Did you know that lung disease such as lung cancer kills 300,000 Americans each year?
That’s right! People regularly die from lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or asthma… and the worse part is that most of those illnesses are preventable!
Certainly, we now know that smoking often causes deadly diseases such as lung cancer…
But what if you stopped smoking and you want to detox your lungs from all the smoke you have inhaled? Is this even possible? Can you still avoid lung cancer at this point?
And what about the pollution and the toxic chemicals you breathe every day? We often forget that they too have an impact on our health!
How to detox your lungs
It seems that your diet can actually help prevent the damages done by tobacco smoke…
Studies show that a few extra servings of fruits and vegetables each day can significantly improve lung functions and slow the progression of diseases.
But first, if you want to detox your lungs, you have to stop smoking! Because the only way to detox your lungs is to… to intoxicate them!
According to the American Lung Association, cigarette contributes to 90% of lung cancer deaths.
Tobacco contains about 4,000 chemicals that weaken your immune system and damage your DNA. As a result, you are more vulnerable to illnesses.
On this picture, you can see the lungs of a non-smoker. Behind them are the lungs of smokers. Do you see the difference?
Smoking does not give you any benefits… It only makes you completely addicted and enslaved.
Quitting smoking will be the best gift you can give to yourself (and your lungs) and the paybacks are immediate!
The American Cancer Society says that within a few weeks after quitting smoking, your lung function improves and within a few months, the cells that help cleaning your lungs start to regrow!
Isn’t that fantastic? You can detox your lungs from the minute you stop smoking!
You don’t need a pill or a magic potion to detox your lungs. All you need to do is stop smoking!
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Foods to detox your lungs and avoid cancer
It’s the phytonutrients found in the plant kingdom (“phyto” means plant) that can help your body fight the damages caused by the carcinogens in tobacco smoke.
Eating a lot of plants (and not smoking) can help you avoid lung cancer… and will certainly detox your lungs!
Here are a few foods to focus on…
Broccoli
Broccoli has been put to the test and has shown to be helpful, just like the rest of the cruciferous family like cabbage, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts.
Many studies have found that eating broccoli (and especially broccoli sprouts) is protective against cancer. It’s the sulforaphane compound found in broccoli that has been studied for years…
Studies even suggest that sulforaphane is able to target cancer cells in certain types of cancer and assist in the recovery!
Read this blog post to learn more and get healthy plant-based recipes with cruciferous vegetables.
Kale
The antioxidant boosting effect of Kale also comes handy for smokers. Since cigarette smoke creates so many free radicals in the body, the antioxidants in a smoker’s body are very depleted!
You can add kale to smoothies, soups, pasta sauces, salads, stir fry, or even burger patties.
Kale is not only rich in antioxidants, but it’s also packed with vitamins and minerals such as vitamin K, C, and A, calcium, potassium, and manganese. It also provides protein and fiber.
Kale is really amazing and everybody should incorporate it into their diet, smokers or non-smokers!
Turmeric
The spice Turmeric can also be used to prevent DNA damage from tobacco smoke and prevent lung cancer.
It’s actually the yellow pigment “curcumin” that has the cancer-preventing effect…
Curcumin does not only prevent DNA mutation, but it also helps in killing cancer cells!
You can boost the bioavailability (the absorption) of curcumin by heating the powder in a pan and adding ground black pepper.
The trick is to make a paste and add it to your favorite drink…
What’s you’ll need to make turmeric paste:
- ¼ cup of organic turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon of organic ground pepper
- ½ cup of pure water
Instructions:
In a saucepan, mix all ingredients and stir until it forms a thick paste. You can keep it in the refrigerator in a sealed container for 2 weeks.
Add 1 teaspoon of turmeric paste to a freshly squeezed orange juice or to your favorite smoothie every morning.
Processed meat causes cancer
Studies from Harvard and Columbia Universities have shown that the consumption of processed meats like bacon, ham, bologna, hot dogs and other cold cuts may increase the risk of chronic lung diseases like emphysema.
It could be the preservatives (nitrites) contained in meat that act the same way as the nitrites by-products in tobacco smoke, who are known to promote oxidation.
So, how do you detox from tobacco smoke?
- Avoid all inflammatory and pro-oxidation foods like animal products
- Load up on the fruits and veggie, the anti-inflammatory champions! Visit our pre-cleanse menu for anti-inflammatory recipes.
