MEDICAL MONDAY: Judson on Herbs for Lung Conditions (congestion & cough)

Hey, y'all. Welcome to this week's show. Today we're going to get into herbs for lungs. And for me, this is a particularly important topic. Before I was five, sometime around the age of four, before my fifth birthday, I developed really bad asthma. It's inherited asthma. You know, ended up in the hospital a lot of times, came pretty close to death several times. And for most of my childhood, really up until about the age of 20, I was on prescription asthma medication, and it made me absolutely miserable. Really, it's the same kind of stuff they make methamphetamine out of now. That's why if you go to buy asthma medication, even across the counter at a drugstore, you have to show your ID, and they record every purchase of it. For me as a kid, it was like walking around with a jar over my head. I was like disconnected from everything, Um, I was either really exhausted or kind of wired and, um, couldn't run very much. I was very short of breath. Um, other than, other than baseball, which I had a natural gift for and rugby and tackling and football, I was kind of, you know, big and strong, but I, I just didn't have a lot of wind and it made it very difficult. Everyone looked at me and said, you know, you're six four, you need to play basketball. And I could not run up and down the court. It was that bad. Um, By the time I hit age 20 or so, I began to have chest pains. The asthma medication had actually weakened my heart. And so I spent the next 20 years of my life taking herbs and strengthening my heart. And that's why I often say I'm in better shape. I'm stronger. I have more endurance. I can work harder, longer, or hike longer trails, even run if I want to. I'm actually healthier now than I was at 18. And I just had my 45th birthday. So for me, this is something I've really dealt with all my life. It's been one of the motivating factors behind me becoming a herbalist. When we talk about herbs for lungs, I'm going to spend some time on asthma. We'll talk about some other lung conditions as well. But it's really important to understand that for most of human history, asthma was inherited. And it was spasmodic asthma. Spasmodic asthma, the bronchioles start to spasm. They constrict. They kind of squeeze the air out of your lungs. Now, as opposed to really before 1950, really before 1960 even, most kids have some form of allergy. And a lot of times that manifests in allergic asthma. We have an epidemic of asthma in the United States. much as we have an epidemic of diabetes or heart disease. And I have very strong opinions as to why that is the case. If we look, for instance, at the Amish, Amish kids have very few instances of asthma or other allergies. Meanwhile, kids that are not Amish that live in the same state, sometimes in the same county, just one town over, may be living right side by side with the Amish have much higher instances of inflammatory allergic conditions such as asthma and bad hay fever. And you know the whole bit. I mean, even down to digestive problems, lactose intolerance, gluten intolerance. These things, these conditions were virtually unknown in the United States even two generations ago. What happened? Well, what did happen? We started eating a lot of processed foods. We started drinking only pasteurized milk. We realized the Amish don't drink pasteurized milk. Our government would tell you, by law, you have to have pasteurized milk because the natural milk from a cow is considered dangerous. Really, the only reason to have pasteurized milk is it has a longer shelf life. Well, the kids, the Amish kids, drink unpasteurized milk, and they're much healthier. They drink well water that doesn't have fluoride in it. and chlorine in it. You know, fluoride is not it has not really been proven to be that good for the teeth, even though it's mandated for that reason in most places. Fluoride was actually used by the Nazis in concentration camps to make their prisoners more docile, make them less likely to revolt and do what they were told. I think that's probably much more the reason to mandate fluoride than it is for dental health. I have said many times our public education system only teaches kids to take orders and do what they're told, to be herded like cattle and slop like hogs. And how better to do that than to give them something that makes them docile and subservient? And say it's for your own good, you know, just like the vaccines are for your own good, right? They're for your own health. Never mind all the vaccine-related injuries and that people who have taken the vaccines and the boosters are actually more likely to get COVID than those who haven't. or at least a second, out of COVID and have actually worse health outcomes than