The Last Day of Summer

Is that it? Summer is finally over. And so is the sweet melancholy of August, listening to nature sounds - soothing ocean waves or a chorus of crickets while sitting on a porch, sun drying you with warm rays... It's the end of the holiday break.

Tomorrow is September, the second most stressful month of the year. It is known for stock market volatility and big financial crashes, strategic planning meetings, storms and tornadoes, hectic days at work, the season of "back to school" and the time for a change.

Healthwise, it's the time for children's asthma spikes,  mold spores and dust mites, triggering sneezes, wheezes, and runny noses, as we are exposed to an increased number of indoor allergens and approaching winter.

Yet, many people are looking forward to the first of September. Dr. Levy's pediatric patients, nostalgia marketers, fashion designers. Perhaps more of us should. As we prepare to change our clothes and daily schedules, we might as well plan to make a change to build a better life.

Why wait until the New Year for resolutions?

This might be your year!

REFERENCES

Levy, A. (2015). The Night Before the First Day of School Journal of Clinical Oncology, 33 (13), 1509-1510 DOI: 10.1200/JCO.2014.60.5790

Muehling, D., Sprott, D., & Sprott, D. (2004). THE POWER OF REFLECTION: An Empirical Examination of Nostalgia Advertising Effects Journal of Advertising, 33 (3), 25-35 DOI: 10.1080/00913367.2004.10639165

Sears MR, & Johnston NW (2007). Understanding the September asthma epidemic. The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology, 120 (3), 526-9 PMID: 17658590

Keeping Pollutants Out with Exercise

Food, drugs, air and everyday products like soap, cloth and grocery receipts are polluting our bodies with hundreds of toxic chemicals. New chemicals are constantly being introduced into our environment and the effects of most of them on human health are not known. About 30% of human diseases are due to environmental exposures as genetics is not the whole story. 

Whether rich or poor, our bodies are burdened with toxic waste. High socioeconomic status means more mercury and arsenic from fancy fish, chemicals from carpet cleaning and sun screens. Poverty is associated with chemicals from  smoking and eating canned food. Besides, high fat diet and other prior exposures make us even more vulnerable and less able to handle the load of toxic waste. 

Intake of toxins from food, drugs and personal care products can be minimized by smarter consumption, awareness and learning - although sometimes we need a pair of earmuffs to filter excessively negative information in the press. But what about the chemicals in the air? Should we try to stay inside residential buildings and limit exercise if we live in urban environments? 
Air pollution and aerobic exercise could be a very unhealthy combination. Pre-workout exposure to polluted air raises heart rates during the workout. During aerobic activity we typically inhale more air through our mouth bypassing the nasal passages, thus not filtering out pollution particles and breathing them more deeply into our lungs. Certainly, people with or predisposed to asthma, diabetes and other chronic conditions might want to avoid spending times outdoors when air is polluted. But for the rest of us, physical activities like walking or biking to work could be OK - if we pedal harder. 

Polluted air can, indeed, promote inflammation, but exercise builds abilities to fight inflammation, making us stronger over time and protecting our bodies from negative effects of pollution. Mild levels of exercise can make us inhale even more polluted air. But if we apply sustainable efforts, our respiratory or metabolic responses are practically the same as in the clean air. Is it because heavier breathing helps us to getting rid of the pollutants before they had a chance to trigger harmful effects? 

Whatever the explanation - exercise is good for you. It is your best defense against pollution. 

• REFERENCES

Giles LV, & Koehle MS (2013). The Health Effects of Exercising in Air Pollution. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) PMID: 24174304

Tyrrell J, Melzer D, Henley W, Galloway TS, & Osborne NJ (2013). Associations between socioeconomic status and environmental toxicant concentrations in adults in the USA: NHANES 2001-2010. Environment international, 59, 328-35 PMID: 23892225

Vieira RP, Toledo AC, Silva LB, Almeida FM, Damaceno-Rodrigues NR, Caldini EG, Santos AB, Rivero DH, Hizume DC, Lopes FD, Olivo CR, Castro-Faria-Neto HC, Martins MA, Saldiva PH, Dolhnikoff M. (2012)  Med Sci Sports Exerc. Jul;44(7):1227-34. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e31824b2877. Anti-inflammatory effects of aerobic exercise in mice exposed to air pollution. PMID: 22297803