Detoxing after smoke exposure is essential to your long-term and short term health. Detox solutions can include:
- Drinking LOTS of Water
- Drinking Hot Liquids
- Using a Saline Nasal Spray
- Rinsing Your Sinuses with a Neti Pot
- Breathing in Steam with Thyme
- Receiving a Vitamin Rich IV Drip
- Loading Your Diet with Ginger
- Increasing Your Vitamin C Intake
- Upping Your Glutathione Levels
We were all encouraged to stay indoors. Some heeded these warnings. Some individuals fled to less smoky environments. And, some folks attempted to cover their faces with a cloths or mask. Unfortunately, if you were here when the fires began, you were most likely exposed.
The concern with the exposure isn’t so much getting a large fleck of ash in your eye. Yes, smoke exposure can lead to uncomfortable symptoms like irritated sinuses, eye irritation, and shortness of breath. However, the real concern is the fine particles.
Jane Greenhalgh explained in her recent NPR article, ‘In All That Wildfire Smoke Damaging My Longs?’ it’s the, “particulate matter that’s 2,5 microns or less in diameter – that are the biggest health hazard. particulate matter that’s 2.5 microns or less in diameter — that are the biggest health hazard. They’re so small you can’t see them.”
Get a more details about how these nine tips can help you detox and protect your lung from long-term damage.
9 Ways to Detox Your Lungs After Wildfire Smoke Inhalation
1. Water. Drink LOTS of Water
Drink water. Drink LOTS of water. This is not a new mantra. It’s not a revolutionary tip. You’ve probably heard it hundreds of times before. Unfortunately, the vast majority of individuals are dehydrated. This is particularly an issue when you’re trying to detox after the harmful effects of fire.
Wildfire smoke inhalation causes microscopic particles to get trapped in your lungs. They can get into your bloodstream. And, they can travel throughout your body contaminate other organs.
Water helps flush these particles from your system. Ten, 8-ounce glasses of water is a good target in general. If you’re detoxing, aim to increase this intake to 12 or 14 glasses.
2. Drink Hot Liquids
Cilia are a short eyelash-like filament that covers the tissue of cells. When operating correctly, they beat in unison, creating a current that can move particles throughout the body.
When there is a decrease in air quality, it can cause the cilium (plural for cilia) to stop moving. Hot liquids can encourage the cilium to start moving again. This can promote the movement (and removal) of mucous and saliva, which often contains high levels of contaminants.
Bonus Tip: A good ‘hot liquid’ drink can be made by steeping Slippery Elm and Marshmallow Root in hot water. These two herbs support, moisten, and relax the fragile tissues in your mouth, throat, and lungs.
3. Use a Saline Nasal Spray
It’s easy for smoke exposure to cause irritated sinuses, irritation to the eyes, and shortness of breath. A saline nasal spray can help you moisten and soothe the inside of your nose. This can promote the expulsion of foreign matter and provide immediate relief.
4. Rinse Sinus with a Neti Pot
Think of a neti pot as a nasal spray on steroids. In short – a neti pot allows you to perform a thorough, natural nasal rinse. It helps you remove foreign substances. When you’re exposed to smoke, pollutants can easily get trapped in your nasal passage. If allowed to remain, they can easily travel to the lungs and cause additional issues.
Generally, a rinsing with a neti pot can reduce congestion and improve symptoms such as coughing, sneezing, and dry nasal passages.
Neti Pot: read below how to use a neti pot and warnings
5. Breathe Steam with Thyme
Thyme has a wide variety of benefits, including:
- Anti- Microbial
- Anti-Viral
- Anti-Fungal
Breathing a steam, rich with thyme, can help expel foreign substances, clear passageways, and reduce the irritation level of your sinuses. The simplest way to create thyme-filled steam is to add 1 – 2 TBS of thyme to a large bowl. Pour in boiling water. Lower your head so it’s inches from the hot water. Cover head and bowl with a large towel, trapping steam under the towel. Breathe deeply for 1 – 2 minutes. Repeat as needed.
6. Receive a Vitamin Rich IV Drip
(for people close to the fires like firefighters and communities at the heart of the fire with direct exposure)
IV drip therapy allows you to give your body a huge boost of the key vitamins and minerals it needs to function at its peak. Depending on your doctor, they can help you a specific cocktail to meet your individual needs.
