How to nourish the lungs in autumn? 17 secret recipes to protect lung health

With the arrival of the Beginning of Autumn, we begin to smell the scent of autumn. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that "the lungs are a delicate organ that likes moisture and hates dryness, and are most susceptible to damage by dryness." The weather is dry in autumn, with obvious changes in temperature, which is most likely to damage the lungs. Therefore, the focus of health preservation in autumn is to nourish the lungs. Adjusting your lungs will not only make your breathing smoother, but also improve your complexion. But do you know how to nourish your lungs in autumn? Here are 17 secrets to nourish your lungs in autumn to help you protect your lung health!

1. First of all, you should quit smoking

Smoking is very harmful to the lungs and will destroy the cilia of the respiratory epithelium. These cilia are the "scavengers" of the respiratory tract. Once destroyed, their protective effect will be much worse. Studies have shown that quitting smoking before the age of 30 can reduce the risk of lung cancer by 90%. Five years after quitting, the risk of oral and esophageal cancer caused by smoking will also be reduced by half.

2. Nourish your lungs with water

Dry air can more easily take away moisture, causing damage to the lung mucosa and respiratory tract. This is what Chinese medicine says: dryness can easily damage the lungs. Therefore, timely replenishment of water is an important measure to maintain lungs. To replenish these losses in time, you should drink at least 500 ml more water every day than in other seasons to maintain normal moisture in the lungs and respiratory tract. You can also "inhale" water directly into your respiratory tract by pouring hot water into a cup, then inhaling it through your nose into the cup mouth, for 10 minutes each time, 2 to 3 times a day.

3. To nourish the lungs, you must first calm your mind.

To nourish the lungs, you must first be in a good mood and avoid sadness. Even if you encounter sad things, you should take the initiative to resolve them. At the same time, you should restrain your spirit to adapt to the depression of all things in autumn. In simple terms, keeping calm is the best way to nourish the lungs. The lungs are the respiratory organ, and the most obvious manifestation of emotional changes is the breathing. Rapid and unstable breathing not only increases the burden on the lungs, but also causes the air in the body to leak out, which is the exact opposite of "Autumn Harvest". Therefore, it is important to take care of your spirit in autumn.

4. Treat colds promptly

Many people's pneumonia is caused by untimely or incomplete treatment of colds, or insufficient rest. Therefore, you must rest after a cold, and seek medical attention if you have a severe cough and a high fever.

5. Do more chest expansion exercises

Special attention should be paid to the training of the respiratory system, and abdominal breathing method should be advocated: stretch your arms, expand your chest as much as possible, and then use your abdomen to breathe. This can increase lung capacity and is especially beneficial to the recovery of patients with COPD and emphysema. Don't stay in a warm place all the time, get some cold or hot stimulation appropriately.

6. Take a deep breath

Moderate deep breathing can help clear the lungs. Here are two relatively simple and effective breathing methods. You may want to give them a try: abdominal breathing: stretch your arms, expand your chest as much as possible, and then use your abdomen to breathe. The purpose of this breathing method is to increase lung capacity. Pursed lip breathing: take a full breath quickly, and then exhale slowly like whistling. The purpose is to allow the air to stay in the lungs longer, allowing the lungs to have more complete gas exchange. Patients with bronchitis can do this often. It is best to practice the above breathing method one set each morning and evening, and you can practice each set as many times as you can.

7. Eat a light diet

Eat less irritating foods, especially during respiratory tract infections, avoid eating chili peppers, cumin, and mustard, otherwise it will be detrimental to the recovery of inflammation. Eating more foods that nourish yin and moisten the lungs, such as pears, lilies, loquats, lotus seeds, radishes, etc., can strengthen the spleen and eliminate phlegm.

8. Beat your back more often

Sit upright with your back naturally straight, eyes slightly closed, relaxed, clench your hands into fists, and punch the center and sides of your back 30 times each. When massaging the back, do it from bottom to top, then from top to bottom, first massaging the center of the spine, then the left and right sides. This method can unblock the qi in the chest, open up the meridians in the spine, and at the same time has the effect of strengthening and nourishing the lungs.

9. The diet should be less spicy and more acidic

In autumn, we should also pay attention to “less spicy and more sour” in our diet. In other words, eat less spicy food to prevent excessive lung fire. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that excessive lung fire can damage liver function. Therefore, in addition to "less spiciness", we should also "increase sourness" in autumn to increase the function of the liver and resist the invasion of excessive lung fire.

According to this principle of Chinese medicine nutrition, in the autumn you must eat less spicy foods such as onions, ginger, garlic, leeks, peppers, etc., and eat more sour fruits and vegetables. Sour fruits include apples, pomegranates, grapes, grapefruits, lemons, hawthorns, etc. In short, you should eat more sour foods in autumn to nourish your lungs and liver at the same time.

10. Massaging the nose also protects the lungs

Since the beginning of autumn, has your nasal mucosa felt uncomfortable with the stimulation of cold air, making you particularly prone to catching colds and having a runny nose all the time? You might as well massage your nose frequently. Rub the outside of your thumbs against each other until you feel heat, then rub the outside of your thumbs up and down along the bridge of your nose and both sides of your nose wings 40 times, and then use your fingertips to press the "Yingxiang Points" on both sides of the nose wings 20 times. Such a simple little action can not only regulate the lung qi, but also prevent nasal congestion, runny nose and colds. When the seasons change, do nasal massage frequently.

11. Keep your room clean

Get plenty of sunlight, disinfect regularly, and open windows often at home. Go to places with fresh air to exercise and play games. Don’t play chess or cards on the roadside, as the air pollution there is the most serious and poses a great threat to the lungs.