What is smog?
Smog is
basically smoking fog. Originally named for the mixture of smoke and fog in the
air, it is a type of air pollution that forms by the emission coming out from
internal combustion engines of vehicles and industrial smokes, open burning
etc.. It consists of so many gases like CO(carbon monoxide),CO2(carbon
dioxide),SO2(sulfur dioxide),NO2(nitrogen dioxide) etc.
Effects of smog on our Health:- If your body is allergic to dust ,your body produces antibodies as a
response. Those antibodies cause the production of chemicals such as
histamines. They are what cause:
Congestion
Sneezing
Eyes and nose irritation
Shortness of breath
Coughing
Wheezing
Dryness of nose and throat etc….
Its
important to note that smog affects everyone differently and some people are
more susceptible to its negative effects.
Children,
elderly persons and people with asthma need to be especially careful during
smoggy days.
Certain precautions that one can take
to ward off the negative effects of toxic air pollutants :-
Avoid
morning and evening walks.
Try to wear
full sleeve clothes.
Wash your
face and hands regularly.
Use mask(N95
or N99) if mask is unavailable use a cloth to cover up your face.
Use a good
quality air purifier at home ,offices etc.
Do not use Agarbatti
, candles etc when the pollution is at its peak.
Keep your immune system fortified
with the right Diet:-
Eat a
balanced and healthy diet.
Drink lot of water to flush out toxins. Especially try to drink detox water.
To reduce
inflammation include walnuts, flaxseeds in your daily diet.
Include
vitamin C in diet or taking it as a dietary supplement helps to build the
immune system strong. Vitamin C also reduces the risk of allergies. Vitamin C
is found in abundance in oranges, guavas, strawberries, watermelon, apples etc.
In vegetables it is found in broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, red bell pepper.
Broccoli is
a wonder veggie, include it in your daily diet.
Take a mixture
of honey, extract of basil leaves, ginger juice with pinch of cinnamon powder. Take it at least once in a day.
Use some
natural decongestants like ginger, fennel, mustard in your regular meal.
Green tea
also helps to reduce the toxins of air pollution.
Drink a
glass of pomegranate juice daily.
Use olive
oil to build immunity.
Ayurvedic remedies to
reduce smog effect on health:-
Certain
herbs and spices have been suggested in ayurveda for curing common respiratory
ailments. Turmeric is a very well known antioxidant. Use raw turmeric in
vegetables. It contains curcumin which is a natural anti inflammatory agent.
Jaggery mixed with onion juice is said to have an expectorant effect, useful
during dry and wet cough.
Squeeze the
juice of ½ lemon into a glass of warm water and add 1 tsp of honey. Take it 2
times in a day. Lemon juice has antioxidants that can strengthen the immune
system and help clear away mucus.
Dr. Suman Setia BAMS DNHE PGDHHM
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