As many of you know by now, there’s a strong connection between your heart health and lung and respiratory health. When your airways are taking in the oxygen you need, it means your heart can do its job of circulating oxygen-rich blood throughout your body where it’s needed to generate energy.
For healthy lungs and clear breathing:
- Practice belly breathing, meditation or biofeedback. Numerous studies have shown that stress reduction techniques that focus on breathing are effective for supporting lung health. That’s because they reduce hyperventilation and over breathing.
- Use an air purifier. As I’ve mentioned before, there’s a strong connection between poor air quality and heart and lung health. Using a high quality HEPA filter air purifier in the bedroom or home can help to support lung health.
- Supplement with magnesium. Magnesium plays an important role in supporting lung structure and function and helps to relieve narrowing of the bronchial airways. Yet, many people are deficient in magnesium due to declining levels in our soils. For lung support I recommend 300 mg of magnesium daily.
- Eat a non-inflammatory diet. Just as avoiding sugar and refined carbohydrates reduces inflammation in the heart, it also reduces inflammation in the lungs.
- Drink plenty of fluids. Staying well-hydrated with water and ginger tea helps to promote vasodilation and reduce inflammation. Coffee, in moderation, can also surprisingly help to open up the airways. But eliminate all sodas and sugary drinks.
