Take a deep breath. It’s a good idea for your mental health.

But when the air isn’t clean, should you feel great about breathing deeply?

How does air pollution impact your health?

The simple answer is that air pollution is a major human health concern and is a risk factor for several health conditions. The most common health effects of air pollution are respiratory ones, such as coughing, asthma, and stressing existing respiratory health issues. In some cases, air pollution can be related to major cardiovascular issues.

The most common causes of environmental air pollution include power plants, manufacturing facilities, fuel-burning heaters, automobiles, and wildfires. Despite increasing government regulations to reduce emissions and modern, cleaner combustion devices, air quality in many areas continues to be poor. This isn’t limited to just major cities either, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 92 percent of the world’s population lives in areas with poor air quality.

One of the most dangerous forms of air pollution are fine particles, known as PM_2.5, with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers. Among the potential negative effects of these particles is that exposure can result in epigenetic alterations (the switches that turn on different aspects of your genetic code) to DNA that could damage health. (Ask The Scientist)

What Can You Do About It

Clean Up After Exposure

As skin is our largest organ, both side and out, you want to be sure to wash your hands, face, neck or even shower your whole body if you’ve been exposed to a high amount of smoke – especially the highly affected area’s like your nasal area.

Here are several tips to help you clear out or expel small, microscopic particles after wildfire smoke inhalation and help protect your lungs from long-term damage:

• Use a Saline Nasal Spray

A saline nasal spray can help you moisten and soothe the inside of your nose. This can promote the expulsion of foreign matter. 

• Use a Neti Pot 

When you’re exposed to smoke, pollutants can easily get trapped in your nasal passage. If allowed to remain, they can easily travel to the lungs and cause additional issues. A Neti Pot helps you remove foreign substances (follow instructions that come with it).

• Drink Lots of Water 

There is a working theory that water helps flush these particles from your system. Eight to ten, 8-ounce glasses of water is a good target in general. 

• Steam breathing

Breathing a steam help expel foreign substances, clear passageways, and reduce the irritation level of your sinuses. It can also be soothing to an irritated nose and lungs, which can occur after smoke inhalation. This is also great all year long for colds and sinus problems and allergies. 

Antioxidant Support is key

Antioxidants are molecules that neutralize free radicals (or oxidants). Left alone, these can cause damage to cell membranes, DNA, and more.

• Increase your antioxidants like Vitamin C and Glutathione

Antioxidants do their work by donating electrons to reactive, oxidized material. This stabilizes the oxidant and lowers the cell’s oxidative status. Glutathione is the most numerous and prominent water-soluble antioxidant. It’s a powerful endogenous antioxidant—one made inside your body. So supporting its production is important.

 Vitamin C is an essential nutrient that must be provided by the diet, because your body can’t make it naturally. 

In addition to increasing antioxidants in my diet, I personally take two supplements that are made with Nutritional Hybrid Technology that offers an exceptional combination of ingredients at a potency that may not be available in many other products: one is comprehensive liver-support formula featuring the InCelligence Detox-Support Complex and ingredients that support the production of glutathione in my body where it is made. And another groundbreaking bioflavonoid and advanced vitamin C supplement to give me advanced levels over and above what I get from my diet. 

• Do pulmonary deep breathing

Begin to inhale and exhale deeply through the nose. On each inhale, fill the belly up with your breath. Expand the belly with air like a balloon. Exhale by expelling all the air out from the belly through your nose.

B Vitamins Might Also Help Protect Your Health from Bad Air

Animal models have already shown that the administration of B vitamins (and other methyl-rich nutrients) can help reduce the negative effects of environmental stressors on DNA.

A study published in PNAS used B vitamins to determine if the results previously observed in animals was relevant in humans. During treatment individuals were given 2.5 mg/day folic acid, 50 mg/day vitamin B6, and 1 mg/day vitamin B12. The individuals were exposed to PM_2.5 to determine if epigenetic alterations were mitigated by B vitamin supplementation.

Following exposure to the PM_2.5, different locations of the subjects’ DNA were measured to determine the extent of DNA changes. Supplementation with the B vitamin lessened DNA changes in the top 10 locations by 28-76 percent compared to placebo.

More research in this area needs to be conducted. But this study demonstrates supplementation with B vitamins may help protect against the negative effects of air pollution. Zhong J, Karlsson O, Wang G, et al. B vitamins attenuate the epigenetic effects of ambient fine particles in a pilot human intervention trial. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2017;114(13):3503-3508.

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*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Consult your medical team first.