Hello my friends, and welcome back for Part IV of my 6 Part Series all about those wonderful detox organs of ours that support our body’s natural detoxification process.

As always, let me say – this is our body’s natural detoxification process – it does this all my itself, but sometimes needs a little support and love along the way.

Missed Part I, II and III – never fear – they’re right here, here and here!

These six detoxification organs work non-stop to eliminate excess waste products and toxins from our body, and in this little series, I’m talking about my personal top 4 foods, that in conjunction with an overall healthy diet, have been shown to further help support this amazing process.

So today we’re talking about - lungs!

Our lungs are responsible for filtering out CO2, fumes, mould, allergens and all of those ugly airborne toxins we come into contact with on a daily basis.

We naturally detox our lungs simply by breathing and exhaling deeply, however a little regular, gentle detoxification of our lungs will help smooth its functioning and help expel unwanted toxins so as to reduce common lung diseases and respiratory problems such as asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia and cystic fibrosis.

The lungs are known as the exchange centre where oxygen and carbon dioxide enter and leave – helping keep us energised, functioning and alive! A lack of oxygen for even just a few minutes can cause irreparable damage and death.

4 practices that help support our lungs natural detoxification process

Chemicals | Try reducing the chemicals we inhale by switching and ditching those commercial “chemical filled” beauty, body and household cleaning products, and wherever possible, avoid anything with synthetic fragrances!

Home | Mould and dust mites are big triggers of allergies and irritation, so get vacuuming (bag-free), let in sunlight and fresh air regularly and use essential oils like eucalyptus to help reduce the incidence of dust mites and mould in the home.

Exercise | Helps us to draw air deeper into our lungs, facilitating the detoxification process further.

Filtered Water | Drinking filtered water is so important in helping to cleanse our lungs, as it helps hydrate and accelerate the detoxification process.

4 foods that can further help support our lungs

Lean towards spicy and pungent flavours as well as slippery and soothing textures like mustard, wasabi and cayenne as well as turnips and radish to help support the lungs. Vitamin C rich-foods are also particularly helpful, like kiwi, capsicums and citrus fruits, and foods rich in selenium also provide benefit to our lungs, including garlic and Brazil nuts.

Garlic | With its anti-inflammatory properties and high levels of allicin, garlic helps to fight infections and reduce inflammation, and it’s also considered an effective remedy in improving asthma.

Apples + Pears | Loaded with nutrients, fibre, flavonoids and a wide variety of vitamins and antioxidants (particularly vitamin C), these 2 fruits can help us maintain a strong immune system and a healthy respiratory system, where we can help fight off and prevent lung diseases naturally.

Ginger | Due to its anti-inflammatory properties ginger can help clear our lungs naturally and stimulate digestion, circulation and sweating – our body’s three main avenues of natural detoxification.

Brazil Nuts | Containing high levels of selenium and magnesium which comes highly recommended for asthmatic people, helping to increase our lungs capacity and improve the efficiency of our respiratory process.