We are What We Inhale

"Air Auras"

Life is extremely dynamic. And interwoven.

There is a growing appreciation that we are what we eat. But we are also what we inhale. And what we inhale is also part of what we ourselves “out-gas”. And, how these out-gassing personal chemicals merge with the air surrounding us. And the chemicals that air contains.

We are a tapestry.

Years ago I lived in India, studying therapeutic yoga, kirtan (healing and spiritual dynamics of singing scriptures), and Ayurvedic medicine. At that time I practiced intense daily yoga, meditation, and prayer. There were growing discussions about how all of these practices influenced our own spheres of energy, labeled, "auras”.

Now, there is a growing appreciation of “air auras”. How air is a new “food”. And our own interacting roles, with that food. In other words, how we “give off” or “out-gas” our own chemicals that interact with the air surrounding us.

Let’s take a dive…

People typically spend 90% of their lives “inside”. At home, work, or in transport.

Within these enclosed spaces, we’re exposed to a multitude of chemicals. From various sources. Such as outdoor pollutants that gain entry to inside spaces, gaseous emissions from building materials and furnishings, and products of our own activities such as cooking, personal care products, and cleaning products.

In addition, we ourselves exude potent mobile emission sources of chemicals.

Yes, as odd as it sounds, we ourselves “out-gas” chemicals. In our breath and from our skin. These emissions enter indoor air. And interact with this inside air.

We live in a swirl of chemicals.

How do these chemicals get processed? Or, disappear?

This happens outdoors. Air gets cleaned outdoors naturally. Sunlight and rain cause chemical oxidation. Sunlight and rain form Hydroxyl (OH) radicals which are largely responsible for outdoor air “chemical cleaning”.

Hydroxyl (OH) radicals are called the detergents of the atmosphere. They are primarily formed when UV light from the sun interacts with ozone and water vapor.

Indoor air doesn’t get much direct sunlight. UV rays are mostly filtered out by glass windows. And of course, there’s no rain inside your home (unless you have holes in your roof).

It’s now been discovered that high levels of OH radicals can be generated indoors, simply due to the presence of people - you and me - and ozone inside our home air.

We react with the chemicals around us. And we give off chemicals ourselves.

This forms what is now being called an “oxidation field”. An air aura.

The strength and shape of this oxidation field, or air aura, are determined by how much ozone is present. And the ventilation of the indoor space we occupy. And what we ourselves “out-gas”.

The oxidation field is generated by the reaction of ozone with our own oils and fats on our skin. Our skin has lipids that keep skin supple. About 10% of these fats are unsaturated triterpene squalene, which especially reacts with the ozone in our indoor air.

Our skin lipids and air ozone create human-OH. We exude OH that helps “clean” our own indoor air.

In this process, we transform many of the chemicals in our immediate vicinity.

We actually create new air products directly into our breathing zone. With completely unknown health impacts.

Chemical emissions from materials and furnishings are being tested in isolation before approval for sale.

But now we ourselves are found to interact with these out-gassings from materials and furniture. And these have yet to be tested.

That which we live with interacts with our “air aura”.

This is a brand new arena of indoor air chemistry. And health implications.

For example, we inhale furniture material out-gassings. The interaction between what we inhale and our own bodies can produce respiratory irritants, like 4-oxopentanal (4-OPA). As well as small particles.

What we ourselves “out-gas” merges with the surrounding air. It can produce irritants or small particles. That can be inhaled. That may influence health. Especially kids and the elderly.

How we move through our universe, the furniture surrounding us, the cleanliness of our duct system, the hidden mold or out-gassing formaldehyde, the phthalates in the perfume you spray after your shower, the quality of shower water, on and on, all contribute to your own “air aura”.

Air is becoming as important as food.

We interact with the air surrounding us.

We are all connected. Spiritual leaders have spoken for years about the unity of the universe, and how we are all one.

This is only one manifestation of that consciousness. But we are an interactive human part of that which we move and inhale and call our lives.

Live as clean as possible. Buy as clean as possible. Create a universe that sustains more than damages. As much as we can without driving ourselves insane.

Baby steps of creating healthier indoors are doable. Get high-quality air filters. Take your shoes off at the door. Have shower water filters. Use vinegar in your wash, not harsh chemicals. Use green detergent. Wear essential oils avoiding most commercial perfumes. Wear organic make-up, especially lipstick which you swallow and get on eating utensils. I write about a lot of this in Hormone Deception, a must-have reference book on how (and why) to keep our lives (and air auras) as “clean” as possible.

Being simply. Start one new habit or purchase a month. Not all at once. A cleaner life leads to “cleaner” air auras.

These findings are part of a project called ICHEAR. This stands for Indoor Chemical Human Emissions and Reactivity Project. This is a collaboration between international scientists from Denmark (DTU), the USA (Rutgers University), and Germany (MPI).

This is a very important new area of health. But you probably won’t be discussing this with your doc. So we are chatting about it here.

Your thoughts?

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Researching, connecting the dots in meaningful ways & sharing with you makes me Happy! I love connecting live over Zoom with many of you in my monthly membership webinars. Not a part of the Live or Pro Level membership? Learn more here: Berkson Health Membership Groups

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Reference:

The human oxidation field. Science, 2022; 377 (6610): 1071

Hormone Deception McGraw-Hill 2000, Awakened Medicine Press 2016. Berkson DL.