Some naturopathic clinic offers specific detox drips that can help your body naturally cleanse unwanted foreign bodies, such as an excess of iron and metal, often ingested when exposed to smoke.
7. Load Your Diet with Ginger
Ginger is another fabulous, natural detoxifier. Not only does it contain chemical compounds that help the lungs function, ginger improves blood circulation. Plus, ginger is downright delicious.
It’s great in stir-fries, dressings, and marinades. Ginger can also be sliced and steeped in hot water to make a ginger tea. You may want to add a little lemon juice and honey to temper the flavor, as it can be very intense.
8. Up Your Vitamin C
Another natural antioxidant is Vitamin C. During the late fall and early winter, satsumas and pomegranates offer an easy and delicious way to add more Vitamin C to your diet. You may also consider a daily vitamin supplement. However, these oral applications don’t often give your body the full dose needed to fully detox.
When you talk with your naturopathic doctor about a Vitamin IV drip, ask whether or not Vitamin C will be included. Vitamin IV drips that includes Vitamin C can deliver a huge boost to your immune system and help your body detox.
9. Up Your Glutathione Levels
Glutathione is another natural antioxidant. It supports the production of cellular energy and can help protect your DNA from oxidative damage (a common side effect of smoke exposure).
Glutathione: see below how to boost your glutathione
Additional Tips to Support Your Immune System
10 Natural Lung Support Remedies
Using natural lung support remedies you can help your body detox harmful toxins, repair damaged tissue, and improve respiratory function.
Firefighters and First Responders
To help those who so bravely helped our community, we’re offering six months of free office visits to anyone directly involved in fighting the Fall 2017 Sonoma County fires.
If you are a firefighter, first responder, members of the sheriff’s department, police officers or helped fight the fire directly, the clinic is available to help you recover from smoke inhalation and stress.
(Please note, this does not include necessary labs or other optional recommendations.)
What is a neti pot?
how to use a neti pot and warnings
The neti pot is a home remedy for congested noses and sinuses that is available as an over-the-counter (OTC) treatment at most drugstores. It is a type of saline nasal irrigation (SNI) treatment.
The user fills a neti pot with a saltwater solution, tilts their head back, and pours the solution into one nostril. The liquid goes into one nostril and out of the other one.
With its roots in Indian Ayurvedic medicine, nasal irrigation and possible devices for administering the treatment were first introduced to Western medicine by The Lancet journal in 1902. In a survey of 330 primary care physicians, 87 percent advised that they recommend SNI to people that visit for one or more conditions.
The user fills a neti pot with a saltwater solution, tilts their head back, and pours the solution into one nostril. The liquid goes into one nostril and out of the other one.
With its roots in Indian Ayurvedic medicine, nasal irrigation and possible devices for administering the treatment were first introduced to Western medicine by The Lancet journal in 1902. In a survey of 330 primary care physicians,87 percent advised that they recommend SNI to people that visit for one or more conditions.
The FDA, however, warns that the incorrect use of neti pots and other devices for rinsing out the sinuses, including squeeze bottles, battery-operated pulsed water devices, and bulb syringes, have been linked to a higher risk of infection.
The FDA says it is informing doctors, other healthcare professionals, device makers, and users about safe practices when using these devices.
Users must ensure that the liquid is a dedicated saline nasal rinse. Do not use tap water or any form of unsterilized liquid.
Tap water generally has small amounts of bacteria, protozoa, and other microorganisms, including amebae. These are fine to swallow because stomach acid kills them, but they should not go into the nasal passages. If they do, they can remain alive and eventually cause serious infections.
In 2011, two neti pot users in Louisiana lost their lives after using water tainted with Naegleria fowleri (N. fowleri), a type of ameba. This happened to another individual in 2013.
N. fowleri is naturally found in warm, freshwater lakes and rivers. If the bacteria enter the nose, which most often happens while swimming, they can migrate to the brain through the olfactory nerve. This can cause primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), which is fatal for almost every person with the condition.
Louisiana State Epidemiologist, Dr. Raoult Ratard, advised: “If you are irrigating, flushing, or rinsing your sinuses, for example, by using a neti pot, use distilled, sterile, or previously boiled water to make up the irrigation solution. Tap water is safe for drinking, but not for irrigating your nose.”
