Re: Is smoke healthy?

[Guest guest]

On 1/9/08, haecklers <haecklers@...> wrote:

> It makes me wonder about fire and smoke. Like, can the body get

> vitamin D (precursor) from firelight just like from sunlight?

I'm not sure, but I think you would get lots of red and infrared

light, which is healing.

Chris

[Guest guest]

Smoke of any form can help kill off microbes living on your skin and

in your lungs. In terms of daily exposure - such as cigarettes - this

is undesirable. However, you've made me wonder if occasional smoke

exposure to specific smokes could be helpful when getting rid of

pathogenic microbes...

As for mineral absorption - I don't know. I do know that certain

minerals can be absorbed through the skin but I don't know if the same

ones can be transported through smoke - I would think a lot of them

would be left in the soot (but small amounts of soot are part of the

smoke)...

Interesting! Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I'd love to hear

other people's thoughts about this.

-Lana

> If there are healing types of fungi growing in the wood you burn,

> does inhaling the smoke " medicate " you?

>

> If there are minerals in the smoke, do you benefit from inhaling it?

>

> I wasn't standing in the smoke taking deep breaths, but we were

> burning a lot of the trimmings from the wild plum trees and it did

> smell pretty good, so I wasn't exactly avoiding the smoke either.

[Guest guest]

We heat with wood. An outdoor furnace provides heat for the house and

hot water. A stove downstairs provides additional heat for the

downstairs and I cook (winter only) on a wood cookstove upstairs. I

have chest pains when low pressure keeps the smoke on the ground and

in the house. Don't think it's that great for me but it's just a 15-20

days out of the year that it is really bad.

Belinda

--- In , " haecklers " <haecklers@...>

wrote:

>

> OK, WAP said the people in (?Ireland?) had smoky homes and used the

> sooty straw from their roofs to fertilize their gardens, right? Is

> there a way inhaling smoke can get minerals into us? Don't the

> Native Americans have some healing herbs that they smoke?

>

> I'm curious because once more I was just starting to recover from a

> cold and we had a little campfire, burned lots of sticks that blew

> down from a windstorm and roasted hotdogs. I felt great. Had been

> having post nasal drip, sinus ache, fatigue, etc. It left when I

> started the fire and never came back again. And it's not the first

> time that has happened.

>

> It makes me wonder about fire and smoke. Like, can the body get

> vitamin D (precursor) from firelight just like from sunlight?

>

> If there are healing types of fungi growing in the wood you burn,

> does inhaling the smoke " medicate " you?

>

> If there are minerals in the smoke, do you benefit from inhaling it?

>

> I wasn't standing in the smoke taking deep breaths, but we were

> burning a lot of the trimmings from the wild plum trees and it did

> smell pretty good, so I wasn't exactly avoiding the smoke either.

>

> I had been to my sister's for Christmas. She had a 13 " X 9 " pan of

> fudge there to greet us and after that it only got worse. I was

> going to be strong, but you've never tasted her homemade fudge. So I

> hadn't felt " right " since, until the fire. The next morning I woke

> up feeling right as rain, better, really. So what's the deal with

> fires?

>

[Guest guest]

I read on BBC once that small amounts of Carbon Monoxide has very

beneficial effects on the body and they have been using it to assist

in organ transplants.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7052553.stm

The Native Americans considered smoke to be very cleansing, but some

herbs had extra cleansing smoke, such as white sage which I burn

regularly and it grows all around here.

I've also had Nepalese friends up here explaining how traditionally

fire was regarded as medicine and they were very grateful that we had

a big fire pit going as they hadn't been around one in a while.

-

--- In , " haecklers " <haecklers@...>

wrote:

>

> OK, WAP said the people in (?Ireland?) had smoky homes and used the

> sooty straw from their roofs to fertilize their gardens, right? Is

> there a way inhaling smoke can get minerals into us? Don't the

> Native Americans have some healing herbs that they smoke?

>

> I'm curious because once more I was just starting to recover from a

> cold and we had a little campfire, burned lots of sticks that blew

> down from a windstorm and roasted hotdogs. I felt great. Had been

> having post nasal drip, sinus ache, fatigue, etc. It left when I

> started the fire and never came back again. And it's not the first

> time that has happened.

>

> It makes me wonder about fire and smoke. Like, can the body get

> vitamin D (precursor) from firelight just like from sunlight?

>

> If there are healing types of fungi growing in the wood you burn,

> does inhaling the smoke " medicate " you?

>

> If there are minerals in the smoke, do you benefit from inhaling it?

>

> I wasn't standing in the smoke taking deep breaths, but we were

> burning a lot of the trimmings from the wild plum trees and it did

> smell pretty good, so I wasn't exactly avoiding the smoke either.

>

> I had been to my sister's for Christmas. She had a 13 " X 9 " pan of

> fudge there to greet us and after that it only got worse. I was

> going to be strong, but you've never tasted her homemade fudge. So I

> hadn't felt " right " since, until the fire. The next morning I woke

> up feeling right as rain, better, really. So what's the deal with

> fires?

>

[Guest guest]

So cool, thanks for sharing!

