With Every Breath I Take

May 21 to June 20 - Zodiac Sign: Gemini - Element: Air - Color: Red-Orange

We can survive three minutes without air, three days without water and three weeks without food. The way I see it, that makes air quality a priority for good health—even for life itself. These facts make the air we breath very important to our overall health. In Spring is the Time to Clean House, March 21, Newsletter section at www.feelgoodfood.com, we talked about safe cleaning supplies. In conjunction with safe cleaning supplies, making the indoor air safe and clean with a good air purifier is a must. Why Use an Air Purifier? Every day the average adult breathes in up to 900 cubic feet of air. That amount of air makes the residual residue from air borne pollutants enough to do harm. The damage is invisible, slow and insidious, but real none the less.

So what is air anyway? Air is made up of atoms. Chemically speaking, air consists of gasses surrounding the planet, which is then retained by the Earth's gravity and together make up our atmosphere: Nitrogen at 78.084%, oxygen at 20.946%, argon at 0.934%, carbon dioxide at 0.038%, water vapor at 1% and other gasses at a remaining 0.002%. Any shift in this mix can cause devastating effects to all living matter. We "bathe" in air every second of our life. We are all part of an interconnected, interdependent web that holds all thing together and allows all things to be separate. I find it to be a very good system. If you are not satisfied with the air quality you breath in with every breath you take, now is the perfect time to make changes. This is your time to resonate with life with a completely new perspective. This is an excellent time for taking part in the community of man. A commitment to health is a worthy cause.

Let me explain how clean air quality equates to a healthy organism. First let me give you a couple of basic biology 101 definitions. Knowing this will help with the following discussion. You may already know these, but I feel it is important you know what ATP and pyruvic acid are and do within the human body:

ATP (adenosine triphosphate) is present in all organic material, and is the universal unit of energy used in all living cells. ATP is produced and/or broken down in metabolic processes in all living systems. Processes such as photosynthesis in plants, muscle contraction in humans, respiration in fungi and fermentation in yeast are all driven by ATP. In short, ATP is the activated carrier which gives organisms energy.

PYRUVIC ACID is the end product of the glycolytic pathway a type which is a type of metabolic pathway. In biochemistry, a metabolic pathway is a series of chemical reactions occurring within a cell. This particular three-carbon metabolite is an important junction point for two reasons: it is the gateway to the final common energy-producing pathway, the Krebs cycle; and it provides acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl CoA), through which fatty acids, and in turn fat, are produced from glucose. Pyruvic acid converts to lactic acid as needed. Pyruvic acid increases in quantity in the blood and tissues in Thiamin (vitamin B-1) deficiency. Vitamin B-1 is essential for its oxidation.

If we were a car, crude oil would be the equivalent of the food we eat, refined oil the glucose and the end product gasoline would be the ATP. Our cells get the much needed ATP from glucose. All carbohydrates and sugars are metabolized into glucose. Our body also converts fats or proteins into either glucose or into substances the cells can use in place of glucose. Glucose consists of six carbon atoms, twelve hydrogen atoms, six oxygen atoms. Glucose enters a cell by means of a specific process called facilitated diffusion. The diffusion process is facilitated by insulin. No insulin equals a greatly reduced entrance of glucose into the cell (diabetics know this all too well). This is not a situation that we want to have happen. This is why it is helpful if the quality of the sugars we take in are slow burning (green vegetables) rather than fast burning (refined sugars and grains). This is also why "empty calories" do us harm. Our body must work to process the fuel taken in, but if no quality energy is produced, we've been cheated. If we were a car, we would not run very well or for very long.

Once the insulin gets the glucose into the cell it is split into ATP and pyruvic acid. The ATP is used for immediate energy and the pyruvic acid is sent to the mitochondria within the cell, (the mitochondria are the cells' power sources). As the mitochondria eat the molecules of pyruvic acid, waste is produced. In the end, the mitochondria discards two molecules of pyruvic acid, six molecules of carbon dioxide, plus the twelve hydrogen atoms that were attached to them. The carbon dioxide molecules can be removed fairly simply by being transported out of the cell and then back to the lungs for exhalation. The hydrogen atoms are a different matter. The hydrogen must bond with something in order to be transported out of the body. Enter the oxygen we breath in. This "potential of Hydrogen" (pH), to be acid or alkaline, is dependent on the amount of useable oxygen brought in by the air we breath and by the quality of the minerals in the foods we eat. One oxygen atom bonds with two hydrogen atoms (H₂0), and is easily transported out before the hydrogen can become a dangerous acid that will do harm to our cells. The overall equation is: One molecule of glucose (C₆, H₁₂, O₆), plus six molecules of oxygen (O₂) yields six molecules of carbon dioxide (6 CO₂) plus six molecules of water (H₂0).

