5 Easy Ways To Improve Your Lungs Health At Home

by | Aug 19, 2020 | Health Topics

WHY ARE LUNGS IMPORTANT?

We know lungs provide oxygen to our body and expel carbon dioxide from our body, however lungs are also important to filter out harmful substances like bacteria, virus, pollen and dust from the air we breath in. Hence maintaining a healthy lung is crucial to prevent lung or respiratory disorder.

There are some tips you can practice at home to strengthen your lungs.

DIAPHRAGMATIC BREATHING

Diaphragmatic breathing is a type of breathing exercise to strengthen your diaphragm. This breathing exercise can reduce the level of stress hormone cortisol in your body. It also lowers your heart rate, blood pressure and improve your body’s ability to tolerate intense exercise.

How to do:

  1. Sit or stand comfortably with good posture.
  2. Place your hands on your side over your lower ribs.
  3. Inhale slowly through your nose, feeling your lower ribs expand.
  4. Exhale slowly through your pursed lip, feeling your lower ribs move down
  5. Rest after 3-4 breaths
  6. Practice for 5-10 minutes, several times a day if possible.

PURSED LIP BREATHING

This exercise reduces the number of breaths you take and keeps your airway open longer. More air is able to flow in and out of your lungs so you can be more physically active.

How to do:

  1. Inhale through your nose for 2 seconds, feeling the air move into your abdomen.
  2. Purse your lips and then breath out slowly, taking twice as long to exhale as you took to breath in.
  3. Practice makes perfect. Repeat the exercise about 5-10 minutes every day.

SINGING

Regardless whether you are singing in your bathroom or karaoke, sing with your lungs and enjoy the music. According to British Lung Foundation, singing can improve quality of life and lung capacity.

IMPROVED INDOOR AIR QUALITY

  1. No smoking indoors
  2. Maintain hygiene in your home to control pests like rats and cockroaches.
  3. Use cleaning and household products that are more natural or organic. Choose products that are cruelty-free, free from dyes, chlorine, phthalates and synthetic fragrance.
  4. Put some indoor plants because plants are natural air filters
  5. Diffusing essential oils is 100% natural and highly effective way to get clean and fresh air. You can choose essential oils like eucalyptus, peppermint, tea tree oil, lemon and lavender because they are antiseptic, able to eliminate air-borne pollutants and eliminating unpleasant smells.

SUPPLEMENTS FOR LUNGS

There are some recommendations of supplements proven to strengthen and maintain lungs health. If you have existing medical conditions, it is important to consult medicaal professionals before taking any supplements.

1. Tiger Milk Mushroom

Tiger milk mushroom is a type of fungi that can be found in the rainforest at Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines. It is hailed as Malaysia’s national treasure. It has been recognized as one of the most popular medicinal mushrooms used by indigenous communities for more than 400 years.

Tiger milk mushroom has antioxidant properties and it is able to stimulate our body immune system to defence against respiratory disease caused by bacteria and virus.

 

2. N-Acetyl Cysteine

Cysteine is a type of amino acid that you can found in high protein food like chicken, eggs, cheese and legumes. Cysteine helps to replenish glutathione levels in the lungs. Being an antioxidant, it reduces inflammation and oxidative damage to the lungs.   NAC is the precursor for cysteine and can be found in supplements.

3. Omega 3 

Inflammation is one of the symptoms of chronic obstructive lung disease and other lung conditions. Omega 3 can reduce inflammation in lungs and improve the quality of breathing. You can get omega 3 from food like salmon, mackerel, chia seeds and walnuts or omega 3 supplements.

4. Cordyceps 

Cordyceps is a fungus used in traditional Chinese medicine as a tonic to sooth the lung for the treatment of fatigue and respiratory disease. Research found that cordyceps had improved immunity score and may have some preventive effect and therapeutic potential for lung fibrosis.  

 

5. Astragalus 

Astragalus also known as ‘huang qi’ and is commonly use in traditional Chinese medicines. The root is believed to be responsible for its potential benefits. It can strengthen and regulate immune system. It is promoted to be used for asthma, upper respiratory infections and allergy rhinitis. You can use the astragalus root in making soup or tea or you may found it in supplement in pill form.

Reference

  1. Ma, X., Yue, Z., Gong, Z., Zhang, H., Duan, N., Shi, Y., . . . Li, Y. (2017). The Effect of Diaphragmatic Breathing on Attention, Negative Affect and Stress in Healthy Adults. Frontiers in Psychology, 8. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00874
  2. Steffen, P. R., Austin, T., Debarros, A., & Brown, T. (2017). The Impact of Resonance Frequency Breathing on Measures of Heart Rate Variability, Blood Pressure, and Mood. Frontiers in Public Health, 5. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2017.00222
  3. Breathing Exercises. (n.d.). Retrieved August 18, 2020, from https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/wellness/breathing-exercises
  4. How can singing improve my breathing? (2020, February 07). Retrieved August 18, 2020, from https://www.blf.org.uk/support-for-you/singing-for-lung-health/improve-your-breathing
  5. Keep Pollution Out Of Your Home. (n.d.). Retrieved August 18, 2020, from https://www.lung.org/clean-air/at-home/keep-pollution-out-home
  6. Wong, K., Lai, C. K., & Cheung, P. C. (2009). Stimulation of Human Innate Immune Cells by Medicinal Mushroom Sclerotial Polysaccharides. International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms, 11(3), 215-223. doi:10.1615/intjmedmushr.v11.i3.10
  7. Pirabbasi, E. (2012). Efficacy of ascorbic acid and/ N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) supplementation on nutritional, antioxidant status, and respiratory function of male Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) patients. Http://isrctn.org/. doi:10.1186/isrctn18062761
  8. Lung Health Institute: Supplements for Lung Disease. (2015, January 14). Retrieved August 19, 2020, from https://lunginstitute.com/blog/supplements-for-lung-disease/
  9. Benefits of Fish Oil: Lung Health: Lung Health Institute. (2020, April 23). Retrieved August 19, 2020, from https://lunginstitute.com/blog/how-can-fish-oil-benefit-chronic-lung-disease-patients/
  10. Chen, M., Cheung, F. W., Chan, M. H., Hui, P. K., Ip, S., Ling, Y. H., . . . Liu, W. K. (2012). Protective roles of Cordyceps on lung fibrosis in cellular and rat models. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 143(2), 448-454. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2012.06.033
  11. Wu, C., Ke, Y., Zeng, Y., Zhang, Y., & Yu, H. (2017). Anticancer activity of Astragalus polysaccharide in human non-small cell lung cancer cells. Cancer Cell International, 17(1). doi:10.1186/s12935-017-0487-6
  12. (n.d.). Retrieved August 19, 2020, from https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/astragalus