those who did not get vaccinated. Controversial statement, I know, but the National Institutes of Health are finally starting to admit it, and it's actually starting to be admitted on the national news, even though they're still taking billions in tax dollars to advertise for the vaccines, and politicians are still trying to mandate them. All right, so the other thing that we do differently We take a lot of antibiotics. Antibiotics are great for helping you get over a really bad infection, right? But they also destroy your natural gut bacteria, your flora in your gut that is essentially half your immune system. And when you take away the natural immunity, the body tends to overreact and it causes an inflammatory condition. Another thing we stopped doing was eating a lot of fermented foods. fermented pickles, sauerkraut, such as that, even, you know, real beer, real natural beer. The beer you buy from the store has been filtered and pasteurized and then artificially carbonated. The real live yeasts in it are gone. You know, I've had several friends, an ex-girlfriend of mine was very gluten intolerant. And we started talking about it and it turned out, yeah, she'd basically been on antibiotics her entire life. And I mean, starting as a small child, and then she started having all these like urinary tract infections and different things as she got older and eventually developed gluten intolerance. She started showing lactose intolerance. Amazingly, you know, who would have predicted? I would have had. She developed appendicitis and almost died. The appendix, which is actually a small filtering organ that helps balance the gut flora, that helps balance a lot of the body systems. became infected. She almost died. I firmly believe that the first step in all of these allergic and inflammatory and autoimmune conditions is natural diet, natural meat, natural fruits and vegetables, natural grains, get away from the processed foods, try to get off of the pharmaceuticals. If you can get raw milk, uh, You know, in North Carolina, we can't. It's illegal. We cannot buy raw milk. But I can go across the line to South Carolina. I can buy raw milk. It's worth the drive for me. Since I began using fermentation, making my own sauerkraut and pickles, making what's called kefir, which is a fermented beverage, making another one called kombucha, another fermented beverage, my asthma has become, I would say... 50% better, if not 70% better and like totally manageable. That is something no pharmaceutical could ever do for me. I, as maybe 10 years old, I had the full allergy test where they do the scratches on your back with what looks like little screwdrivers to see what you're allergic to. Turned out I was allergic to I'm pollen and mildew. And I live in North Carolina where you cannot get away from pine and mildew and mold. Okay. These fermented beverages and other fermented foods have helped beyond anything I can express. I absolutely swear by them. And I've recommended other people. I've talked with other people. And they've experimented with them. They've started making their own ferments. And these allergies, whether it's rhinitis or it is a serious food allergy, have gotten significantly better for each person so far. That's anecdotal evidence. I'm not saying if you do that, it's going to cure what ails you, obviously. What I'm saying is for each person I know of that has tried it, it has helped. So if you have issues, that's the first step. Now, as far as an herb that's really helped my asthma and my lungs, there's a Chinese herb called Dangxian or Codonopsis. Codonopsis is a Latin name. This herb is so good. It's really especially good for asthma and COPD. It helps tonify the lungs so that you can exhale more fully. It helps pull out some of that inflammation. People who have COPD, it's not that they can, they have as much trouble inhaling as they do fully exhaling. Codenopsis is excellent. How excellent is it? When COVID hit, I should have, knowing what I know, bought like a year's supply of Dengxin or Codenopsis. I didn't. And for two years, there was none available. I could not buy it anywhere. The Chinese bought it all up because they know what they were doing. There are other herbs. There are actually many herbs that are very good for lungs. And I'm just going to try to run through a bunch of them pretty quickly. Somewhat controversial, okay, is tobacco. You may have known someone before that had severe asthma or, you know, other lung problems. And the only way they could breathe was if they smoked tobacco or chewed tobacco. And their doctors would go crazy and tell them not to do it, but they couldn't breathe without it. There's a reason for that. And it's because tobacco is a bronchodilator. Yes, it damages lung tissue. Yes, it can cause