One of the most common questions I get at Live Love Fruit is how to get rid of annoying throat mucus. What many people aren’t aware of is that mucus and inflammation go hand-in-hand, like two peas in a pod. You can’t have one without having the other.

Mucus is produced in the body as a defense mechanism against toxins, viruses, bacteria, yeast, fungus and parasites. It is produced in a dire need to cushion and protect the cells of the respiratory, gastrointestinal, urogenital, visual and auditory systems.

When mucus production becomes chronic, and sticks around for longer than, say, getting over a cold or flu, then your body is telling you it needs a little extra help on your behalf.

When Mucus Becomes A Bad Thing

Not all mucus is bad. In fact, mucus is naturally produced by the body to help protect the delicate linings of our internal system like the nasal cavity and other airways. When air flows through these wind pipes, the mucus prevents them from drying out (likewise, the serous fluid that mucus is mixed with also moistens the air itself before entering the lungs).

Mucus also helps prevent debris from entering the lungs. Any foreign particles that we might accidentally be breathing in (either from a poor environment or being around noxious chemicals like fragrance) sticks to the mucus, and then you swallow it, so that it doesn’t get into your lungs. I’ll touch up more on this later.

When our mucus cells become chronically irritated, however, they start to over-produce mucus. Let’s say you work as a laboratory technician all day and you’re subjected to hundreds of different chemicals in a day. Your body is going to be constantly secreting mucus to protect itself from harm’s way (aka. the chemical invaders). Excessive mucus congests the body, and presents itself as varying health conditions in the body.

Mucus and Inflammation

When viruses, toxins, bacteria, yeast, fungus, parasites and other undigested food particles enter the body, the body releases its own natural inflammatory mediators, like histamine. When histamine is released, inflammatory mediators cause the blood vessels to dilate and leak, and the mucus glands secrete fluid.

While under normal immune circumstances (like getting over a cold), beneficial mucus is produced to trap pathogens and carry them out of the body. This isn’t the case if we’re consistently producing mucus all the time. When our mucus becomes chronic, the immune system is constantly sensing that it is under attack.

As a result, the immune system goes into over-drive and the white blood cells and cytokines mobilize to protect you (1). When presented with chronic irritants like soy, eggs, dairy, gluten, processed foods or chemicals in every-day products (which lead to un-digested particles in the digestive tract, fungal growth in the body, toxin over-load, etc.), then you get chronic inflammation.

When our bodies get chronically inflamed, the mucus membranes secrete more mucus to protect the delicate membranes lining our organs (2). Therefore, the less inflamed you are, and the less viruses, toxins, bacteria, yeast, fungus, parasites and undigested food particles you have in your body, then the less mucus you’ll be producing as a result.

If we’re constantly producing excessive mucus (like post nasal drip after eating, a constant runny nose, persistent mucus from the nose or eyes, mucus build-up in the back of the throat, or cystic white acne), we need to think about what we are eating, drinking or encountering that may be triggering this reaction.

How To Stop Excess Mucus Production

Aside from reducing inflammation in the body, there are many things we should be doing to produce chronic, excess mucus. Below I’ve outlined some key steps you can take to help reduce the amount of mucus clogging your body.

1. Stop Over-Eating

Food is one of the most abused drugs there are. Most of the foods eaten by society are not at all beneficial for the human organism. These foods are extremely processed, high in cooked fats and refined sugar, and are loaded with chemical ingredients that are difficult to pronounce.

When we constantly eat these foods day in, day out, our body becomes the perfect breeding ground for parasites, yeasts, bacteria and other foreign invaders that inflame the body and cause excess mucus production.

Over-eating also creates the situation where food particles are left undigested. Undigested food particles can trigger leaky gut, whereby foreign substances are then able to enter the bloodstream. The result? Chronic inflammation, which, as you might have guessed, leads to major mucus production in the body.

Instead of non-stop eating, give your body a break by trying out intermittent fasting. This is when you stop eating at, say, 7pm, and don’t eat again until 11am the next morning (16 hour time lapse between your next meal).

2. Eat More Raw, Living Foods

There are certain foods that help to heal the body, like living, raw foods. These are the very foods that help clear out the debris, candida and yeast that developed as a result of eating too much cooked, processed foods, and animal products.

Raw, living foods also contain the enzymes needed to break down mucus, as well as the biofilms in bacteria and fungi. They’re rich in hydrating carbons that give you the energy needed to feel fully vibrant throughout the day.

In my personal experience as someone who consumes a high-raw plant-based diet, I’ve had my moments of excess mucus production. After having been strictly raw for several years, I decided to try out some cooked vegan food. When the combinations of ingredients became a little too intense (like trying out some more processed vegan foods), I noticed I had more mucus in the throat than usual. This was to be expected, having come from a very clean diet of only fresh, raw fruit and vegetables as well as nuts and seeds.