How to boost your glutathione
Coined “The Mother of All Antioxidants” by Mark Hyman, MD, glutathione is one of the hottest topics in both natural health and medical circles today. (1) Pronounced “gloota-thigh-own,” nearly117,000 peer-reviewed scientific articles have addressed this powerhouse molecule, and experts are now recognizing that an alarming rate of people are deficient because of:
- Pre-mature aging
- Infections
- Chronic stress
- Injuries
- Environmental toxins
- So-called “health foods”
- Genetically modified foods
- Artificial sweeteners
- Overuse of antibiotics
- And radiation therapy that is all too easily given to cancer patients today.
- What Is Glutathione?
Glutathione (GSH) is a peptide consisting of three key amino acids that plays several vital roles in the body. Longevity researchers believe that it is so pivotal to our health that the level of GSH in our cells is becoming a predictor of how long we will live!
The key to understanding why GSH is so crucial for health is that every cell in our bodies produces it. In the words of Gustavo Bounous, MD, retired professor of surgery at McGill University in Montreal, “It’s the [body’s] most important antioxidant because it’s within the cell.” (5) Although it is absolutely essential to maintaining a healthy immune system, it is not technically an “essential nutrient” because the body from the amino acids can create it L-cysteine, L-glutamic acid, and glycine.
Some of the functions that GSH is responsible for include:
- Conjugates (“links together”) with drugs to make them more digestible.
- Is a cofactor (“helper molecule”) for some important enzymes including glutathione peroxidase (which protects you from oxidative damage).
- Is involved in protein disulfide bond rearrangement (which is critical for the biogenesis of 1/3 of all human proteins).
- Reduces peroxides (natural bleaching agents that are harmful to the body).
- Participates in leukotriene production (vital component for inflammatory and hypersensitivity reactions).
- Helps the liver detoxify fat before bile is emitted, which takes stress off of the gallbladder.
- Helps detoxifies methylglyoxal, a toxin produced as a by-product of metabolism.
- Cancer apoptosis (“programmed cell death”).
In addition to helping these vital functions continue in the body, the list of glutathione benefits is long and wide:
- Plays a crucial role in immune function.
- Promotes T-cell function, which is critical for a strong immune system.
- Helps prevent drug resistance.
- Protects from environmental toxins
- And it fights cancer1/ Whey ProteinWhey protein replenishes glutathione by boosting cysteine which helps rebuild glutathione when it is depleted from an immune response. According to a recent studies, whey protein is the ideal supplement to help naturally increase glutathione for both fighting cancer, strengthening the immune system, increasing metabolism, and reducing appetite. Rich in glutathione, it is extremely important to purchase the right type of whey protein. Avoid any whey protein that is processed, or protein isolate. I recommend grass-fed why or goat whey protein as a dietary supplement. You will want to use a whey protein powder that is all natural or organic (when possible) and is completely free of pesticides, hormones, genetically modified organisms, artificial sweeteners and is gluten free.
2/ Sulfur Foods
Since the mid-1990s, it has been a well-established fact that GSH concentrations take a nosedive in the liver and lungs when sulphur amino acid intake is inadequate. This is one of the many reasons Dr. recommend sulfur-rich, cancer-fighting cruciferous vegetables as a critical part of any natural health regimen. These include:
- Arugula
- Bok Choy
- Broccoli
- Brussel Sprouts
- Cabbage
- Cauliflower
- Collard Greens
- Kale
- Mustard greens
- Radish
- Turnip
- Watercress
3/NAC
- Arugula
