These days it feels like there's a wildfire popping up on every corner every day. And, with that, it's natural for people to reach out to herbalists wondering, "what's the best herb for wildfire smoke inhalation?" Of course, the first thing most folks are thinking about is the lungs and respiratory health, which makes sense. 

But, what I want to do in this episode, is to encourage you to think beyond that. To think like an herbalist. Because our bodies, they're whole, intricate, and complex beings. And, what's directly impacted by the wildfire smoke isn't just the lungs. It's the nerves, the heart, and our liver sure as heck has some work to do to clear out those toxins from the smoke particulates.

So, if you want to go beyond the band-aid fix, and think more holistically, think like an herbalist, be sure to hit play on this episode, and read on for a quick recap of what's covered.

Here's the deal when it comes to wildfire smoke. It's not just our lungs that are impacted. And while yes, they definitely need some love and support, so much more of the body, the mind, and the soul do as well. So, here's a quick breakdown of what I've been thinking about to support myself, and those in my community when it comes to the stress and impact of these wildfires on our whole beings.

Lungs and The Respiratory System

Yup, you know it. We need to be thinking about how to support the lungs. And, with wildfire smoke, we're often seeing dry, itchy, irritated mucosal tissues all along the respiratory tract. And, the herbs I'm going to be thinking about for that are herbs that are mucilaginous, cooling, soothing and moistening, to counteract what's happening. Herbs like:

Mullein (Verbascum thapsus) -  A Cooling, Soothing Herb for Smoke-Irritated Airways

The flowers and the leaves of this abundant plant have mucilage and triterpene saponins that help create the cooling, coating and protective actions this plant is known for. It's also a nice herb to help reduce the need for your body to cough, which is a natural reflex when we're trying to get rid of something the body doesn't need. 

And, it's wonderfully abundant. So much so that you should probably control the spread of its seeds if you're growing it around you. Funny thing for me, right now, the area I love to gather this plant in the wild is being burned up by the Grasshopper fire on the eastern flanks of Mt Hood where I live. Womp womp, but I do believe it will come back with a majestic beauty that it so easily shines.

Licorice Root (Glycyrrhiza glabra) - Sweet Relief for a Dry, Persistent Cough

This sweet tasting plant is a great herb for reducing that coughing reflex (ehhemmm, that's aka antitussive). It's a specific herb for most upper and lower respiratory tract conditions, and it just works wonders honestly. I love to add it to blends because it's a great harmonizer bringing balance to any herbal blend, and adding a lovely touch of sweet too. Of course, there are several contraindications to be aware of with this plant. Please do your further research here.

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) - A Kitchen Spice for Soothing Smoke-Related Coughs

I love this one because so many folks have some fennel seed sitting right in their spice rack, and if they don't it can easily be found in their local grocery store. Something so powerful about ease and accessibility when it comes to herbs. It's also sweet, and while it's not our most powerful mucilaginous herb, it can still do a fantastic job of easing a cough, and providing that cooling, soothing feeling we need when we're stuck with wildfire smoke all around us. 

Plus, bonus points for yummy! If you're up for diving deeper on Fennel's medicinal properties, and others that are common culinary herbs, be sure to check out Medicines In Your Kitchen here. We do some big time deep dives into the powerful herbs and spices we all know so well.

Anise Seed (Pimpinella anisum) - A Traditional Herb for Dry, Hacking Coughs

Yet another sweet friend with a licorice-like or even fennel like flavor, this is a powerful and underrated herb for respiratory ailments of many kinds. It's specific for that chronic dry hacking cough, smoker's cough (hello wildfires). It's cooling, it's mucilaginous, it's tasty, and it does a darn fine job of reducing respiratory spasms and inflammation. Ooh, and did I mention it's easy to use too?

Nervous System Support

It is stressful as fu*k to deal with wildfires. Fearing you could lose everything, from your favorite places in nature, to your home and everything you own. That's never going to feel good. And having to watch those apps to see how close the fire is coming to you. So unfun. 

Then, when you consider that your breathing is directly related to your mood and nervous system, it all starts to make some sense as to why we'd want to consider some herbs for supporting the nervous system. While there's loads I could consider here, these days, I'm leaning heavily on this one.

