Photo credit: Marcus Kauffman
Recently we experienced off the charts hazardous air quality in Oregon. Although, I’ve studied air quality and how it affects our health as part of my Functional Medicine Health track and have been aware of the harmful toxins unhealthy AQI contains, I took my research to a whole other level.
Somehow I always find myself on the opposite side of the mainstream narrative. Covid-19? Come on people trust your body and your own immune system! Unhealthy AQI? Holy smokes get out of Oregon before the prolonged unhealthy AQI leaves your immune system, respiratory track, and cardiovascular system permanently damaged!
I realized, a lot of people were waiting on the government to tell them what to do about the AQI. Or even worse, some people felt it wasn’t a big deal. Or, a lot of people just honestly were unaware! I’m a strong believer in taking personal responsibility when it comes to health… so my hope for this post is to help empower you with education and information that will equip you to make the best decisions for you and your family!
Disclaimer: nothing in this post is meant to be taken as medical advice. These recommendations are not recommendations from me, each one is sourced from a medical professional. I am gathering and filtering research I have found helpful for my family and passing it along to you. :)
How air quality affects our health
Dr. Lousie Tolzmann recently finished a study on the health affects observed in firefighters.
Here are some things she noted in her research paper:
“Smoke is not just particles - it is all the substances that are burning. It is gases & plastics & pesticides & toxic metals & flame retardants. These get attached to the particles & we breathe them in. And we absorb them through our skin (even firefighters on oxygen have elevated levels of benzenes). And we ingest them.
The particles they are measuring as part of air pollution is PM 2.5 - which is just the size (2.5 micrometers). The smaller particles - PM 0.1 are much more toxic. They aren’t being measured & often the PM 2.5 is made up of 0.1 glommed together. In any case these small particles are dangerous because they don’t stay in your lungs - they go straight into your blood stream & straight into organs like your brain & your heart.”
Chris Kresser also noted in his article, Wildfires and Air Quality: Steps You Can Take
““I consider anything about 50 to be of concern, especially to those who are sensitive to PM2.5, which are the tiny particulates that can travel deep into the respiratory tract and into the lungs””
According to the New York Department of Health website:
“Exposure to fine particles can cause short-term health effects such as eye, nose, throat, and lung irritation, coughing, sneezing, runny nose, and shortness of breath. Exposure to fine particles can also affect lung function and worsen medical conditions such as asthma and heart disease. Scientific studies have linked increases in daily PM2.5 exposure with increased respiratory and cardiovascular hospital admissions, emergency department visits, and deaths. Studies also suggest that long-term exposure to fine particulate matter may be associated with increased rates of chronic bronchitis, reduced lung function, and increased mortality from lung cancer and heart disease. People with breathing and heart problems, children, and the elderly may be particularly sensitive to PM.”
Understanding anatomy is crucial to help you make informed decisions for your health and wellness. When it comes to lung health, the primary organ affected by long exposure to poor air quality, you need to know that…
Your lungs is your bodies first line of defense when it comes to the immune system.
Your lungs is your bodies first line of defense when it comes to vascular integrity. Meaning, if your body forms a blood clot it is your lungs role to filter it out.
Your lungs are responsible for your respiratory health.
So taking care of your lungs is utterly important! Equally understanding that the longer you are exposed to poor air quality the more affected your body will be. Length of time + level of AQI will determine how much your body is affected. The unhealthy AQI levels lasted close to two weeks in certain parts of Oregon. This is literally novel in the world of AQI and health. Most experts said they didn’t even have research to understand the devastating health impacts this would have on the population of Oregon.
Because I truly rely on my body for health, not medication, not doctors, not over the counter drugs (no not even tylenol, ibuprofen, or bennidryl) then I started feeling the need to get out ASAP as soon as poor AQI came in.
“Smoke is an excitatory neurotoxin. It’s gonna make you super anxious! It’s a poison. Your bodies natural defense is: get me outta here.”
Did anyone else start to feel anxious and the need to get out?!
Practical tips for reducing harmful exposure to bad AQI levels
Here is what is really really important to understand about reducing your exposure to harmful AQI levels. Even in non-wildfire season MOST indoor air is MORE harmful than outdoor air.
Our indoors is filled with synthetic material, toxins, a lot of times mold, and most HVAC systems are only circulating indoor toxins. Most people don’t understand this because living indoors has become so normalized. Unless you have a working air purifier your lungs are constantly working to filter out toxins indoors.
I watched a clinic in Los Angeles track their indoor air which reached up to 120 when not running a specific air purifier (this is with HVAC running) in one night. When they turned on their air purifier levels went back down to “good” (under 40).
So first, just like when it comes to holistic health and wellness, addressing the root issue of air quality is more important than slapping an expensive air purifier in your home. Meaning, the first step should be to replace any indoor air pollutants. Things such as hair products, toxic mattresses and furniture, cleaning products, if you are in the home-building business try to use the least toxic building material as possible.
Although it’s really impossible to get rid of air pollutants completely indoors, this is a great step!
Secondly, if your outdoor air is getting unhealthy you obviously will have windows and doors shut as much as possible (hopefully your indoor AQI levels are good at this point and you’re not just sealing in bad air). Another great option to help purify your air is to purchase an indoor air purifier. There are SO many things to consider when buying an air purifier.
