Do Real Men Read O Magazine? I Certainly Do!
By Joe Castner, VP Marketing
Health is a major topic of discussion in O Magazine. I’ve already mentioned that I’m a big fan of Dr. Oz (Oprah’s protégé and the heir apparent to her daytime TV kingdom). I don’t have much opportunity to actually flip through the pages of her magazine but I do keep my eye peeled for online articles that address asthma, allergies, and indoor air quality & pollution.
It was during one of those searches that I found an interesting article in the June 2011 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine, entitled How to Protect Yourself for Air Pollution (No Mask Required!), written by Amanda Schupak. It’s a quick read and it should really open eyes about the many health risks associated with air pollution.
Of course, with the weather heating up, it would seem logical that Ms. Schupak would recommend staying indoors as much as possible. I find this interesting since most people already spend 90% of their time indoors, and many studies have proven that indoor air is many times more polluted than outdoor air. That being said, air pollution, be it of the indoor or outdoor variety, is responsible for many more health risks than asthma attacks, allergy attacks and other respiratory ailments. The list of other ailments is quite shocking. It includes headaches, appendicitis, high blood pressure, type II diabetes, & breast cancer.
And I thought all of those ailments were the result of a sedentary lifestyle?
As to what to do about all of this "sick" air, there’s not too much “new “news here. Ms. Schupak recommends going outdoors early if you really must go out at all. She also urges people to stay away from busy streets and roads as this is where the highest levels of pollutants are found. I guess that’s sound advice is you don’t have to go to work or if you work from home. I suppose short early morning jaunts in the country are OK.
And when you get back safely indoors, she recommends that you filter your air though a MERV 9 or higher air filter, and that you keep your filter clean. As an air filtration guy, I know that a MERV 9 filter will clog very quickly, and when it does, the energy required to pull air though it will increase to a ridiculously high level. I have also read studies that said that most people don’t clean nor replace their filters consistent with the manufacturer’s specs, and that 10% have never cleaned their filter.
If you would like to read the entire article, please click here.
My advice to anyone concerned about air pollution and its potential for damaging our health is this: call your HVAC contractors and have them install an AspenAir whole-house high-efficiency air cleaner in your home. It will remove all the stuff from the air that makes people sick and it will lower your heating and cooling bills in the process. In regards to keeping your filter clean - I would have your contractor do that for you. Most contractors are more than happy to add their customers to a “low cost” or even a “no cost” programmed maintenance program that includes keeping your filters clean.
You can have clean, healthy indoor air that will ultimately pay for itself due to lower heating and cooling bills. It’s 2011 and outstanding air filtration products really do exist. They will keep you and your family healthy and they will help you lower your energy bills. Now who wouldn’t be interested in having both?
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