Linden (Tilia spp.) - Calming the Nervous System When Wildfire Smoke Takes Its Toll

Another amazing plant friend that has those mucilaginous compounds, allowing for that cooling coating to support our respiratory tract needs. And, it's phenomenal for giving the nervous system the love that it needs too. 

I've built an amazing relationship with this plant over the years. To the point that I can think of the tree, and feel its loving arms wrapping around me as if to hug me with a loving embrace, that says "It's ok Mel, we're going to get through this too". And, I literally feel this throughout my body. I don't even have to be near it anymore to feel this. It's really beautiful! 

And, this herb also has a great affinity for the heart. Just a beautiful herb in all ways when dealing with wildfire smoke. Nerves: check. Heart: check. Respiratory system: check. Liver support: well, maybe not directly, but reducing the stress load helps the liver too.

Speaking of Liver Support

This is where most folks will not go when considering wildfire smoke inhalation. But, supporting the liver is so important here. There's so many random particulates and bunches of nastiness floating through the air with these wildfires. And those are toxins. And, what's one of your liver's main jobs? To get rid of toxins in the body. So, I want to think about supporting the liver in any way I can (pretty much always though). So, here's some liver support I spoke about in this episode.

Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum) - Supporting the Liver During Wildfire Season

This one is perhaps one of the most impactful herbs to support the liver in every way possible. From helping to restore damaged liver cells, to protecting it from toxins and pathogens to begin with. It's the seeds of this mighty thistle that pack the liver loving punch. I dive super deep on using Milk Thistle in this herbal monograph/study you can check out here.

Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) - A Dual-Purpose Herb for Respiratory & Liver Support

Yup, here it is, Licorice again. Same yummy stuff I wanted here for the dry respiratory issues, is also going to be supportive for the liver. It actually has the ability to improve liver function overall by working to prevent damage to liver cells. It's helpful for the overall detoxification process as well as acting as a hepatoprotective (herb geek speak for liver protector). We could talk for days on this powerful plant, for real.

Herbs For Loving The Heart

Literally, figuratively, and spiritually, the heart could really use some love and support during wildfires. At least mine sure can! I'm a big big lover of this precious planet of ours, and all living things on this earth. And, watching the rapid change happening, knowing we now have "fire season" , knowing so many animals are dying and losing their homes, and so many of my favorite plant friends getting scorched. And, that's just the stuff that didn't build their lives there intentionally, like we humans. All of this stuff absolutely crushes my heart. Enter the herbs I choose to give a bit of extra love here.

Hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) - Heart Support During the Stress of Wildfire Season

This beloved tree is an herbalist's absolute go to for all things heart and circulatory health. It's wonderful for strengthening and toning the entire cardiovascular system in so many ways. But, I chose it here because it's also wonderful for supporting the heart during the grieving process. And, yes, I am grieving so much loss, as I imagine many others are. This herb also has an affinity for opening the heart to giving and receiving of love. And, we'll, I feel like we all need to give and receive more love. So, welcome Hawthorn.

Linden (Tilia spp.) - A Heart-Soothing Herbal Ally During Difficult Times

Just a quick mention on this fabulous herb again. I know I briefly mentioned it above when talking about the support for the nerves, also being supportive for the heart. And yes, yes, Linden is a superstar here too.

Bringing It All Together

The Herbs, The Body, Mind, Soul

If you noticed in this post, I'm really talking about a lot of different herbs that address a lot of different aspects of the human body, mind, and soul. And I'm doing this for so many reasons. 

We are beautifully intricate and complex beings. And the more we learn to look at all the aspects of healing a person may need, the better we can become at choosing herbs and formulations that can be the most supportive. 

And with that, the more we're able to look at herbs, and see the various ways they can support someone, like our friend Linden helping in so many areas here, and add them to a formula to more effective we’ll be with our formulas. 

This is thinking like an herbalist. And this is what will lead you to becoming so much more impactful when it comes to whole body mind soul healing with plant medicines.

If you're looking to deepen your herbal knowledge, skills and practice, I invite you to join us inside the Community Herbalist Certification and Mentorship, or just keep tuning into this podcast and sharing with others so we can all keep making herbalism #SpreadLikeWildflowers (instead of wildfires! Yes, that's how I came up with that saying, during the 2020 wildfires I had to evacuate from)

Sending wishes of love, safety, and peace to you and yours!