Air Pollution Is Becoming More Dangerous Than Ever
We are surrounded by threats, many of them unseen, these are putting us at high risk of chronic lifestyle metabolic diseases. GMOs, Processed foods, EM Fields, Plastics and many more… It’s becoming increasingly difficult to ensure healthy living and we need to be constantly aware of these threats and their respective antidotes!
We are surrounded by threats, many of them unseen, these are putting us at high risk of chronic lifestyle metabolic diseases. GMOs, Processed foods, EM Fields, Plastics and many more… It’s becoming increasingly difficult to ensure healthy living and we need to be constantly aware of these threats and their respective antidotes!
Pollution is the “largest environmental cause of disease and premature death in the world today,” according to research published a study revealed that 9 million premature deaths were caused by pollution in 2015, which is 16 percent of deaths worldwide. What’s more, among the pollution-related deaths, the majority — 6.5 million — were caused by airborne contaminants.
Fine particulate matter can enter our system and cause chronic inflammation, which in turn increases our risk of a number of health problems, from cancer to heart and lung disease. In the case of heart disease, fine particulate air pollution may increase our risk by inducing atherosclerosis, increasing oxidative stress and increasing insulin resistance:
“The strongest causal associations are seen between PM 2.5 and cardiovascular and pulmonary disease. Specific causal associations have been established between pollution and myocardial infarction, hypertension, congestive heart failure, arrhythmia’s and cardiovascular mortality.
Causal associations have also been established between PM 2.5 and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer has reported that airborne particulate matter and ambient air pollution are proven group 1 human carcinogens.”
Dietary supplements to Protect Against Air Pollution
As we cant control exposure to air pollution, especially when outdoors, one of the best options is to supplement the diet with nutrients and antioxidants that may have a protective effect against pollutants. These include:
• Omega-3 fats — These are anti-inflammatory and it has been shown to be highly effective in managing inflammation and threats such as triglycerides, that occurred with exposure to air pollution.
• Broccoli sprouts — Broccoli-sprout extract was shown to prevent the allergic nasal response that occurs upon exposure to particles in diesel exhaust, such that the researchers suggested broccoli or broccoli sprouts could have a protective effect on air pollution’s role in allergic disease and asthma.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is key to the metabolism of calcium and phosphorus. In adults with Asthma, normal vitamin D levels correlated with improved asthma control and therefore supplementation may play a role in uncontrolled asthmatics with vitamin D deficiency.
Curcumin :
Turmeric extract
which is anti-inflammatory, anti fungal, antioxidant and detoxing.
Vitamins C and E — Among children with asthma, antioxidant supplementation including vitamins C and E helped to buffer the impact of pollution.
B vitamins — A small-scale human trial found high doses of vitamins B6, B9, and B12 in combination completely offset damage caused by very fine particulate matter in air pollution.
Four weeks of high-dose supplementation can reduce genetic damage and helped protect mitochondrial DNA from the harmful effects of pollution, and even helped repair some of the genetic damage.
Dr. Kalpana Shekhawat M.D.
Functional Medicine Specialist
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