Health Notes, March 2nd 2008, by Sarah Stacey

A breath of fresh air

Air pollution is nothing new.  Wiliam Shakespeare said he ‘durst not laugh for fear of opening my lips and receiving the bad air’.  London smog – caused by burning high-sulphur coal fires during cold fog, which concentrated the pollutants - killed millions through lung infections.  But now we face a different enemy: electro-pollution, and this time it’s indoors.  Look around your home and workplace and count the number of electrical gizmos you use every day, which may emit electro-magnetic frequencies (EMFs). Also, there’s so-called sick building syndrome, which may stem from fungi, mould, damp, carbon monoxide and, rarely but dangerously, radon. In her new book, Imperfectly Natural Home: The Organic Bible, radio presenter and author Janey Lee Grace highlights the issues and suggests sensible, and often simple, ways of combatting problems.  Here are her top suggestions:

• Open all the doors and windows to energise your home and improve air quality in five minutes’ flat! 

• Burn some incense: Janey likes ‘Sandalwood’ from onevillage.org, which is eco-friendly, handmade, fairtrade and recyclable. £13 for 12 envelopes of incense sticks (12 per envelope), post free in UK from www.onevillage.org/aromatics.htm#fragrances

• Place a bowl of sea salt in the office: this is said to absorb environmental pollutants.  Unpolished, clear quartz crystals do the same: place them on fuse boxes, electricity meters and near computers.  Clean regularly in running water.

• Acquire lots of house plants: spider plants, peace lilies and the pothos (or climbing devil’s ivy) are recommended by NASA-funded scientists as the best for cleaning indoor air.  One plant per each piece of electronic equipment is ideal.  Aloe vera plants also help, plus you can break a leaf and use the gooey gel on any skin condition.  (Do read plant labels and put them in conditions they like: ‘and remember to water them’, Janey reminds.)

• Check your house for electro-pollution: rent or buy a meter to measure EMF (electro-magnetic frequency); they’re simple to operate and you can discover any potential problems.  The A-COM meter (£15 to rent from www.healthyhouse.co.uk) will check your home environment for pulsed frequences from different sources.  More information from powerwatch.org.uk.

• Invest in an ioniser: these gadgets boost the healthy, negatively-charged ions (molecules) in the air, reducing the levels of fatigue-inducing air pollution, also bacteria and viruses.  Computers,  cars and any spaces with electrical equipment are hot spots of positive ( ‘bad’) ions so if you spend long hours typing or driving, an ioniser may help lift fatigue and prevent allergies.  Basic ones cost from £30 at Boots nationwide, or visit www.integralnutrition.co.uk for ‘amazing’ therapeutic ionisers. 

• Protect yourself while you sleep: have as few electrical items as possible in your bedroom and switch them off (ideally unplug them) before you go to sleep.  Opt for an old style, wind-up alarm clock (rather than an electrical one), with regular light bulbs rather than halogen lamps, which usually use transformers that  may emit sleep-disturbing EMF’s next to your head.  Before bed take one capsule of Asphalia, a natural form of melatonin to help protect you from electro pollution and has a beneficial effect on disturbed sleep generally. Asphalia by Coghill Research, £11.95 for 30 capsules, from Victoria Health, www.victoriahealth.com.
  
  
• If you spend hours at your computer, try a good value Quartz CompuShield, £14.99, a small round device that sticks to your computer or laptop; there’s also a Quartz PhoneShield, £9.99, for mobiles.  Both claim to help protect you for the effects of radiation.  From www.healthpal.co.uk, tel: 01923 845233

To order a copy of Imperfectly Natural Home: How to create a healthy natural home by Janey Lee Grace (pub Orion) for £8.44 from www.amazon.co.uk, just click here.

Sleeping son, happy mummy!

A reader signing herself ‘happy mummy!’ reports that her 4 year old son, who was restless and sleepless at nights, now slumbers on a Cuski Kids Orthopaedic Pillow at the suggestion of their GP and the difference is phenomenal.  ‘He doesn’t toss and turn but stays in the same position all night and wakes up bright and happy.  I’m so impressed with it I cant stop telling everyone.’ If your child has the same sleep problems, do check with your GP first.  £35, tel: 01829 771 825, www.cuski.co.uk.

Loo training

Bodies are naturally designed so that things move more easily and efficiently if our knees are positioned above hips when we go to the loo.  The Loo Stool replicates this natural shape and helps solve problems such as constipation and straining, and aids potty training. £45, from thoughtfulproducts.co.uk.

Website of the week: www.pukkaherbs.com

Discover your Ayurvedic mind and body type, or dosha, with Pukka Herbs online quiz (look under Ayurveda for Life).  According to the ancient Indian healthcare system, we’re a combination of three doshas – Vata (visionary, imaginative, creative), Pitta (confident organised, perfectionist) and Kapha (loyal, kind, loving) – but one usually dominates.  If the doshas are out of balance, it affects our mental and physical health.  Gripping!