Taking in chemical pollutants, via your lungs, skin or through food,
increases free-radical production by the body. Keep your home and
work environment as free from pollutants as possible. Here are some
tips for cleaning up your environment:
- New building materials, even new carpet and furniture,
may pollute the indoor air you breathe. If you’ve just
done some remodeling, redecorating, or if you have
tightly sealed your home to save on heating or cooling
costs (thereby sealing potential pollutants inside), keep
two windows open just a bit to let in fresh air and vent
your environment. - Clean out your attic, basement, closets or other areas in
which you may have stored potential pollutants, such as
old cans of paint, aerosols and cleaners. There is constant
leakage of vapors from these products. Store all needed
chemical products in an outside detached garage or shed,
and discard the items you don’t need or want and those
too old to use. - If your garage is attached to the house, try to vent the
garage, as your car leaks fumes from gasoline, oil and
other chemicals. In most homes, these chemicals from the
garage can easily find their way into your living areas. - The best way to filter your indoor air is nature’s way —
plants! Besides being attractive, they are very effective,
often more so than any mechanical filtering device.
Through photosynthesis, plants absorb carbon dioxide
along with other gases, including the chemicals given off
from furniture, cleaners and insulation. The plant’s
leaves filter air, and roots neutralize toxic chemicals with
their natural bacteria and fungi. The best plants for the
job include elephant ear and lacy tree philodendrons,
golden pathos and the spider plant. Any green plant will
work well. About 10 plants per 1,000 square feet of living
space are adequate. That’s one to three plants per room,
depending on room and plant size.
342 • IN FITNESS AND IN HEALTH