Lungs– An important organ in the human body. lungs are located on either side of the chest. The lungs play an important role for removing carbon dioxide from the blood and adding oxygen to it. The heart and lungs work together to do this.

With this, we breathe called respiratory system.

So how to keep it healthy and stronger naturally. Keep reading you will get all your answers.

1- First of all, don’t smoke. If is it so quit now.

2- Do regular breathing exercise especially yoga(lom vilom), good for lungs.

3- Avoid exposure to indoor and outdoor pollutants that can damage lungs as unhealthy air may cause serious problems. 

4- Prevent lung infection by getting vaccinated, washing hands with soap or sanitized, avoid crowded places during cold and flu season.

5- Keep yourself hydrated, have apples, beets, pumpkin, Tomatoes, leafy veggies, proteins.

6- Have Green tea on daily basis as its antioxidants may help to reduce inflammation in the lungs.

7- Steam therapy to inhale water vapour to open the airways and loosen the mucus.

8- Use saline nasal spray or rinse when needed, Gargle with salt water.

9- Take a hot bath, Blow the nose gently 

10- Lung-Damaging Foods to Avoid- White bread, potato chips, chocolate, processed meat, excess salt, fried foods, foods that make you bloated and gassy.

Now, To cleanse lungs at home, follow the below steps,

Sit on chair, keep both feet on floor and fold arms on stomach now slowly inhale through nose

slowly exhale while leaning forward, push the arms against the stomach and keep mouth slight open rest and repeat.

 Now, let’s see about the parts of the respiratory system and how it works.

Airways– The NOSE is the preferred entrance for outside air into the respiratory system.

MOUTH, Air also enters through the mouth especially for those who have a mouth-breathing habit, whose nasal passages may be temporarily blocked by a cold, or during heavy exercise.

The THROAT collects incoming air from your nose and mouth then passes it down to the windpipe  (trachea).

The WINDPIPE (trachea) is the passage leading from your throat to your lungs.

Now, If someone experiences any of the below mentioned difficulty then that is a sign of warning. Hence, needs to be taken care of.

Shortness of Breath- This is not normal to experience the Shortness of breath if it is hard to breath.

Chronic Cough-  If cough duration is more than eight weeks or longer is considered chronic and this is early symptom which shows there is some problem with respiratory system.

Chronic Mucus production- If mucus (sputum) is produced by airways as a defense against infections and if it last a month or longer then there is some problem with lungs.

Noisy breathing is a sign that something unusual is blocking nose.

Chronic chest pain- Chest pain that lasts for a month and may get worsen is also a warning sign.

Test to check lungs health- Pulmonary function tests (PFTs), Chest Tube Procedure, CT Scan. There are many other tests as well.

To know more about lungs related diseases in detail click here.