Secrets of Korean Medicine, Part 16: The Benefits of Cleaning Your Lungs

We sustain our lives through two core tracts: the digestive tract and the respiratory tract. But we pay much more attention to eating than breathing because eating is conscious while breathing is not. However, I have seen the health of many people dramatically improve after they thoroughly cleansed their respiratory tracts, and I believe that being able to breathe well is necessary in order to achieve longevity and great health.

Several years ago, a middle-aged man told me how chronic inflammation of the mucus membrane of his nose (chronic rhinitis) drastically changed the course of his life. 

He was a talented, smart child; however, toward the end of elementary school, he stopped growing due to lack of sleep caused by his stuffy nose, and he could not concentrate due to inadequate supply of oxygen to his brain. Moreover, he suffered various minor illnesses arising from breathing through his mouth because of his blocked nose. These conditions eventually changed the shape of his face by causing his jaw to protrude.

Although a stuffy nose once in a while is not a big deal, when the condition is chronic and the person has a bad case of the flu, this will cause severe inflammation that extends to the bronchial tubes, increasing the likelihood that the person will develop chronic asthma and leading to a cascade of other health challenges that can be life-threatening.

Inflammation in the Lungs Is Serious

When healthy people are exposed to cold winter weather without sufficiently warm clothes, they will start to sniffle, and it may appear that they have a cold. However, this sniffling is not due to a disease, but rather is a protective reaction that helps protect the body from the cold air. When a person’s reaction to cold includes sneezing, this indicates that inhaled pathogens and dust are being discharged.

Accordingly, these kinds of reactions indicate normal physiological processes rather than any kind of pathology. It can be difficult to clearly distinguish a mild cold, which is a pathology,  from these physiological processes; however, if you develop a fever, then it is certainly a pathology.

A fever indicates that pathogens have broken through the mucous membrane in the nose, passed by the tonsils, and made it into the bronchial tubes.

When this happens and a person has healthy tonsils, the tonsils will not be affected and will secrete an abundance of important immune cells (lymphocytes), which can suppress an invasion of many kinds of viruses and bacteria, including pneumococcus, the bacteria that is responsible for many diseases, including ear infections and meningitis.

After passing the tonsils, pathogens infiltrating the respiratory system make their way deeper into the lungs. If the tonsils are healthy enough, the pathogens will encounter an outstanding defense force that the body has allocated to protect the lungs. The lymphocytes are an important part of this force.

Other parts of this defense force include the bronchial tubes, which are covered with mucous that grabs dust and pathogens, and millions of minute hair-like organelles called cilia that continuously wave back and forth to move contaminated mucus so it can be coughed out as phlegm.

However, if the movements of cilia do not occur normally due to weakened pulmonary functions, inflammation will infiltrate the bronchial tubes, thereby filling them with gluey phlegm. This phlegm will constrict the bronchial tubes and induce bronchitis, which is characterized by a chronic cough and difficulty breathing.

If the condition is further aggravated, a person may start to cough with a sound that resembles a dog barking. When the inflammation infiltrates the air sacs of the lungs, the result will be pneumonia.

Pneumonia that manifests with a fever over 102 degrees Fahrenheit is like having a venomous snake enter the body. Healthy tonsils prevent the body’s temperature from reaching this high, and fevers below this are like being bitten by a snake that is not poisonous.

Even if pneumonia has been safely suppressed, harmful substances that enter the lungs may accumulate for several decades inevitably damaging pulmonary cells. After a certain number of cells are damaged, various diseases, such as pulmonary emphysema, bronchiectasis, and pulmonary fibrosis, can develop.

However, even if the lungs have been damaged, there are still systems in the body that can restore them to a healthy state, namely the immune system.                                                                                                                                             

Lymph Nodes Key to Restoration

The human body has between 500 and 700 lymph nodes, which are connected throughout with a web-like network of capillaries, ducts, and other vessels. The function of the lymph system is to help the body get rid of waste and toxins.

The tonsils, located in the throat, are important lymph organs. You can think of them as a king that commands the lymph system. When the tonsils regain health through fortification of pulmonary functions, the entire lymphatic system will pledge its loyalty to the “king” who has regained vigor and excellent health. The king declares: “The common cold accompanied by fever will not be allowed anymore, and pneumococcus will no longer be tolerated. Get rid of any cold within two to three days.”

Everything will happen in line with the words of the king. The immune system will increasingly prosper and won’t allow any disease to manifest in the body. After four months of pulmonary cleansing, the lymph system will even prevent further growth of cancer cells and help the body overcome the disease.

Life and Death Depend on the Lungs

Even the healthiest people in the world will accumulate a lot of harmful substances in their lungs by the time they reach the age of 90.

If you have smoked for more than 35 years or suffered tuberculosis or tuberculous pleurisy, which occurs when the tissues lining the lungs and chest cavity become infected, the accumulation of harmful substances in the lungs will be accelerated and destroy the pulmonary cells at a relatively younger age. When the respiratory tract, which is a lifeline for the body, is blocked, it can quickly lead to death.

Related Coverage

E-Cigarettes May Open Lungs to the Flu

Acupuncture for Seasonal Allergies Part 2

Pulmonary cleansing therapy can restore, reopen, and revive the respiratory tract. When the lungs are thoroughly cleansed, the body will be able to get rid of toxic substances, and the skin will become clear and clean. Once clean lungs have made the skin healthy and youthful, within the next six to eight months, the density of the bones will increase. Continuous pulmonary cleansing will also greatly boost your immune system, which will slow the pace of aging.

In my 43 years of clinical practice, I have found that treatment and prevention of disease are like two sides of the coin. That is, if prevention is possible, treatment is also possible.

Since the roots of all diseases lie in the lungs, the secret to treating them obviously also lies in the restoration of the health of the lungs. Pulmonary cleansing will lead to improved health of the tonsils, which helps restore the vitality of the lymph system. A vital lymph system will fortify the entire immune system, opening the door to longevity in excellent health.

Dr. Seo Hyo-seok is the director of the Pyunkang Korean Medicine Hospital, which has seven branches in South Korea, one at Stanton University in California, and one in Atlanta. Dr. Seo entered Kyung Hee University in Korea at the top of his class and after years of research, developed the Pyunkang-Hwan herbal formula, which improves immunity by strengthening lung function. It has helped cure over 155,000 patients of various conditions.

Find out more at Pyunkang.com

Email: [email protected]