lung cancer. Yes, it can trigger asthma in certain people. But for other people, and I've known many of them, especially in the mountains of North Carolina, where people grew up with wood fire and coal fire, and, you know, they had lungs that were, and a lot of them are coal miners, they had lungs that were in pretty bad shape, and the tobacco kept them breathing. I'm not going to recommend tobacco. I use it when I have an asthma attack or a severe inflammation of the lungs that will not quit. That's the one thing that will open up the lungs, help me cough stuff up, and I'm good to go. Okay? I would say that there is an herb that is not been shown to be carcinogenic, has not been shown to be addictive, has not been shown to have any of the side effects of tobacco that acts very much like tobacco. It's called Lobelia. It's also a cardinal flower, the red version. The blue version is Lobelia inflata. That's the one that's native to the United States. For instance, one time, you know, years ago, I'm out taking a hike. It was early spring. And, uh, it was just an impromptu hike. I had not planned to go out for a hike that day. So I didn't have my pack with me. I didn't have anything I needed. I was just walking through the woods and I hit a spot of ice that I didn't see. I fell down a ravine, um, 30 yards and very steep into an icy cold river. And, you know, it was pretty bad. I barely fought my way out of the river, clawed my way up back to the trail. And by then I was, um, the trauma, the quick jolt of cold and everything had triggered an asthma attack. I was also very in danger of going into hypothermia. Well, I mean, like a miracle in this little beam of sunlight was a very early spring lobelia inflata, a blue lobelia growing there. I grabbed it, I picked it up and ate it. And I started walking as fast as I could back to my truck. And I The asthma attack quit. My lungs opened up. I could not have made it back to the truck without that. That's how powerful Lobelia is. It opened up my lungs just as would have tobacco. The thing about Lobelia is it will make you nauseous and throw up if you have too much. Well, just like tobacco. I mean, if you remember your first cigarette, you remember probably getting pretty sick, right? Or your first chew of tobacco. You will have to manage the dosage you use it. dependent on your tolerance for it. And the only way to learn your tolerance for it is to use it and figure out how much of it makes you sick. It was actually very much used by early American herbalists to make people throw up. It was before we had Epikec. It's that strong, what we call an emetic, but it is an absolute lifesaver. If you have lung issues, if you have asthma, I would definitely recommend growing Lobelia in your garden. learning to use it as a tincture. It can be caustic. It can burn your throat and actually really irritate the throat. You want to put a few drops in a glass of water and you'll find your tolerance. Trust me. Like with tobacco, you'll find your tolerance very quickly and you will probably become more tolerant of it over time. Another really quick fix sometimes can be a cup of coffee. A cup of coffee has caffeine in it or a Chinese herb called Mahuang, the American version is called Mormon tea in the United States. It's ephedra. You may remember ephedra was put into diet pills back in the 80s and 90s, and high school and college athletes started taking a lot of it because it's very stimulative. It's almost like an amphetamine, and they started having heart attacks. Obviously, if you're going to take a very strong, isolated compound of ephedra, it's going to affect you that way. If you're taking it as a tea, it's nowhere near as strong. I've also talked before about just as far as allergies, there are certain allergies that can help prevent The histamines from binding to mast cells actually reduce the numbers of mast cells in the body so they can help reduce the likelihood of an allergic reaction. Some of our best are stinging nettles. Stinging nettle tea, you can actually make a soup out of it. It's kind of popular in Europe still. It reduces mast cells. Mimosa. Mimosa has a very similar effect. Ragweed. Actually, the very weed that most people... blame their allergies are on, and it really does. I mean, the pollen is really rough on people, especially will be in the next month or two. Taking the leaves of ragweed and making a tincture or a tea can help prevent the reaction to the ragweed pollen. Another herb I use in a, I put all this in like a mixture. I do it in a formula, and I take it daily. I do mullein, I do thyme, I do ragweed, and I do mimosa. I'll get to mullein in just a second. Thyme is an excellent spectrum It helps bring the mucus out of the lungs. At the same time, we're using cooking. It's