Welcome back to our discussion of the Foundations of Health! If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, or just need a good refresher on our previous discussion, you can find it here.

Previously, we discussed the importance of water and why it is considered foundational to good health. Today we will look at some other things that will help you build a good foundation so that your health can stand up to the storms of life.

Foundation #2 – Air

I think we can all agree that air is important to both health and life. After all, without oxygen the body ceases to function, so this foundation seems like kind of a DUH. So why even bring it up?

For a few reasons. Our health is dependent upon both the quality and quantity of air that we take in.

What do I mean by quantity? I’m talking about the depth of air that we take in. Our lungs are one of the primary avenues for our bodies to expel toxins. If we’re just breathing shallowly and only using a small part of our lung capacity, which is very common in the U.S., many of those toxins that the body is working hard to expel are just stagnating in the bottom of our lungs. The only way to remove them is by flooding those areas with fresh air.

The best way to do this is by slowing down and actually focusing on our breathing. Taking long, slow, deep breaths that fully engage the diaphragm instead of the more common quick shallow breaths using the chest muscles. Diaphragmatic breathing is what gets the stale, toxin laden air out of our bodies and brings in refreshing oxygen to the body.

Now let’s talk about the quality of the air that we’re taking in. There may not be much you can do about the quality of the air you breathe while outside or on the job, but there are plenty of things you can do to improve the quality of the air that you breathe inside your home. So, since our bodies are working hard to expel toxins while breathing out, the first thing we want to do is limit how many toxins we’re taking in each time we breathe in.

Fragrances are perhaps the most prevalent toxin that we breathe in each and every day. We’re surrounded by them! Fragrances are found in our soaps, personal hygiene items, candles, air fresheners, cleaners, you name it! So one of the best things you can do to improve your air quality is start getting rid of those fragrance laden items in your home and start replacing them with products that have natural ingredients and no fragrance. Now don’t get me wrong, ditching the fragrances doesn’t mean dumping out everything that smells nice. Consider the benefits of diffusing essential oils instead of burning fragrance laden candles. (Not sure where to find quality essential oils? Check out our Shop page.)

Another easy way to improve your air quality is by bringing live plants inside. Not only to plants give off oxygen, which is what you need, they use up carbon dioxide and can pull toxins out of the air making it healthier for you to breathe as well.

A quick internet search will yield lists of helpful plants that can be easy to grow indoors and improve the quality of the air you’re breathing. Off of the top of my head some good ones include peace lilies, snake plants, and rubber plants. Yes, there are several more out there, I’m just not the most knowledgeable plant person.

Speaking of plants, that brings us nicely to our next Foundation of Health – Sunlight!

That’s right, you are like a plant in that you need sunlight too. Why? Well there are a couple of good reasons. First, your skin uses sunlight to make Vitamin D. Vitamin D is a very important part of your immune system, and we ALL want a healthy and properly functioning immune system. Lately it seems that more and more of us are spending more and more of our lives indoors for both work and play thereby shorting ourselves on this precious vitamin. Second, exposure to sunlight, especially morning and evening sunlight, helps set our circadian rhythm and improves our sleep.

The topic of sleep deserves it’s own discussion, so look for that on our next Foundations blog post!

Jessica Meades