5 Powerful Herbs For Lung Health

The lungs are one of your hardest-working organs, taking in over 20,000 breaths every single day. Yet because their job is so automatic, you probably don’t think about them until illness or irritation strikes. These herbs for lung health can help support these vital organs. For those with asthma, respiratory issues, or frequent chest infections, it’s clear just how much lung health can shape your daily life. Add in winter bugs and smoky air, and it’s easy to see why supporting strong, resilient lungs is so important for overall wellbeing.

Herbs have been used for centuries to support the lungs by helping to open the airways, ease irritation, and calm stubborn coughs. Here are some of our favourite lung-loving plants.

1. Californian poppy - The relaxing lung ally

You may already know Californian poppy for its ability to support sleep and relaxation, but did you know it’s also used as a herb for lung health? This amazing plant can help soothe spasms in the respiratory system, which makes it incredibly useful when an annoying cough keeps you up at night. This plant works as an antispasmodic, which means it can help ease spasms in the smooth muscles, including those in and around the respiratory tract. This makes it very useful for soothing irritating coughs and relaxing airways.

🌿Related: 8 Incredible Herbs To Help With Sleep

Californian poppy contains calming alkaloids that can help relax your body and reduce the urge to cough, so you can finally get to sleep. It is not as strong as pharmaceutical sedatives, but that is often what makes it a great choice, as it offers gentle and effective support for both the nervous system and the lungs. We use Californian poppy and thyme in our Chest Tonic.

2. Thyme - Nature’s powerhouse

3. Horehound - Classic cough tamer

Horehound may not be the best tasting herb (it is super bitter), but it is a tried and true cough remedy. It has been used for hundreds of years as a herb for lung health in a variety of ways: cough lozenges, syrups and tinctures. Horehound helps to thin excess mucus, making it much easier to expel (meaning you can breathe easier). Horehound has been traditionally used alongside other powerful bronchial-focused herbs such as thyme, mullein and marshmallow.

🌿Related: 10 Bitter Foods And Why You Should Be Eating Them

Due to its expectorant action, horehound is great when you have a non-productive cough (e.g. when you cough and nothing comes up or when you have that heavy, stuck feeling in your chest). Horehound’s bitter compounds can help to kick-start digestive and respiratory secretions, which help your lungs to clear things out. Horehound works on both the upper and lower sections of your respiratory system, so it can be useful for many bronchial complaints, even sinusitis. We use horehound in our Vira-Defence Elixir.

🌿Related: 5 Herbs For Respiratory Health That You Need To Know About

4. Mullein - The Lung’s gentle blanket

Mullein leaves are soft and fuzzy, and that gentleness translates into how they act within our lungs. Mullein is a demulcent, which means it can help to soothe irritated tissues. So, think of mullein as a soft blanket for inflamed bronchial passages! It is rich in mucilage and saponins and specifically has an affinity for the respiratory system. Its actions include being an expectorant as well as supporting dry (or non-productive) coughs associated with wheezing by calming irritation and inflammation. Traditionally, having it as a tea was the most common way of having this herb. 

5. Licorice root - The harmoniser

Licorice is a great herb for lung health because it has a soothing and anti-inflammatory action that is vital when you have a sore throat from excessive coughing or from being unwell. This is because it contains polysaccharides that give it its soothing demulcent quality. Herbalists love it because it helps to ‘harmonise’ or ‘balance’ formulas, which can help to make the other herb work more efficiently.

Licorice’s ability to coat and calm the respiratory tract provides pain relief for people struggling with painful respiratory viruses. Its antispasmodic action helps to relax irritated airways, and its ability to act as an expectorant means that it helps to remove excess mucus from the lungs.

6. Elecampane - The deep cleanser

Elecampane might not be as well-known as our other lung herbs, but it is a true lung tonic. Elecampane has expectorant, antitussive (cough-suppressing), carminative, and antimicrobial actions. It has documented use from Greek and Roman times, and they considered it to be one of their most important herbs. 

It has proven to be effective in helping to clear the lower respiratory system by helping to expel congestion whilst soothing tissue irritation and inflammation (due to its mucilage content). It is also antibacterial and antiseptic, as shown in this study and has also been used to support gastrointestinal health.

7. Peppermint

We often associate peppermint with supporting digestion. But its volatile oils support antimicrobial and analgesic actions, which can help sore and painful coughing or respiratory illnesses. It also works as a decongestant and antitussive, both greatly helpful for lung health. 

Your lungs are resilient, but winter bugs, pollution, and everyday irritants can make their job harder than you realise. Herbs like thyme, mullein, licorice root, and others are not magic bullets, but they are time-honoured tools that work with the body to soothe, protect, and help to restore balance. Breathing should feel effortless, and when it doesn’t, it is a reminder of just how much our lungs do for us. Regular herbal support can be one way to care for them.