Unhealthy Air Quality Podcast

A quick conversation between two Ayurvedic experts on the current unhealthy air conditions and allergy season.

Portia - Namaste everyone I’m greeting you from a very smoky San Gabriel Valley. We have the Bobcat fire raging in the San Gabriel Mountains not too far from where I live. There are lots of fires happening up in northern California, Oregon as well as Washington State. We just wanted to take a few minutes to talk to you about how you can better protect yourself and your loved ones from all of this smoke inhalation and exposure due to all of these wildfires. Of course here to guide us through all of this is our resident and Ayurveda expert Vaidya Jay.

Namaste and welcome Vaidya Jay. If I could just take you outside you would see how horrible the air-quality is today. It is thicker so I imagine the people with lung issues are having a pretty difficult time right now but none of us are immune to the harmful effects of smoke that we are seeing here that is where ever you live in southern California. I think it is important that we talk a little bit to our audience about how we can protect ourselves, cope with air pollution and smoke exposure.

Vaidya - Namaste Portia. The air quality is so poor and hazardous. It is recommended to strengthen our lungs and nasal passages from any exposure that we are having. I see people saying that their eyes are irritated, if there is one thing that we have to keep in mind it’s not to be exposed. Ayurveda says prevention is better than cure so not to go out I don’t think that you are strong and resistant to this type of smoke because you may feel okay when you’re exposed but there is a latent fracture of these exposures that we may not feel right away. Using masks when you have to go out and if you have to go out. Also, protect your eyes when you come back from an outside trip by splashing cold water in your eyes, keeping your lungs clear can be done by using something that warms up your lungs. A hot tea made from ginger, licorice, or mint which is aromatic but at the same time helps to open up your lungs. These types of teas will help against accumulation as everyone is aware that the human body secretes mucus so once we expose ourselves the dust or ash particles which are very very fine entangle themselves and keep on irritating the lungs. We want to make sure the mucus secreted naturally by the body is liquefied and expectorated or moved from the place it gets accumulated in, that is why the teas made from all these ingredients are recommended.

As per the diet is concerned one must stay away from diets that our making is he body produce more mucus for example taking a banana milkshake or eating cheese lasagna is not good for this time because they create more mucus which is detrimental to the lung expansion so- keep your lungs clean, keep them free from mucus. A great formula would be honey paste made from a quarter teaspoon of clove, black pepper as both of them are excellent for keeping the sinuses clear of the mucus and the irritation, then licorice which is great for the throat as it prevents throat irritation, lastly turmeric that is antiallergic. So you put together half a teaspoon licorice, a quarter teaspoon of both clove and black pepper, and turmeric mix it with honey. This honey paste can be consumed by all the family members digging in with a spoon 2 or 3 times a day will help the mucus membrane be free of any kind of irritation.

Portia – So if you take this at night and add a little bit of nutmeg will that also be supportive of good quality sleep?

Vaidya - Yes, that is an appropriate ingredient to go in there at night time because nutmeg is helpful for quality sleep. Sometimes the smoke or nature or how the outside looks may cause you to have disturbed sleep so nutmeg will be a great companion to add on.

Portia- We are going to try that at home.

Vaidya - So those are the things that you can do to – prevent exposure, keep your lungs clean, and free from mucus.

Portia- Thank you so much, Vaidya Jay, these are quick and easy suggestions. People will find that most of these things are already available in their cupboards at home, if not they can run out and spend a few dollars as an investment for extra protection against the air pollution that we are seeing right now.

Vaidya- Thank you for bringing this topic to us and I’m hoping that these home remedies can be done by all our listeners to keep their families and loved ones healthy.