Saturday 6 March 2010

Lung Tonic write up - Sam's story

One of my Neighbours came to see me last year she had been suffering from a serious lung condition, sarcoidosis, for several years. After doing a full case history it transpired that her skin problems were really upsetting her. I explained to her that the lungs are a major organ of elimination in our bodies and if toxins are not getting out by this means they have to come out in other places like the skin and this is a probable cause of her skin troubles.

One of the ways toxic waste material generated by the body is passed out of the system as a gas through the lungs. Carbon dioxide is exchanged for oxygen during the process of breathing.

Breath is life. We can do without food for weeks, without water for days, but without air for minutes before the body dies. Signs of shallow breathing include shortness of breath, tight, aching chest muscles, weak voice, tension in the shoulders from efforts to overcome insufficient inhalation, gradually there can become a loss of strength, energy and a susceptibility to emotional and mental exhaustion. Improving the exchange of gases results in better oxygenation of the blood and better removal of toxic wastes.

After a few weeks taking our Lung Tonic which contains thyme, liquorice, elecampane, mullein, marshmallow leaf and plantain (these herbs help to tonify, strengthen, protect and clear the lungs), she visited the asthma clinic, after not taking her pump inhalers and her peak flow (which is a measure of lung capacity) had been maintained. Also, this winter she hasn’t had to resort to antibiotics once, where as the last few yrs it has been a continuous struggle fighting bronchitis and other infections. Her doctor however, has told her that she is wasting her money on the herbs!!!???

The delicious, pungent, elecampane root tincture in the lung tonic: Our mate Nihal gave us some of his aromatic elecampane root harvested to make room for the new schoolhouse in his garden. It has such a floral scent for a root and makes a tincture that tastes like palmer violets. It is known best as a respiratory tonic, used as an expectorant to ease breathing and clear the lungs in cases of asthma, bronchitis and pulmonary infections of varying severity. A bitter tonic, elecampane is also a digestive herb, and was used in the manufacture of absinthe in Europe. The active ingredient, helenin has been shown to have antiseptic properties and there has been research in Ireland to show that the flowers are effective against the MRSA hospital ‘superbug’, resistant to most strong antibiotics.

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