a common culinary herb. Mullein is such a great lung herb. Mullein is the thing that looks like a furry tobacco plant. You see it as a weed beside the road, you know, about everywhere you go. Mullein helps reduce the mast cells as well. It helps with the histamine response, but it's also very soothing to the lungs, and it is also an expectorant. It helps get the mucus out of the lungs. Many years ago, I had a horrible case of bronchitis and nothing was getting rid of it. I was just coughing, coughing. I was coughing blood. It was really bad. And there was this little homeless guy that I'd been nice to before. He called himself the last Watauga Indian. Anyway, he was a real character and he comes scurrying up to me. He was not Native American, by the way. He just called himself that. But anyway, he comes scurrying up to me and says, you need to smoke the furry thing. And I'm like, yeah, okay, Josh. All right. I mean, he was a little off, you know, but he was a nice guy. Well, next time he sees me, he brings me some dried mullet. And I did what he said. I smoked it and I coughed up all that junk. And it soothed my lungs. And the bronchitis was completely healed. I mean, within like a couple of days. And like I said, I was taking across-the-counter medications. I was taking prescriptions. Nothing was working. That common weed... that some people call cowboy toilet paper because the leaves are furry and soft and it was apparently used for toilet paper in early America, really good either as a tea, a tincture, or even if you have to, smoke it. I'm not recommending you smoke anything, but it worked for me. And that's how it's been used for hundreds of years. A really common cough syrup in the mountains of North Carolina is made from wild cherry bark. Wild cherry bark, and really any cherry bark, contains a precursor essentially to cyanide. It's an anthocyanin in very small amounts. It is very strongly antispasmodic, meaning that it helps calm rapid breathing, lowers pulse, and stops coughing. It also has an expectorant property. I mean, obviously you would not want to overuse cherry bark. But cherry bark tinctured or even made into a tea has been used for centuries, for generations to help stop coughing and used properly is very safe. Other herbs that have been used both in Europe and in America are coltswood. Coltsfoot is very much like mullein. The texture of the leaves is very similar. It actually looks like an odd-looking dandelion that has furry leaves shaped like a horse's hoof. That's where it gets its name. The Latin name is tussilago for pharaoh. Tussilago, essentially in Latin, means it stops coughing. That's the reason Robitussin is called Robitussin. It's a cough syrup that helps stop coughing, although Robitussin is not made from Coltsfoot. Coltsfoot has been used, I mean, going back to the ancient Greeks and probably beyond that. to help with asthma, coughs, other lung issues. It's expectorant, it's very soothing, and it's one of the best. It's right up there with mullein. If you live in a property owners association and somebody might get upset that you're growing mullein, you can definitely grow coltsfoot as an ornamental flower, and they can be used interchangeably. Chamomile, common chamomile tea you probably had as a child to help you sleep or calm an upset stomach. Very good for colds and flus and congestion. It has some antispasmodic properties. It can also help with coughing. Aloe. Bitter aloe. This is agave americana. Especially boiled with a little bit of honey. taken in small quantities because it can be a strong laxative, actually, has been especially effective for whooping cough. Violets. I've mentioned violets many times. Violets have an aspirin-like compound in them. They're very good for colds and flus. Also, very good for coughs and especially whooping coughs. Almond oil. This is the oil of the almond, the nuts you eat. Really good as an expectorant and for inflammation of the lungs. I've already mentioned common nettle. Nettles are just excellent. They also have expectorant properties. Lime tree, you may know it more as basswood or you may call it linden. Another antispasmodic. Really good for coughs, colds, and it has some expectorant properties. And it's very soothing. It can help It can help a person sleep and calm down. St. John's wort, another herb with a million uses. Really good for phlegm and congestion. Good for coughs and mucus, especially in the lung. Angelica is one in the mountains of North Carolina that grows wild. We would normally combine it in a cough syrup, a tincture with the wild cherry bark. Angelica is almost like a supportive tonic to the lungs. It helps clear the congestion, and it really just seems to strengthen. It really helps with a bad bronchitis or a pneumonia. It helps