The lungs are the main organs of our respiratory system.  The right lung is composed of 3 lobes and weighs a little over a pound.  The left lung weighs a little under a pound and consists of 2 lobes.  The trachea enters the lungs and branches out into bronchi, and then bronchioles (about .01 inches in diameter), and eventually into 250 million air sacs called alveoli.  Capillaries bring blood low in oxygen and high in carbon dioxide to the lungs.  The carbon dioxide diffuses into the alveoli for removal and oxygen is transferred to the capillaries.

We normally have a respiration rate of approximately 16 breaths per minute, inhaling about 1 pint with each inspiration.  The lungs hold about 1 gallon of air.  During sleep we require about 2 gallons of air per minute and this can increase by 600% during exercise.  During heavy exercise we need up to twenty times as much oxygen as during resting.

The lungs are somewhat elastic and expand and contract during breathing.  The contraction and expansion of the diaphragm, elevation and depression of the ribs, and actions of the abdominal muscles, scalene, and quadratus lumborum all play a role.  During inspiration, the diaphragm moves downward and the lungs expand.  This causes the atmospheric pressure in the lungs to decrease and airflows in.  During expiration, the diaphragm moves up, the lungs contract, the atmospheric pressure increases, and air flows out.

Cilia are located along the air passages to and in the lungs.  They help trap particles and they beat toward the pharynx to remove the particles and excessive mucus.

The lungs normally contain about 1 pint of blood but they can act as a blood reservoir carrying up to 3 pints (to release the extra when needed.

Symptoms of Lung Dysfunction

1) Symptoms of bronchitis include muscle pain, sore throat, coughing, and wheezing, respiratory tract infection.

2) Symptoms of asthma include difficulty breathing, wheezing, shortness of breath, tightness, coughing, increased heart rate.

3) In emphysema the alveoli become distended and rupture due to irritation.  Carbon dioxide becomes trapped in the lungs and exhalation is difficult.  There is a decreased number of pulmonary capillaries and a decreased capacity of the lungs to oxygenate the blood.  Shortness of breath and lack of energy are common symptoms.

4) Symptoms of lung cancer include coughing, wheezing, chest pain, weakness, weight loss, expelling blood from the lungs.

Causes of Lung Dysfunction

1) Smoking is the most common cause of lung problems.  People that habitually smoke more than two packs of cigarettes daily are 20-30 times as likely to develop lung cancer as non-smokers.  Women smoking at least 10 cigarettes daily are 7.4 times as likely to die of lung cancer as non-smokers.  Parents who smoke increase a child's risk of developing lung problems.  Bronchitis and asthma are also aggravated by smoking (90% of all people suffering from bronchitis are smokers).

2) Besides smoking, hypoadrenia, eating dairy products if you are allergic to them, gas and wood stoves, all can contribute to or cause bronchitis.

3) Asbestos, uranium ore, and nickel dust can also cause lung cancer.

4) Asthma has many causes.  Most asthmatics suffer from hypoadrenia and/or hypoglycemia.  These conditions combined with a weak immune system and decreased hydrochloric acid output make it very likely that asthma will be contracted under the right environmental conditions.  Aspirin, emotional trauma, molds, allergies (especially milk), growing up on artificial infant formula, sodium bisulphate (used in salad bars to keep lettuce from wilting), sulphur dioxide (in car exhaust and used to preserve dried fruit), sodium benzoate (a common food preservative) can all trigger asthma attacks.

5) Living in the city with its air pollution can cause most types of lung diseases.

6) Nerve pressure in the upper thoracic can cause lung problems (see Appendix A).

7) Parquet is an herbicide used often today on millions of acres of farmland in the U.S.  It makes tilling unnecessary before planting soybeans, wheat, corn, and sunflowers, cotton.  In Hawaii it is used to kill dogs and also on some crops.  It has been detected in some towns' water supplies.  Paraquat is extremely dangerous and often fatal.  It concentrates in the lungs, makes them red, soft, and crunchy, and increases their weight by 150%.  The lungs become filled with fibrous tissue, oxygen passage is blocked and you slowly suffocate.  Clay taken soon after the exposure is the only known antidote.  It is most often lethal.  In minute doses blood clots and decreased oxygen passage are the main effects.

