The 10 best herbs for lung cleansing

Our lungs are capable of incredible feats. After all, they are vital body parts. The average adult can take in as much as 6 litres of air and breathe a total of 11,000 litres every day. Besides being able to inflate and deflate like balloons, the internal surface of the lungs can stretch up to 100 square meters when fully expanded. Fun facts aside, the lungs function to absorb oxygen from the air we breathe so that our body could make use of it.
Without oxygen, we couldn’t possibly survive!
It’s quite unfortunate that our lungs are so easily abused. Smokers expose their lungs to tar and thousands of toxic chemicals with their bad habit. Even people who don’t smoke unknowingly inhale poisonous fumes, radioactive gases, and other pollutants. Lucky for you, there are natural ways to undo damage done to your lungs and restore them to a healthier state.
Here are the 10 best herbs for lung cleansing:
1. Oregano
Oregano is a popular herb used for cooking. It belongs to the mint family and has this minty flavor and aroma that goes well with certain foods.
2. Mullein
The flowering plant has long been employed as an herbal remedy for respiratory ailments including asthma, pneumonia, and tuberculosis. Austrians traditionally took it as tea or added it to ointments and baths for external use. Today, extracts are often derived from its flowers and leaves to create herbal medicine. But you can still use mullein in more practical ways to cleanse your lungs.
3. Osha Root
Osha is a plant you rarely get to hear about, yet it is one of the most powerful lung detoxifiers you can imagine. It grows on the high mountains of northwest Mexico and the Rocky Mountains of Canada. Native Americans living in these areas were among the first to discover its medicinal properties. They used it for treating colds, cough, and other respiratory problems. In modern day, its roots are common ingredients in cough drops and lozenges because of their soothing effects.
4. Lungwort
Also known as pulmonaria, this herb couldn’t be any more obvious on its lung cleansing benefits. It is a flowering plant that resembles lung tissue, hence its name. Lungwort has been used as a remedy for respiratory problems since the 1600s – a practice that persists today.
5. Licorice Root
We’re not talking about licorice sticks. You know – that sweet candy we love to snack on. We’re talking about licorice, the plant from which this delectable treat is sourced from. You see, licorice root is not just an ingredient used to make sweets. It’s also one of the best herbs for lung detoxification.
6. Thyme
Surprised? Thyme may be a common kitchen herb, but like Oregano, it can detoxify your lungs. The evergreen plant has had many uses since ancient times, although its lung cleansing effects weren’t discovered until recently.
7. Coltsfoot
Don’t let its toxicity scare you. When taken properly, this perennial herb can do wonders for your lungs. Coltsfoot leaves were used in ancient times as a treatment for colds, flu, cough, and other respiratory problems. It has been a part of Ancient Greek, Native American, and traditional Austrian medicine long before people started using it to cleanse their lungs.
Coltsfoot is also an effective treatment for the smoker’s lungs.
8. Indian Tobacco
It’s not really tobacco but rather, a common name for a flowering plant that is now used for lung cleansing. Also known as Lobelia Inflata, the herb grows only once or twice a year in its native territory – North America. Native Americans are no stranger to the medicinal benefits of this attractive herb. They have used it to treat respiratory diseases and other illnesses long before we started using it to detoxify our lungs.
9. Elecampane
Elecampane has a multitude of medicinal benefits. Traditional medicine employs this flowering herb as a remedy for advanced lung diseases like tuberculosis, although it is also used for more common respiratory ailments. In traditional Chinese and Indian Ayurvedic practice, it is often prescribed for asthma and bronchitis.
10. Plantain Leaf
Plantain leaves are often part of traditional delicacies in tropical regions of the world. But like everything else on this list, it is one of the best herbs for lung cleansing. For hundreds of years the plantain leaf was used to treat common respiratory disorders. It was even considered as one of the 9 sacred herbs in Anglo-Saxon medicine. The medicinal properties of plantain leaves are still applied today, as it is a popular choice for lung detoxification.