you recover. Pimpinella is an herb that's very good for calming inflammation in the larynx and the lungs and helps with hoarseness. Master wort, like violet, also has the salicins, like an aspirin. Therefore, it's often used in colds and flus where you might have a fever, but it also helps clear the mucus from the lungs. Common plantain, that weed we always talk about that people are always trying to kill in their yards. It's one of the really good herbs for the lungs. It cleanses. Well, it's a blood cleanser, as they used to say in the old ways. That means it kind of stimulates immunity. It helps you feel better, but it also strengthens the lungs. It helps with coughs. It helps with congestion. It's a good one. It really is. And juniper, you may call it eastern red cedar if you live in the south. That's our native variety. Or you probably have seen a ground covering juniper used in landscaping. It's the same berry used to flavor gin. It has antiviral properties. Excellent for the lungs, for congestion, for coughs. And if you use too much of it for too long, it can irritate the kidneys. So use it with air if you have any kind of kidney issues. Wormwood is an artemisia. Wormwood is antiviral. We've talked about it before. It is also very good for, well, as an expectorant, getting the mucus out of the lungs. Spruce, spruce twigs and needles also can be used much like juniper, really. Speed well is an excellent one. There's an herb actually called lungwort, and it does exactly what it says. Lungwort is good to help get the congestion out of the lung. And there are others. There are astringent herbs like arum leaves, which help bring down some of the inflammation. Many of your astringent herbs you can take as a tea to help with the inflammation. Peppermint is really good for kind of clearing the mucus and bringing down some of that inflammation. There are probably several other herbs. In fact, burnet. Burnet would fall in that same syringe-type herb. And you could put in there, you know, rose petals. You could put in geranium, et cetera. But if you have asthma, if you have severe lung issues, Get a few of these herbs growing in your garden. Like I said, mullein if you can. Get some dangxian. Dangxian actually grows very well in the United States. Again, it's codonopsis. There's a company called Strictly Medicinal Herbs, which will sell you the seeds. And it's really the very best herb I've ever found for the lungs. But for an emergency, whether it's a spasm, a spasmodic issue with a spasmodic asthma or a bad cough, cough that won't stop, or it is, you know, an inflammatory asthma and you really need that bronchial dilation, I swear by Lobelia. Get some. You can get the blue. You can get the red. There's several ornamental varieties. You can plant in your garden. You can have it in a hang pot. Everyone's going to remark on how pretty the plant is, and you know it's really the herbal medicine you need to grab when you need it in an emergency. So, y'all, that about wraps this one up. And I know I'm giving you another big list of herbs. You're going to find one or two in there that are probably going to help. Honestly, they have helped me, so I feel confident saying that. But, of course, I'm not recommending or diagnosing anything. But I have used these herbs literally for decades. And they have made a huge difference for me, along with eating the fermented foods and eating a more natural diet and staying away from a lot of processed foods and the corn syrups and various things that just can cause a lot of inflammation in the system. Have a great week. We'll talk to you next time. The information in this podcast is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease or condition. Nothing I say or write has been evaluated or approved by the FDA. I'm not a doctor. The U.S. Government does not recognize the practice of herbal medicine, and there is no governing body regulating herbalists. Therefore, I'm really just a guy who studies herbs. I'm not offering any advice. I won't even claim that anything I write or say is accurate or true. I can tell you what herbs have been traditionally used for. I can tell you my own experience and if I believe in herbs help me. I cannot nor would I tell you to do the same. If you use an herb anyone recommends, you are treating yourself. You take full responsibility for your health. Humans are individuals and no two are identical. What works for me may not work for you. You may have an allergy, a sensitivity, an underlying condition that no one else even shares and you don't even know about. Be careful with your health. By continuing to listen to my podcast or read my blog, you agree to be responsible for yourself, do your own research, make your own choices, and not to blame me for anything ever.