Phoebe Chongchua's Live Fit Magazine

It’s not the most pleasant topic—it’s a royal pain for a lot of people—excess mucous causes you to feel run down, unmotivated, and ultimately drained (except for in your sinus cavities!).

If you’re noticing a flare-up of phlegm, it could be allergies, but it also could have to do with your diet and lifestyle. If, for instance you smoke, your body automatically produces excess mucous. This is because cigarette smoke is an irritant to the lungs so your body produces more mucous to try to protect the sensitive mucous membranes from the further inflammation and chronic irritation.

Okay, so that is just another reason to give the butt the boot. But what effect do foods have on clogging up those nasal passages? A lot of singers, newscasters, and speakers are careful to watch what they eat before a performance or newscast because nothing is worse than listening to someone who is congested! Many performers will drink warm water with lemon juice squeezed in it. The purity of this concoction gets things moving and helps soothe your throat without adding a coat of mucous.

Knowing which foods produce mucous and cutting them out for a while will help you to identify what might be causing the problem of excess mucous. It will also help you to start to gradually reintroduce some products and completely eliminate those that aren’t serving you well.

But there seems to be a lot of confusion surrounding which foods actually might cause excess mucous. Here’s what I have discovered. Of course, the dairy products produce mucous. When we’re sick, the doctor says to avoid these items but what about juices such as orange juice? Isn’t that supposed to be super good for you? Actually, orange juice due to its high level of sugar content can be especially not good for you when you’re sick. Although it has vitamin C in it, it also contains a high amount of sugar that causes your immune system to not function well for several hours. The high fruit-sugar content feeds viruses while weakening the immune system. When you’re fighting a cold, this is not the best source of vitamin C. The orange juice can also produce more mucous. Clear juices such as apple juice are less likely to increase phlegm production.

Here are a few non-mucous-forming foods that not only provide your body a chance to clear out the phlegm but also help to keep it healthy and strong.

Blueberries: are powerful antioxidants and are high in natural aspirin, so they may help with aches and pains.

Ginger: is highly recommended by those practicing ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine as home-remedy for many ailments. Ginger contains a dozen anti-viral compounds and key chemicals that have specific effects in fighting off the common cold.

Horseradish: this ingredient has historically been used to break up mucous in air passages (same with chili peppers). Hot chilies cause our nose and sinuses to run, helping with drainage.

Onions: contain antiviral chemicals and help the body clear bronchitis and other infections.

Dark Chocolate? Yes, UK researchers found that an ingredient in chocolate may help a persistent cough. According to the research, theobromine, which is a key ingredient in chocolate, is nearly a third more effective in stopping a persistent cough than the leading medicine codeine. But chocolate lovers, let’s not get carried away with this!