Other Indications of Lung Dysfunction

A weak serratus anterior or middle deltoid on manual muscle testing can indicate lung dysfunction (see Appendix C and figures 23.1, 23.2). Prevention and Treatment of Lung Dysfunction 1) Don't smoke.  Avoid living in an area of heavy air pollution. 2) Heavy exercise and abdominal breathing help clear the lungs.  Sunlight speeds up the removal of dust and particles from the lungs.

3) Borage tea and slippery elm tea are helpful in lung conditions, as is a mixture of lemon juice and fig juice (from soaking dried figs overnight).

4) Antihistamines dry up secretions and make particulates harder to expel in lung problems.  They should be avoided if possible.

5) If you suspect nerve pressure as a possible cause, see a good chiropractor (see Appendix A).

6) Rub 2 reflex points between the 3rd and 4th ribs next to the sternum, 1 minute daily, for 2 weeks, to stimulate the lungs.

7) For emphysema - stop smoking, get lots of exercise, and eat garlic and lots of raw fruits and vegetables.

8) For bronchitis - stop smoking, check your adrenals, and eliminate dairy products.  The following herbs are reported helpful as teas: mullein, milkweed, coltsfoot, chickweed, and anise.  A poultice of charcoal and flaxseed or of onion is reported helpful, as is hot and cold fomentations (to the chest) or showers (3 minutes hot followed by 30 seconds cold).

9) In asthma:
    a) Find the cause.  Evaluate the adrenals, pancreas, thyroid, pituitary, liver, thymus, spleen (any organ that can cause hypoglycemia or a weakened immune system), stomach (for decrease hydrochloric acid).
    b) Stay on the adrenal recovery diet for 2-3 months and then after that only a minimum amount of sweets and oils are allowed (2 tablespoons of each per week in all your foods is the maximum allowed).  No dairy, alcohol, marijuana, tobacco, medications.
    c) Get out into the forests and seashore as often as possible.  Air charged with positive ions as in artificially heated or air conditioned buildings can aggravate asthma.  Sunlight is very beneficial for asthmatics.
    d) Develop a good posture, dress warmly, give yourself a dry brush massage daily (with a loofa sponge is ideal) to increase elimination.
    e) Breathe deeply, about once every hour forcefully expel all your air.
    f) Keep your home dust  and mold free, avoid smokers.

10) During acute asthma attacks:
    a) Depress the soft spot behind the angle of your jaw (on each side) for 2 minutes.  Also press in beneath the sternoclavicular joint for 2 minutes.  These will inhibit vagus and phrenic nerve function and often calm acute attacks.
    b) Hot packs on the chest or pouring cold water on the back of the neck for 90 seconds are reported to be able to relieve acute attacks.
    c) Drinking 2 cloves of garlic blended in hot water can help alleviate an attack, as can hot comfrey tea, passion flower tea, and inhaling eucalyptus.
    d) Forcefully expelling all your air through a small straw into a gallon of water can help relieve an acute attack.

11) One of our most dramatic cases was a 63-year-old woman that had had asthma since she was a small child.  She had been on two inhalants and one oral asthma medication for as long as she could remember.  They helped her somewhat yet she would still wheeze almost daily.  Her adrenals tested weak and we put her on the adrenal recovery diet (though we did allow her a little meat).  We rubbed the adrenal reflexes and gave her some mullein and licorice root.  Within 3 weeks she was off all medication and had stopped wheezing.  She is still doing well but when she does backslide and starts eating sweets her wheezing does temporarily return.

In Hawaii the number of people with asthma, especially children are alarming.  It appeared in my practice that mold, mildew, and pollen, could trigger the attacks, but the causes would most often be milk and wheat allergies, weak adrenals, thymus, pancreas, low hydrochloric acid (not all of these on each patient but usually a combination of 2 or 3 of the above).  I found an almost 100% success rate with patients that were willing to make all the necessary diet, therapeutic, and life style changes, including lots of exercise and water drinking.  When the organs and glands became strong; the molds, pollen, and mildew would no longer trigger the attacks.  If they didn't follow instructions their asthma was not helped.

We also found that as a general rule for both allergies and asthma, the longer a patient had been on medication to control the condition, the longer it would take for their body to heal.  It appears that the medication would bring short-term relief but weaken the body and create a long-term problem.  Epinephrine is given often in asthma to abort an acute attack.  It is an adrenal hormone, and being taken from an outside source it will temporarily be a benefit.  In the long run it will weaken the adrenals and will create a chronic problem.

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