I found that the highest recommended air purifier by holistic and functional medicine practitioners is the Air Doctor. Here is a great article that compares the best recommended air purifiers.
Chris Kresser also recommends some other practical steps when dealing with harmful AQI levels due to wildfire smoke:
Keep the room clean, but don’t vacuum unless your device has a HEPA filter. Vacuuming stirs up particles that are already inside your house.
Leave your shoes outside or right at the door, and don’t wear them in the house.
In addition Dr. Lousie Tolzman recommends these practical steps when dealing with harmful AQI levels due to wildfires and smoke:
Wear an N95 or N100 mask
Don’t go outside. Don’t exercise. Close your windows & doors. (Please also be aware of CO2 poisoning
Close your chimney flue.
Reduce the dust inside - wipe down surfaces, use a Hepa (only) vacuum. The particles that have come in are carrying all the toxic things - try not to have them move around every time you move around & rebreathe them.
Supplements and foods to support your body when dealing with harmful AQI levels and wildfire smoke:
Asian pears (Nashi) are known and used quite often among Chinese medicine practitioners specifically to hydrate the lungs. Eat lots of them! (source: Dr. Jen Gibbons, Lotus Center for Integrative Medicine)
Higher doses of Vitamin C in the L-Ascorbate form (Ascorbic Acid) will also aid your lungs as they are working extra hard to filter out smoke. (source: Dr. Andrew Saul)
B complex vitamins.- they did a study where they stuck people into a pollution chamber (literally) for 2 hours after they had been on placebo or B vitamin for a month - and the B vitamins protected & reversed the DNA damage from the pollution! (source Dr. Lousie Tolzman)
Fish oil- heart attacks go up after smoke exposures. Your entire body is getting inflamed from this - especially your brain. Take your fish oil. (Dr. Lousie Tolzman)
Green Tea!- start drinking it. Super anti-oxidant - helps so many chemicals get cleared (Dr. Lousie Tolzman)
Brassica Veggies:- broccoli cabbage cauliflower. . . . . . all super important helpers for you to clear the toxicants you are being exposed to. (source: Dr. Lousie Tolzman)
Any other anti-inflammatory supplements you happen to have around - turmeric, vitamin C, vitamin D, elderberry. . . . . . your body is working really really hard to clear the smoke - give it a little help. (source: Dr. Lousie Tolzman)
Herbs such as Ginseng root, astragalus, corcyceps mushrooms, schisandra (source, How to Care for your Lungs according to Chinese Medicine)
Support your gut by cutting out industrial seed oils, sugar, and grains. Eat lots of fermented foods, warming drinks, and protein!
Support your detoxification pathways through sweating, peeing, and consistent bowel movements.
If you’ve had prolonged exposure to wildfire smoke you may want to consider looking into something like a TRS Safe Heavy Metal Detox. This is NOT a recommendation from me. Please do your own research.
The main concept is you want to keep your detoxification pathways clear and your organs working as well as possible! Don’t bog down your organs and clog your detoxification pathways when you’re already in bad air.
Also, please be aware that NOT all supplements are created equal. Unless you are working with a medical professional on proper supplementation it is often better to not supplement at all. (Did you know a recent study came out to show that 70% of supplements on Amazon are fraud?!)
Special considerations for AQI: children and pregnant women
Children’s lungs are still developing through the age of 11-13. Meaning they don’t work as efficiently as adult lungs. With this being said it is extra extra important to limit the exposure of children to poor AQI. Personally, if the AQI is above 70 I am extremely hesitant to take my children out in it unless I absolutely have to. Newborns and babies are even more vulnerable up through age 3.
Pregnant Mamas: during pregnancy the lung capacity is also reduced. Women’s respiratory system is already taxed. Which is why it is important to take extra caution when it comes to respiratory viruses while pregnant. This same caution applies to poor air quality. Your lungs need as much good oxygen as they can get to then pump to the rest of your body and your baby. Your lungs also need to be functioning at optimal levels to filter out toxins from your baby (according to Stanford Children’s Health). Did you know that the average baby is born with over 200 toxins stored in their umbilical cord?! (study cited here). Poor air quality can reduce the amount of oxygen getting to your baby and also increase the toxins going to your baby.
I hope all this information is helpful for you!! Your body will give you many different signs that it needs help when dealing with poor air quality. These symptoms can range from acne, skin disorders, rashes, runny nose, sore throat, headaches, upset stomach, poor digestion, and so on…. Remember, these are SYMPTOMS. Your best bet is to work with a practitioner to address the root cause of these symptoms to find a pathway of discovery for healing.
Sources
https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=the-lungs-in-pregnancy-90-P02468
https://wellnessmama.com/346605/air-filters/
https://chriskresser.com/wildfires-and-air-quality-steps-you-can-take/
-Dr. Lousie Tolzmann research paper and presentation on Health Affects Seen in Firefighters
https://thechalkboardmag.com/lung-health-tips-chinese-medicine
https://www.christopherreeve.org/blog/life-after-paralysis/breathing-differences-between-children-and-adults