Until recently, I was completely unaware that many foods, including some of my favorite fruits and veggies create pus, acid and/or mucus.  I find this topic of importance due to the implication that the production of these has on the body. To be clear, there is a difference between mucus and pus.  Mucus is the thick, slippery, viscous discharge, made up of dead cells, exfoliated cells, mucin, water, as well as inorganic salts. Known food that produce mucus include starchy and fatty foods.  On the other hand, pus is the thick, white, green or yellow opaque liquid created by infected tissue which consists of dead white blood cells, bacteria, serum and debris from tissue.  Pus is a substance created by dead animal flesh being chemically transformed after consumption or while rotting within one’s digestive tract.  Thus, pus is formed by eating meat and dairy products.  Lastly, acid comes into play as it is understood that pus and mucus-producing foods are also “acid forming” and detrimental to the human body.

Some scientist believe that “mucus-forming foods are the foundation of human illness and should not be eaten”.  If you are looking to cut down on food that create mucus, acid and/or pus, I recommend transitioning to more mucus-free fruits, green leafy vegetables and intermittent or other types of fasting.

One thing that I would like to highlight during this post, is that mucus is throughout the body.  Oftentimes, we only talk about mucus that is found within our respiratory system.  However, that is an incomplete understanding.  Mucus can be found all over the body; in the eyes, intestines, reproductive organs, stomach, mouth, as well as in the lungs.

Have you ever looked at the color of your snot, after you’ve ejected it from your body? Do you wonder if the color is significant? Of course it is. I think we are all used to seeing grey mucus from our noses, aka snot. This mucus is often grey due to the dirt and dust that accompanies the mucus living in your nasal passages.  The dried out, grey, blobs that we pick from our noses, are what we affectionately call “boogers”.  Commonly, we also see white, or cloudy like mucus.  The cloudy appearance indicates inflammation and/or swollen tissues.  This has caused the mucus to slow down, thicken, dry out and gain its cloudy appearance.  Although the inflammation may be due to an allergy or larger infection, the presence of mucus indicates that there is such an infection.  Contrary to popular belief, seeing yellow or green mucus does not guarantee the presence of an infection.  However, if the colors are persistent, a viral or bacteria infection may be present.  The mucus gets its green color from the presence of verdoperoxidase, an enzyme released by white blood cells.  Also, yellow or green color could come from an inflammatory response to allergies or infections.  Brown or black colored mucus can be scary if and when you see it.  Tar from cigarette smoke is a common cause for turning mucus dark.  Having brown colored mucus could be caused by a dirty or bloody nose.  Meanwhile black colored mucus could indicate something more serious like having a major fungal infection. Is your mucus more of a warm color? Seeing orange, red or rust colored mucus?  Pneumonia commonly changes the color of the mucus your body produces and often makes it a burnt orange color, due to the presence of blood.  Warm colors like pink, red or orange in mucus, typically indicated the presence of blood.