Lung Health - Wellness with the Seasons

For this installment of our Wellness with the Seasons series we’ll focus on strengthening the lungs and maintaining lung health.

In the Chinese system, the Metal Element is associated with the lungs, nose, large intestine and the autumn season. If you have a history of winter colds, sinus infections or lung problems, this could indicate that your Metal Element may be out of balance. So now would be the best time to prepare yourself for staying well this fall and winter.

Indoor Air Quality

Deep breathing and clean air are vital to life. The fine membranes of the lungs and nasal passages were not meant to come in contact with toxins or smoke of any kind. Unfortunately, it has become increasingly difficult to avoid this nowadays with environmental pollutants in the outdoor air and more importantly,  toxins permeating the air inside our homes.

According to the EPA, indoor air is two to five times more polluted than outdoor air regardless of where you live.

Additionally, results of in-home air tests for indoor air pollution across the United States have shown nearly every home (96 percent) had at least one indoor air quality problem. That is really concerning considering on average, a person spends approximately 90 percent of their time indoors and takes between 17,000 and 23,000 breaths every day.

Specifically, in-home air tests results showed: 71 percent of homes were found to be filled with potentially harmful gases and chemicals, while 86 percent had high levels of particles and bioaerosols, such as pollen, dust, and viruses. In that context, it’s important to make cleaning up your indoor air quality a high priority.

The Top Five Indoor Air Toxins

The following is a list of the top five toxins commonly found in our indoor air:
 

1. Volatile Organic Compounds (aka VOC’s) from new building materials, carpets, flooring and paints.
2. Fragrance and Scented Products from air fresheners (plug in + aerosol), scented candles and fabric softeners.
3. Mold and Mold VOC’s from mold spores. As mold grows a chemical reaction of enzymes and substrates produces volatile organic compounds. Mold also produce mycotoxins, which are toxic to human beings.
4. Pollen, Pet Fur/Dander and Dust Mites.
5. Cleaning Products and Pesticides like conventional cleaners, bleach, disinfectants and bug sprays. 
   
   

Four Action Steps for Lung Wellness This Fall

1. Eliminate air toxins from your home

Do your best to eliminate, or switch out, as many of the top five indoor air pollutants from the list above with safe product alternatives. The Environmental Working Group’s Healthy Home Guides are a great resource for learning more about these toxins and ways to improve indoor air quality.

2. Drink two to three cups of Taheebo Wellness Tea every day

One of the best ways to protect and maintain lung and respiratory health is to boost your immune system. Beginning with the fall season and throughout the winter months, increase your daily Taheebo Tea intake to 2 to 3 cups per day.
Why? Well, for us it’s simple. We can enlist nature’s healing resources to support our wellness.

“For thousands of years, Taheebo / Pau d’Arco has been used as an antiviral herb. The range of viruses stunted by [Taheebo] tea extends from those that cause the common cold to those that are responsible for the life-threatening AIDS virus.”“In fact, [Taheebo] has been shown in both in vitro and in vivo studies to actively inhibit, kill or stunt the growth of several dangerous viruses, including:- Herpes- Polio- Vesicular stomatitis- Avian myeloblastosis- Leukemia- Rous sarcoma virus”

“The beta-lapachone present in the bark of tabebuia avellanedae actually inhibits the enzymes in virus cells. This directly affects the synthesis of DNA and RNA.”

“The virus is then no longer able to take control over the reproductive processes of the cell, so it can neither replicate itself nor infect other cells.” ~ Dr. Axe

3. Use an air purifier

Get out your air purifier and keep it running continuously. If you don’t have one, we highly recommend investing in one. Remember, 96 percent of homes have been found to have some type of air quality problem. And as our time spent indoors increases during the fall and winter, the use of a good air purifier is very important for wellness.

We personally run our air purifiers 24/7, and have been since purchasing them 8 years ago.

We have two Austin Air purifiers in our home. These use medical grade HEPA technology proven to remove up to 95% of all airborne contaminants as small as 0.1 microns. This includes viruses, bacteria, dust, dander and allergens. The carbon blend used in their filters also effectively removes chemicals, gases and odors. 

 

4. Use acupressure points for lung health

Acupressure is an ancient healing art that uses the fingers to stimulate points on the skin corresponding to potent points along the energetic meridians of the body. This activates the body’s own natural self-healing process.

The Lung Meridian has 11 points, beginning at the upper chest just below the clavicle, running down the arm and forearm, and into the wrist, ending at the thumbnail. 

Use the following procedure for just a few minutes each day to restore normal breathing, increase lung capacity and to rejuvenate the lungs.

 

Step One: Firmly press the Lung One Point

Place your thumbs on the outer portion of your chest, pressing on the muscles that run horizontally below your collarbone. 

Find the sensitive spot on the chest muscles on both sides. Lung 1 is found underneath this tender spot. Relax your neck muscles, and allow your head to hang down towards your chest as you maintain firm pressure on those points with your thumbs. Continue to hold these points while breathing deeply for two minutes.

 

Step Two: Hold and rub the Lung Nine and Ten Points

First find Lung 9, located in the groove at the wrist fold below the base of the thumb. Press firmly, and take a few long, slow deep breaths. 

Next find Lung 10, located on the palm side of the hand in the center of the pad at the base of the thumb. Hold Lung 10 firmly while you take several deep breaths.

Then use the thumb and index finger of your opposite hand to press both points at the same time. Rub them both at the same time with brisk circular motions. After about one minute, repeat the whole procedure on the other hand.

𓇢𓆸 Our next Wellness with the Seasons article focusses on the Large Intestine, and the surprising connection between poor elimination and the common cold 😲