After a very wet summer and autumn and a similar start to this year, everything is feeling decidedly damp. Our snow melted after a couple of days and it seemed that was the only taste of real winter we have had. Now everything has returned to the general dampness that has characterised most of the last year, a perpetual grey autumn leading on to a somewhat murky spring. The path from our house hasn’t dried out in months, the few bright days we have had not being enough to combat the effect of months of wet!
Whilst it may sound like an obvious point to make, the environment and weather patterns outside our door play a vital role in the patterns of health and disharmony that we experience at any given time. So it’s little wonder than this year has been especially prolific in damp, phlegmy colds, chesty coughs and stuffy noses. The milder temperatures also allow bacteria to thrive and the general feeling of stagnation that comes from a water logged environment contributes to stagnation in our own bodies. So many people I have spoken to this winter have had colds and coughs that have hung on stubbornly for longer than usual and, even after they are feeling much better, there has still been some lingering phlegmy-ness!
While mucus is a natural and important part of our bodies, lining and protecting delicate membranes, phlegm is essentially the mucus of the respiratory passages gone bad! Whilst a balanced amount of mucus is essential to health, phlegm is often thicker, stickier and more related to states of disease or disharmony. Often when there is infection, the body will produce more mucus to help cleanse out the membranes but this can become congested or stuck leaving us with blocked passages along with a general sense of tiredness and malaise.
In TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) conditions of ‘phlegm’ often arise from excess ‘damp’, but whereas damp is thin and watery, phlegm will be thick, sticky and cause obstructions. There will usually be a more obvious thick coating on the tongue along with other signs of congestion. Phlegm can also cause a whole host of other symptoms from dizziness and swellings to palpitations and a feeling of detachment. Dietary measures are often recommended to combat excess damp or phlegm including reducing or eliminating damp causing foods like dairy, bananas, pork, wheat products, beer and sugary foods. Foods to add in often involve root vegetables, garlic and onion, warming spices and teas of orange or lemon peel.
In Ayurvedic medicine phlegm would be seen as a disorder of kapha and treated with warming, drying herbs and lifestyle advice, as it would in Western energetics where the appropriate term, ‘phlegmatic’ sums up the constitution that is prone to an excess of the humour ‘phlegm’.
Depending on the nature of the client and their disharmony, there would be a few herbal categories that we would want to consider when treating people with excessive phlegm including mucus membrane tonics, immune tonics, expectorants, anti-catarrhals and possibly diaphoretics.
Firstly, if possible we would want to think about eliminating causes. This is relatively easy if they are dietary but much harder if they are environmental (a nice long holiday perhaps?). Then we would generally think about treating symptoms with a mix of herbs. Bearing in mind that everyone is different and each person’s unique symptoms and constitution must be considered, here is a list of a few herbal helpers that you may find useful when phlegmy-ness strikes.
Warming spices and aromatics:Â For many problems involving phlegm, these will be our first herbs of choice. Most warming spices will also have a slightly drying quality and many of the best ones can already be found in your kitchen cupboard such as ginger, cayenne, cinnamon and cardamom. Regular doses of these as tea or tincture will help to warm your whole body which will thin mucus and enable it to be expelled more easily. You can also add them to foods- think of how your nose runs after a spicy curry!
Aromatics will open up the channels and move stagnation and some are still harvestable over the winter months, even though they may not be at their peak in terms of taste or constituents. In particular I have been using rosemary and thyme from the garden this winter to add to foods or to make simple teas that warm body and mind and disperse congestion. Among the most useful of the aromatic herbs for phlegmy coughs is elecampane, Inula helenium, which has a wonderful combination of warming stimulating essential oils and soothing relaxing mucilage.
Mucus membrane tonics:Â In this category, goldenseal reigns supreme for treating the sinuses, however it is not a native herb and is highly endangered in the wild. Luckily there are some who are trying to grow it in this country. If you do use goldenseal, make sure you always buy from reputable suppliers who are making efforts to protect this valuable herbal ally. Elecampane is once again a very valuable asset for the lungs, as is hyssop, another wonderful aromatic with expectorant, anti-inflammatory and anti-spasmodic properties.
Anti-catarrhals: These include elecampane, aniseed and goldenseal as well as goldenrod, eyebright and elderflower. Elecampane and aniseed are wonderful where phlegm has settled in the lungs whilst the others are more helpful for upper respiratory congestion and sinusitis. Ground ivy is one of my favourite herbs for clearing catarrh and is very prolific in this region.
Immune stimulants and anti-microbials: These herbs can help stop infection from occurring and turning a stuffy nose into a full blown sinus infection. Echinacea root is useful as an immune stimulant in general but I find it particularly useful where problems of the upper respiratory tract are involved – you can often feel a good extract tingling all through your sinuses. Garlic and onion are also very valuable allies, lots of chopped, raw garlic sprinkled on food is wonderfully anti-microbial and very warming. Elderberry is well known for its ability to improve immunity also and thyme pairs well with it as a warming ant-microbial.
