How to Cleanse Lungs after Quitting Smoking
If you were a smoker and quit, you have done your body one of the greatest services. One of the best things for our health as we stop smoking is the recovery of the health of our lungs. Although your health improves drastically immediately after quitting, your lungs can take a little while to recover completely from the damage caused by cigarettes. Also, you might be experiencing a nasty cough right after you quit smoking, which is a sign that your lungs are starting to recover. This cough is intended to clear the mucus, but there are certain things that you can do to make this cleaning faster.
Congratulations, the hard part is over. Living a smoke-free lifestyle is one of the best ways to stay healthy. This is why at oneHOWTO we'd like to show you how to cleanse your lungs after smoking.
Steps to follow:
Smoking causes a build-up of mucus in the lungs that inhibit its normal function. To cleanse your lungs, eat foods that promote the clearing of mucus from your lungs. Such foods are ginger, cayenne and garlic. Put raw garlic in food, drink ginger tea, and sprinkle some cayenne on everything. If you want more ideas, take a look at our article on how to clean lungs with herbs.
Their content in allicin is favorable to do the job. They are also powerful antibiotics that will help you keep your defenses high, benefiting your health greatly.
Avoid other irritants in the air as much as possible. Lung irritants in the air are everywhere, so watch out for them. Barbecue or bonfire smoke, aerosol cleaning products, hairspray, pollen, secondhand smoke and any strong fume can irritate and choke up your lungs.
As we don't all have the luxury of breathing fresh, clean air that is free of pollutants every day, consider carrying a mask around for moments of higher intoxication. For example, if you ride your bike to work and take busy streets, you may want to wear a mask to avoid inhaling the toxic fumes of trucks and schoolbuses.
Green tea is full of benefits for our health thanks to its high content of antioxidants, which help to control the production of free radicals which are responsible for diseases such as cancer. That is why it is recommended that we consume three cups of green tea every day. Its content of catechin, a powerful antioxidant, will also help to clean up the mucosa accumulated by smoking.
Another useful component that will help cleanse your lungs after quitting smoking is bromelain, a component that reduces inflammation of the sinuses and prevents pulmonary edema, which means it will be a great ally when trying to quit. Bromelain is mainly found in pineapple, so you can either add this delicious fruit to your diet, or take it as a supplement, always following the instructions of a professional doctor.
It is essential that after leading a life as a smoker you incorporate healthy habits in your routine in order to cleanse your lungs. Plan and stick to a healthy menu and consume many fruit and vegetables rich vitamins and anti-oxidants which will help to improve your health and clean up the lungs.
Adding spices such as ginger, cumin or turmeric can also be highly useful. Some even use cinnamon sticks as replacement therapy, though you should know it is also highly useful to add it to your diet.
It is also recommended you practise disciplines such as yoga and pilates as both focus on breathing as a fundamental element to achieve positions and obtain maximum relaxation. These activities are ideal to learn how to breathe correctly and improve not just our overall health, but also the health of our lungs.
The body over time, of course, cleanse out the toxins generated by cigarettes. The majority of people feel the return of their old lung strength within two weeks. However, following these recommendations will help to increase well-being and significantly improve the state of your lungs.
This article is merely informative, oneHOWTO does not have the authority to prescribe any medical treatments or create a diagnosis. We invite you to visit your doctor if you have any type of condition or pain.
If you want to read similar articles to How to Cleanse Lungs after Quitting Smoking, we recommend you visit our Diseases & secondary effects category.
Tips
- Reduce the consumption of foods that produce additional mucus, especially milk products. The body produces the mucus necessary to clean up tobacco toxins, the production of additional mucus will only make the lungs work harder and less effectively.
- Spices, garlic and other natural medicines have not been scientifically proven to help and should not be treated as the definitive method for cleaning the lungs.