- The unbelievably effective asthma remedy N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) helps decrease the severity and frequency of wheezing and respiratory attacks by boosting glutathione and thinning bronchial mucus. NAC is actually a precursor to GSH and it has recently been proven highly efficient at treating neurocognitive issues like addiction, compulsive behaviors, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. (21) I recommend taking 200-500mg 1x daily.4/ α-Lipoic Acida-Lipoic Acid helps restore GSH levels with any immune system depletion. Only 300-1200 mg of alpha lipoic acid daily helps improves insulin sensitivity and reduces symptoms of diabetic neuropathy. It has also been shown clinically to restore total blood GSH status and lymphocyte function in HIV/AIDS patients.5/ Methylation Nutrients (Vitamins B6, B9, B12, andbiotin) In the words of Dr. Mark Hyman, methylation ingredients “are perhaps the most critical to keep the body producing glutathione.” The best (natural) way to keep your methylation ingredients at optimal levels is to simply eat these Top Foliate Foods:
- Garbanzo beans (chickpeas) – ½ cup: 557 mcg (over 100% DV)
- Liver - 3 oz: 221 mcg (55% DV)
- Pinto beans - ½ cup: 146 mcg (37% DV)
- Lentils - ½ cup: 179 mcg (45% DV)
- Spinach - 1 cup: 56 mcg (14% DV)
- Asparagus - ½ cup: 134 mcg (33% DV)
- Avocado - ½ cup: 61 mcg (15% DV
- Beets - ½ cup: 68 mcg (17% DV)
- Black eyed peas - ½ cup: 112 mcg (28% DV)
- Broccoli - 1 cup: 57 mcg (14% DV)
6/Selenium
Selenium works as a powerful anti-oxidant and is required for your body to create GSH. Be sure to stock your refrigerator and pantry with these Top Selenium Foods:
- Brazil nuts – 1 oz (6-8 nuts): 544 mcg (over 100% DV)
- Yellow fin tuna - 3 oz: 92 mcg (over 100% DV)
- Halibut, cooked - 3 oz: 47mcg (67% DV)
- Sardines, canned – 3 oz: 45mcg (64% DV)
- Grass-fed beef - 3 oz: 33 mcg (47% DV)
- Turkey, boneless – 3 oz: 31 mcg (44% DV)
- Beef liver - 3 oz: 28 mcg (40% DV)
- Chicken - 3 oz: 22 mcg (31% DV)
- Egg – 1 large, 15 mcg (21% DV)
- Spinach – 1 cup: 11 mcg (16% DV)
- 7/Vitamin C & E
- Vitamin C helps raise glutathione in red blood cells and lymphocytes. Vitamin E is an important antioxidant that works with GSH to prevent damage from reactive oxygen and protects glutathione-dependent enzymes.(25) So working together, Vitamin C and E help recycle glutathione and keep you disease-free! Eating these Top Vitamin C and Top Vitamin E foods should be on all of our to-do lists. They together help keep glutathione at optimal levels and boost your immune systems and overall body function!Vitamin C
- Oranges – 1 large: 82 mg (over 100% DV)
- Red peppers – ½ cup chopped, raw: 95 mg (over 100% DV)
- Kale – 1 cup: 80 mg (134% DV)
- Brussels sprouts – ½ cup cooked: 48 mg (80% DV)
- Broccoli – ½ cup cooked: 51 mg (107% DV)
- Strawberries – ½ cup: 42 mg (70% DV)
- Grapefruit – ½ cup: 43 mg (71% DV)
- Guava – 1 fruit: 125 mg (over 100% DV)
- Kiwi – 1 piece: 64 mg (33% DV)
- Green peppers – ½ c chopped, raw: 60 mg (100% DV)
Vitamin E
- Almonds – 1 oz: 7.3 mg (27% DV)
- Spinach – 1 bunch: 6.9 mg (26% DV)
- Sweet Potato – 1 Tbsp.: 4.2 mg (15% DV)
- Avocado – 1 whole: 2.7 mg (10% DV)
- Wheat germ – 1 ounce: 4.5 mg (17% DV)
- Sunflower seeds – 2 Tbsp.: 4.2 mg (15% DV
- Palm Oil – 1 Tbsp.: 2.2 mg (11% DV)
- Butternut squash -1 cup, cubed: 2 mg (7% DV
- Trout - 3 oz: 2 mg (7% DV)
- Olive oil – 1 Tbsp.: 2 mg (7% DV)
8/ Beef Liver
Not only is beef liver in my list of top selenium foods, but it has been shown to boost selenium and gluthione production better than supplements. Studies have shown that because the nutrition has been concentrated in the liver, eating this organ from a local grass-fed, organic cow is a highly effective way to boost glutathione levels and that the levels of selenium in beef and in beef liver are far more bioavailable than supplements. I recommend only getting high-quality grass-fed beef liver either dried or raw and adding it to your diet to boost selenium and glutathione production.
- 9/Milk ThistleUsed for centuries by traditional folk medicine all across the world, milk thistle has long been praised as a remedy for immune dysfunction. Specifically, silymarin, a unique flavonoid complex derived from the milk thistle plant, has been used for liver damage and biliary tract disease. According to scientists, the secret to milk thistle’s healing prowess is its ability to enhance GSH. Shown to boost glutathione levels in ethanol-induced rats, it was discovered that milk thistle could actually help protect the liver from toxicity in the presence of alcohol consumption; which is well-known to cause glutathione levels to plummet.