(C₆, H₁₂, O₆ + 6 O₂) = (6 CO₂ + 6 H₂O)

It also yields a grand total of 38 new molecules of ATP. About 60% of the energy created by this process is given off by our body as heat. This leaves only 40% to do all of the other functions that keep us alive.

This makes the air we breath and the oxygen getting to each cell of our body of the utmost importance to the quality of our life. A report published April 4, 2007, in The Guardian, has suggested that air pollution in our big cities could be as damaging to our health as the radiation Chernobyl survivors were exposed to. The latest study follows a report from the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution which said air pollution was responsible for 24,000 premature deaths in Britain alone every year. If you live in an urban environment - which four out of five of us now do - then you are exposing yourself to a cocktail of airborne pollutants that could be seriously damaging to your health. When ancient air pockets are uncovered in glaciers and tested, scientists have found that the earth's atmosphere used to possess a higher concentration of oxygen. For what ever reason, this depletion of oxygen says to me, that the air we breath today is not as conducive to life as it once was.

We can't control the world outside of our homes, but just as with the food and beverage choices we make, we can protect ourselves from the modern industrialized air we breath. Quality air is our right as members of "Club Earth", while we sleep, when we spend time in our houses and when we can, our work place. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that "since most people spend a majority of their lives indoors, the quality of indoor air is a major area of concern�." In fact, the large surface area of the lungs and the sensitivity of the tissues make people particularly susceptible to air pollution. Pollen, dander, smoke, and mold enter our bodies through our large and vulnerable lungs. Reducing all three of the major forms of air pollution: particles such as pollen, pet dander, dust, and cigarette smoke; microbes such as mold and bacteria; gases and odors. That's especially critical since the EPA consistently ranks indoor air pollution among the top five environmental risks to public health. A good HEPA filter is basic; however, his type of air purifier cleans only the air that passes through the unit, requiring regular filter maintenance. The filter-less air purifies on the market today use powerful Photohydroionization and need only a yearly module replacement. Shop and choose a unit that best suits your needs and budget.

Since we spend most of our time indoors, there is a lot we can do, starting with a good air purifier. At the very least, make sure the air quality where you sleep (representing one-third of your life resting and repairing), is as pollutant-free as possible. I own an air purifier that emits ozone. In fact, I own four, three in my home (one is for the basement) and one in my office (in addition to one HEPA filter). I would not use any other type of air purifier. It is filter-less with a powerful Photohydroionization module that needs only one replacement yearly. Ozone is not a problem, my home has been chemical free for 17 years. When there are no chemicals for the ozone to react, there is no problem. For more information read Spring is the Time to Clean House, March 21, Newsletter section at www.feelgoodfood.com. I also feel that when we have a discussion about indoor air quality we can not exclude Electro Magnetic Fields (EMF). For more on EMF's please read Ground Yourself and Release Tension, April 20, Newsletter section at www.feelgoodfood.com. EMF's are a different type of air pollution that can also be corrected within your home and work place.

At first this may all seem overwhelming. Where to begin? The way I see it, you tackle this the same way you would eat an elephant—one bite at a time. Start by doing what you can to create a healthy "indoor atmosphere". First, eliminate all known toxic products and substances, commercial cleaning products and any and all perfumes. Once you feel comfortable with that aspect of your routine, (with the money you will save on cleaning supplies) next start shopping for a good air purifier. Finally, clean-up Electro Magnetic Fields interfering with your own precious life force. The world may not be a safe as we would like, but it is the only game in town and a hell of a lot better than the alternative. Time to let go of the old ways and embark on a future of unbridled energy and longevity. Now you know why the quality of every breath you take can make the difference between dis-ease and wellness.

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