting smoking is very difficult. You must divert your attention and look for something new to do that will be a good substitute for the cigarette, e.g., walking or chewing sugar-free gum. It’s very easy to cut yourself off, particularly when working to manage such a huge change in your life.
Remember, isolating yourself is not a solution. People play an important role when a smoker starts quitting smoking. People react to the decision in different ways. Some people will appreciate you – others will, knowingly or unknowingly, work to de-motivate your plan to become a non-smoker. Anyway, this is the best time to understand the problem and strictly follow a plan to quit smoking for overall health improvement, especially cleaning your lungs.
Anna has completed her degree in Pharmacy from the University of Hawaii. She is serving as a research assistant in a pharmaceutical company. She had a great interest in writing blogs, traveling to different parts of the US, and trying delicious recipes in her spare time.