Exercise, food & plants: Best ways to prepare your body and home to fight India’s toxic air

Representational image | Sanjeev Verma/Hindustan Times via Getty Images

While they can’t cure the problem of particulate matter or pollution, these three things can help strengthen the body and fortify the home against outside air.

Bengaluru: As with all health issues, in the face of toxic air pollution, it is important to take care of the body through whatever means possible.

While food, exercise or plants can’t cure the problem of particulate matter and are not a solution to pollution, they definitely need to be a part of the daily routine to help strengthen the body and fortify the home against outside air.

Exercise

Be mindful of exercising outdoors; stay indoors as much as possible. Breathing can be made slightly easy by following breathing exercises that can help clear nasal passages and strengthen the lymphatic system and lungs. Yogic poses that target breathing and the chest are helpful.

Ensure that indoors ventilated as well. It is advised that the best time to ventilate your house by throwing open the windows is between 3 to 5 pm. This is when the amount of emission is the least on a daily basis.

Four easy exercises you can incorporate into your day are:

1. Kapalbhati: Sit cross-legged in a comfortable position. Breathe in through your nose and then exhale forcefully while contracting your stomach in. Repeat this for two minutes each day.
2. Pranayama: Sit cross-legged in a comfortable position. Breathe in through your nose while counting to five in your head. Hold your breath for five counts. Then exhale slowly through your mouth for 10 counts. Repeat for two minutes.
3. Anulom vilom: Sit cross-legged in a comfortable position. With your right hand, fold in the index and middle finger to form the ‘Vishnu mudra’. Take turns in using the ring finger and the thumb to block each nostril alternately. Inhale through one nostril then exhale through the other. Repeat for two minutes.
4. Bhujangasana/cobra pose: Lie on your stomach with your palms resting on either side of your chest. Engage your back muscles. Slowly lift up face, shoulders, and chest from the floor without lifting up the hip. Hold for 10 counts and repeat.

Food

Just like exercise, foods cannot combat pollution. But they can make the body stronger.

1. Vitamins B, C, and E: Eat healthy foods containing vitamins B, C, and E, or consume multivitamin supplements. Studies have found that vitamin B is efficient at modulating heart rate upon exposure to pollution, preventing inflammation. Vitamins C and E have been shown to prevent the diminishing of lung functions. But always ensure vitamins are not consumed immediately after a workout as that can reduce the effects of exercise.
2. Cruciferous vegetables: The compound sulphoraphane, found in crucifers like broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower, helps kick in the body’s defence mechanisms against toxins. These can often be consumed as salads and juice as well. Studies have shown that they are efficient in eliminating pollutants.
3. Fats: A diet that includes a lot of healthy fat, specifically omega-3, has been found to be able to better combat conditions that arise from pollution. Food sources that provide a healthy dose of omega-3 are fish, walnuts, chia seeds, flax seeds, canola oil, and soy.
4. Plant-based foods: Studies have shown that the chemicals found in plant-based foods are much more efficient at keeping the immune system active and alert.

Plants

There have been no definitive studies that plants can clean polluted air in a dynamic environment, but many studies, including a famous NASA clean air study, have shown that in a sealed environment, several types of plants are very efficient at eliminating pollutants around them.

The thumb rule seems to be that the larger the leaf or greater the surface area, the better the plant. And, of course, the more the plants, the more the benefits of comparatively cleaner air.

Additionally, bacteria in the plants’ soil aid the process as well.

1. Aloe vera: This plant doubles up as both a fantastic treatment for irritated skin as well as a potential formaldehyde remover.
2. Bamboo palm: These small potted desk plants are capable of cleaning out benzene, trichloroethylene and formaldehyde.
3. Spider plant: Easily identified by its long, striped leaves, the spider plant is known to reduce carbon monoxide.
4. Money plant: The ever-popular creeper commonly found in homes is considered to be able to eliminate benzene that’s found in vehicular exhaust. It also grows well in the shade.