BREATHING OXYGEN DEPRIVED
POLLUTED AIR
BREATHING OXYGEN DEPRIVED
POLLUTED AIR
Our air quality problem is twofold: 1) our oxygen levels are decreasing because of deforestation, and 2) our indoor air pollution levels are increasing. As a result, many people are oxygen starved and are plagued with health problems from breathing polluted indoor air. Both of these issues can be easily remedied.
Decreasing oxygen levels
Trees are one of our most valuable resources on our planet. In addition to providing beauty and shade, they produce oxygen and water vapor while absorbing toxins from the air. Yet we’re cutting down roughly 15 billion trees every year, which has a clear negative effect on our planet because a tree:
• Releases hundreds of gallons of water into the atmosphere
• Absorbs toxins in the air like carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, airborne ammonia and some sulphur dioxide
• Takes in carbon dioxide and releases oxygen for us to breath
• As ground water passes through the tree’s roots, the water is cleansed
Roughly 10,000 years ago, the planet's forest cover was at least twice what it is today, which means that forests are now emitting only half the amount of oxygen than they did then. But 10,000 years ago we did not have a world population of over seven billion people.
Cause and effect: Fewer trees, less oxygen
Healthy blood oxygen levels range between 95 and 100%. When blood oxygen levels fall below 90%, organs – brain, heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, glands – become weakened and, if neglected, will start deteriorating.
Ways to increase your oxygen levels
1. Breathe deeply. Most people can solve their low blood oxygen levels simply by learning how to breathe correctly and how to exercise the lungs. Shallow breathing, raising your shoulders to fill the upper lung cavity, can cause a buildup of carbon dioxide. To breathe correctly, without raising your shoulders, breathe in slowly through your nose, filling up the lower part of your lungs, which will cause your stomach to move out. Breathe as deeply as you can, each breath going deeper and deeper.
2. Improve lung capacity. If you can’t breathe deeply, you probably are a former smoker or your lungs are weakened from polluted air or other environmental contaminants. One solution to strengthen and heal your lungs is to use a Himalayan Salt Inhaler. Himalayan salt is pure and mineral rich and has natural antimicrobial properties. Salt is also healing to tissue, which is why dentists always recommend gargling with warm salt water for inflamed gums.
3. Spend more time around plants. Add more indoor plants to your home, like ficus, peace lily, pothos, Chinese evergreen, bamboo palm and spider plants that absorb carbon dioxide and other toxins and expel oxygen. And get outdoors more. There is more oxygen outside than inside, especially if you live in an area with lush vegetation. Walk barefoot on grass or dirt to ground yourself while you are outside enjoying the oxygen.
4. Add Activated, Stabilized Oxygen (ASO), a liquid oxygen supplement to your diet, which is completely natural, pH balanced, totally non-toxic and safe to use internally and externally. Liquid oxygen may be used sublingually as well as added to water to create liquid oxygen.
Increasing indoor air pollution
Have you ever gotten a whiff of a chemical off gassing from something new you just opened? You can have great blood oxygen levels, but still be sick from all the pollutants emitted from plastics, rubbers, building materials, carpets, furniture, toys, dry cleaning, clothing and even some air purifiers.
And those are only the chemicals you can smell. Air purifiers are a good way to neutralize air pollution, but all air purifiers are not alike. Some are limited in the types of pollution they can eliminate, some are limited by the size of the room they can treat, some have high maintenance and replacement costs and some salespeople exaggerate what their air purifiers can do.
The bigger problem is that many brands on the market are made of off gassing plastic, often made in China, making them part of the air pollution problem rather than the solution.
6 most popular air purifier technologies
Every air purifier on the market uses one or more of the following technologies to clean the air, but there is a lot of misinformation about what they really can do and how effectively they do it. Here are the main air purification technologies used and some pros and cons:
1. HEPA filters. HEPA filters ONLY remove particulate from the air, but only particulate that is 0.3 microns or larger and they can remove that particulate quickly. It is true that they can remove mold spores and some bacteria from the air, but unless the filter is treated with an anti-microbial substance – which is often, in itself, a contaminant – the still-living microorganisms continue to grow and multiply on the HEPA filter. And when you pull out the filter to change it, guess where those microbes go? Back into the air you are breathing. Also, a HEPA filter works by using a powerful (and often noisy) fan to drag the air from the room into the filter. Most air purifiers that include a HEPA filter use a lot of energy, are noisy and require replacement parts. There’s little point in purchasing only a HEPA filter air cleaner because it only takes care of particulate.
2. Carbon filters. Carbon filters are great for chemicals, gases, fumes and odors, however, not all carbon filters are alike. Factors that affect the carbon filter’s efficacy include the type of carbon, the amount of carbon, the thickness of the carbon bed and the speed of the air as it passes through the filter. The slower the chemicals move through the filter, the more are absorbed. But if the unit also has a HEPA filter, you want the air to move faster to pull the particulate out of the air, so it can be challenging to find the right speed for two different filter types working at the same time. Most air purifiers that include a carbon filter use a lot of energy, are noisy and require replacement parts. AirPura makes an excellent line of high grade, all-metal commercial carbon/HEPA filter systems with a variety of carbon options and sizes.
3. UltraViolet (UV) light. A UV Lamp is used mostly to kill microorganisms (such as mold, yeast, bacteria and viruses), but what most people don’t realize is that there is only a small kill zone several inches from the UV lamp – the larger the UV lamp the wider the kill zone. And, if the air is passing too fast through that kill zone, there won’t be enough dwell time to kill some microbes. Also, any air that might have been treated will be easily recontaminated once that air travels down the duct work and into each room. So people who install a UV lamp in their HVAC system thinking it is killing all the microbes in their home have been misled. Another aspect to keep in mind is that most UV lamps must be replaced yearly.
4. Heat sterilization. Without adding any heat to the room, the Airfree air cleaner uses a unique way to silently eliminate particulate, microbes and organic odors from the air: It’s called heat convection. The NO maintenance, no chemical off gassing technology is great for those who want an inexpensive, silent air cleaner that has no ongoing costs.
5. Photo catalytic ionization (PCI). PCI is an older technology based on the original work done by NASA. Nearly all air purifiers that use PCI technology use the inexpensive titanium dioxide exclusively, which frequently adds ozone to the mix, which may or may not be an issue, depending on the ozone levels, the pollution to be eliminated and your chemical sensitivity level. PCI technology typically treats all three air pollution categories and tends to be quieter because it doesn’t need powerful fans to work. Many brands have off gassing problems because they are made with plastic or produce unwanted byproducts like nitrous oxide and nitric acid.
6. Advanced PCI technology. This is the next generation of PCI technology developed by Air Oasis using five rare Nobel metals, including silver, rhodium and nickel, and incorporating BiPolar technology to restore the oxygen/hydrogen balance to the air. Advanced PCI technology eliminates the entire range of indoor air pollution sources, including molds, yeast, viruses, bacteria, chemicals, gases (including radon), fumes, odors, VOC (volatile organic compounds), pollen, dander, dust mites and other aeroallergens from the air and surfaces. These units are very quiet, light-weight, energy efficient and made with no off gassing plastics or rubbers. They are also very low maintenance.
The comments I hear the most from customers after getting an air purifier is that they sleep better, have less congestion, breathe better, have more energy and generally feel better. And my kennel clients love that the Air Oasis kills the bacteria that causes canine cough , keeping the animals in their care healthier.
Written by: Carol James, Inspired Living
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