As always if you are unsure of anything or have pre-existing health concerns it is wise to consult a local herbalist. Bearing that in  mind, I hope this has given you a few ideas for how to help yourself feel bright and well during these dark, damp days.
thank you for sharing your wisdoms, nice to see some I already have used in abundance either in cooking or teas and even nicer to see the ones I haven’t so I can add them to the repetoire. This infor is exactly the kind of thing I’m looking to absorb. much love and light x x x
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Hi Rose, thank you, it’s always so lovely to hear when something is useful to people. 🙂 xx
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Ironically, I am noticing myself sniffling and feeling a little stuffy as I read this! Perfect timing 🙂 “Root vegetables, garlic and onion, warming spices and teas of orange or lemon peel,” – yum, yum. I think there is always a certain part of me that enjoys being sick because it reminds me to eat all those wonderful warming foods that are so delightful when one is feeling under the weather. Lovely, informative post!
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Definitely sounds like time for a curried root veg soup and some rosemary and ginger tea. And an early night with a good book I think! That’s your official prescription 🙂 xx
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thank you so much for that. I made a tincture of plantain, elecampane and sage and am treating several people around me with it. Cannot vow that it is an instant cure, but then again, kids and compliance…..
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Yes indeed, compliance is always an issue, and not just with kids! 🙂
Sounds great though!
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Great article, concise, informative and pleasant to read….thanks!!!
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Thanks Cathy!
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I love the way you integrate so many different elements–the environment, the seasons, traditional European understanding of the elements and their relationship to the body, and even TCM and Ayurveda. This is SO useful to be able to see the way herbs act holistically. When I read your posts I really get how these things interrelate and why the herbs are effective.
Thanks for this wonderful post! Oh P.S.–I made some cough medicine following your recipe for my mother, who is very prone to coughs and phlegm, and it has been working beautifully. 🙂
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Ah thank you so much. It’s so lovely for me to read when people find posts useful. 🙂
And I’m so glad the syrup is helping your Mum too!
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You have certainly had your share of rain… and ours! Love the fog photo. We finally had two days of rains this weekend.. we needed it! We haven’t even had a decent snow, this year. Such strange weather for us. Wonderfully informative post, Lucinda. A spicy curry sounds like a lovely prescription to me ;*) love and hugs to you xx
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Hi Leslie,
I’m glad to hear the rains came for you at last. Strange weather all over it seems! I hope your garden is doing ok, and the bees of course.
Love to you xxx
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Hi Lucinda,
Love your blog !
I have a request from a friend who just had a baby for hand made face & body creams, which I studied at Aromantics as well. She had realy bad pregnancy & her skin is very dull & grey ( she said).
But I would appreciate any suggestions please which vegetable oils & essential oils to use & which ones to avoid for a new mother?
Many thanks in advance.
Tatiana
________________________________
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Hi Tatiana,
Is her skin more dry and dull or more oily and dull?
If it’s more dry and dull some calendula infused oil and rose essential oil would be great. With something nice and rich like avocado, rosehip, hemp or macadamia oil.
If it is more oily a small amount of lavender, lemon, palmarosa and/ or cedarwood oils will help to balance and brighten the complexion. With light base oils like hazelnut or jojoba. Always be careful of nut oils though if you are not sure about allergies in the baby.
Be careful of any essential oils that are too strong. To be honest though most of the ones that are commonly used on the face are quite gentle so stick to things like lavender, rose, palmarosa, chamomile and gentle citrus oils and you should be fine. Use in about 0.5% dilution or even 0.25% if there is sensitivity.
Hope that is some help. If you give me some more details I can try to help further.
Take care x
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Don’t forget to breathe less, CO2 is the most effective expectorant, it also decreases viscosity of mucous further facilitating its elimination, maybe it sounds counterintuitive but by breathing less you increase retention of CO2.
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Thanks pranarupa!
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Hi Lucinda,
I’m not sure how I ended up here on your blog but I am so glad that I did (I think I was searching for details about high cholesterol)!
I have struggling with what the doctors think is asthma and excess phlegm for the last 12 months and although the inhaler I use now helps a bit I am still not feeling on top form. I am 55 and am surprised that asthma should suddenly flare up in mid-life. It is especially annoying as I run marathons for charity and it has really affected my running training over the colder months. Also, last year I reacted strongly to the high pollen count, again something that has never affected me before (being a country girl and a keen gardener). My diet is already good and I’ve been vegetarian for 20 years (although my cholesterol level keeps going up and up!) with dairy and eggs added only occasionally.
Your comments about herbs and spices to get rid of phlegm were very interesting and I shall definitely experiment with them – I love curry so it’s no hardship!
Thank you so much for such a detailed and informative post.
Kindest regards, Susie
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Oh I’m sorry to hear that Susie. It sounds like there could be other things underlying the problem, is there a local herbalist you could see in your area that could do a full consultation with you and look at all the different factors that could be influencing your condition? Herbs can often be a lot of help for asthma.
Where do you live? If in the UK I might be able to recommend someone local to you.
Cholesterol is often linked to other factors than just diet too so it could be worth having a full consultation with someone who can give you something suited to your individual needs.
All the best anyway and thank you for your comment.
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Hi Lucinda,
I’m in East Sussex inbetween Hastings and Tunbridge Wells. Any recommendations most welcome please. Many thanks, Susie
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Susie, could you email me at whisperingearth.gmail.com? Then I can pass on some recommendations! I am also in East Sussex but possibly a bit far from you. I know a couple of good herbalists that are closer to Hastings though. 🙂
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Thanks Lucinda, I’ve emailed you.
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