> >

> > OK, WAP said the people in (?Ireland?) had smoky homes and used

the

> > sooty straw from their roofs to fertilize their gardens, right?

Is

> > there a way inhaling smoke can get minerals into us? Don't the

> > Native Americans have some healing herbs that they smoke?

> >

> > I'm curious because once more I was just starting to recover from

a

> > cold and we had a little campfire, burned lots of sticks that

blew

> > down from a windstorm and roasted hotdogs. I felt great. Had

been

> > having post nasal drip, sinus ache, fatigue, etc. It left when I

> > started the fire and never came back again. And it's not the

first

> > time that has happened.

> >

> > It makes me wonder about fire and smoke. Like, can the body get

> > vitamin D (precursor) from firelight just like from sunlight?

> >

> > If there are healing types of fungi growing in the wood you burn,

> > does inhaling the smoke " medicate " you?

> >

> > If there are minerals in the smoke, do you benefit from inhaling

it?

> >

> > I wasn't standing in the smoke taking deep breaths, but we were

> > burning a lot of the trimmings from the wild plum trees and it

did

> > smell pretty good, so I wasn't exactly avoiding the smoke either.

> >

> > I had been to my sister's for Christmas. She had a 13 " X 9 " pan

of

> > fudge there to greet us and after that it only got worse. I was

> > going to be strong, but you've never tasted her homemade fudge.

So I

> > hadn't felt " right " since, until the fire. The next morning I

woke

> > up feeling right as rain, better, really. So what's the deal

with

> > fires?

> >

>

[Guest guest]

On 1/9/08, Lana Gibbons <lana.m.gibbons@...> wrote:

> Smoke of any form can help kill off microbes living on your skin and

> in your lungs. In terms of daily exposure - such as cigarettes - this

> is undesirable. However, you've made me wonder if occasional smoke

> exposure to specific smokes could be helpful when getting rid of

> pathogenic microbes...

So the conclusion is -- buy high-quality cigars, and smoke them only

on special occasions? ;-)

Chris

[Guest guest]

Chris-

> So the conclusion is -- buy high-quality cigars, and smoke them only

> on special occasions? ;-)

I seem to remember reading that pipe smoke is less harmful than cigar

smoke. Certainly it smells better, anyway. <g>

-

[Guest guest]

In the European / Roman pharmacopia, coltsfoot was traditionally smoked

for lung ailments, to produce phlegm. It really helps. Herbalists now

are more fond of mullein, (and infusions rather than smoking) because

long term use of coltsfoot if liver toxic. But really, coltsfoot is more

effective than mullein and smoking more effective and immediate than an

infusion. Roman soldiers had marijuana bonfires. . . . There is a book

out called Smokable Herbs of North America, or something similar. . . . I

think about this often, as my husband is a chef, and therefore standing

over fire half the day. Certainly our bodies are adapted to smoke and

can get health benefits from some specific smoking, but. . . .perhaps

they are adapted to be around smoke for the cold half of the year, and

need the warm half to be in open air, regenerating lung tissue.

Desh

[Guest guest]

--- haecklers <haecklers@...> wrote:

> OK, WAP said the people in (?Ireland?) had smoky homes and used the

> sooty straw from their roofs to fertilize their gardens, right? Is

> there a way inhaling smoke can get minerals into us? Don't the

> Native Americans have some healing herbs that they smoke?

I don't believe you're getting much mineral from smoke -- my understanding as

someone into herbalism is that minerals are a bit difficult to get out of

plants. When making herbal teas, for example, only high-mineral plants (like

stinging nettles) will give you much, and even then you have to make sure to

press out the last of the liquid from the waste leaves (the marc) to really

get the minerals into the tea liquid.

That being said, smoking *certain* herbs (fungi, etc) can be a great way to

get medicine into one's lungs. However, the smoking has to be balanced and not

overly enthusiastic (as tobacco likes to make its smokers) so that the smoke

itself (which is like little needles, microscopically) doesn't become damaging

to the lung tissue.

One also has to be sure not to smoke the wrong herbs, too, or risk adding the

wrong stuff to that easier lung path into one's body.

> I'm curious because once more I was just starting to recover from a

> cold and we had a little campfire, burned lots of sticks that blew

> down from a windstorm and roasted hotdogs. I felt great. Had been

> having post nasal drip, sinus ache, fatigue, etc. It left when I

> started the fire and never came back again. And it's not the first

> time that has happened.

It could be any number of things going on. Could be your body likes the

burning wood (many use pine essential oil for various things. Every plant has

good and bad and neutral phytochemicals -- we just have to know which ones

benefit us and which ones harm us). Could be the heat. Could be the

atmosphere. Could be getting out and doing something (like, when I exercise my

nose clears up). And so on.

> I had been to my sister's for Christmas. She had a 13 " X 9 " pan of

> fudge there to greet us and after that it only got worse. I was

Whenever I have a cold and I eat, it immediately plugs my head up. Dunno why..

Jent

" The greater part of what my neighbors call good, I believe in my soul to be

bad, and if I repent of anything, it is very likely to be my good behavior. What

demon possessed me that I behaved so well? " -Henry Thoreau

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