Home is where the heart is — but it could also be where your health troubles start.
uncertain
troubles → start → ?
Americans spend roughly 90% of their time indoors, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
uncertain
Americans → spend → Agency
But the air inside your home, office or school may not be as clean as you think it is.
uncertain
it → think → home
“Air quality indoors can be up to five times worse than air quality outside, which shocks a lot of people,” Dr. Yvonne Burkart, a toxicologist, author and expert on reproductive and endocrine disorders, said in an episode of the podcast The Diary of a CEO.
asserted
Burkart → shock → CEO
“The reason being that people are not adequately venting their homes.”
asserted
people → vent → homes
Children, older adults and people with heart and respiratory disease are particularly vulnerable to air pollution and they also tend to spend more time indoors than the average person.
asserted
they → tend → person
Breathing unclean air is linked to a wide range of health risks.
asserted
Breathing → breathe → risks
Short-term exposure can cause ear, nose and throat irritation, headaches, dizziness and fatigue.
asserted
exposure → cause → irritation
More severe, long-term risks include asthma attacks, bronchitis, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart disease, lung cancer and nervous system damage.
asserted
risks → include → attacks
“If you want to improve your health, you have to clean up your indoor air,” said Burkart.
asserted
Burkart → want → air
So where exactly is all that pollution coming from?
1.
asserted
pollution → come → where
Cooking
One major source is cooking, she explained.
asserted
she → explain → ?
While heating food may fill your home with delicious smells, it’s also releasing pollutants into the air.
uncertain
it → heat → air
These include combustion gases, like nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and formaldehyde.
asserted
These → include → dioxide
Cooking can also release volatile organic compounds and particulate matter, or PM2.5.
asserted
Cooking → release → compounds
PM2.5 is dangerous because it’s microscopic size allows it to slip past the body’s natural defenses, penetrating deep into the lungs and entering the bloodstream.
asserted
it → allow → bloodstream
Of course, cooking is an essential indoor task, so Burkart urges people to consider other ways they might be unknowingly polluting their homes.
uncertain
they → urge → homes
“We need to prioritize what’s important and what’s not important,” she said.
asserted
she → need → ?
2. Lighting candles
Your favorite candle could also be releasing pollutants, soot and toxic chemicals into your living room, increasing the risk of respiratory issues and other long-term health concerns.
uncertain
candle → light → issues
A 2023 study found that frequent, long-term exposure to certain pollutants from low-quality scented candles in closed spaces was linked to a higher risk of cellular damage and health complications.
asserted
exposure → find → damage
Some research even suggests that candles may emit toxins when unlit.
uncertain
candles → suggest → toxins
For those not ready to give up their candle habit, Burkart advised choosing a “better candle.”
asserted
Burkart → give → candle
That could mean opting for “cleaner,” natural waxes, such as 100% pure beeswax or soy wax, instead of parrafin, and opening the window to improve ventilation.
uncertain
That → mean → ventilation
It’s also advised to limit burn time to no more than four hours.
asserted
It → advise → hours
Shoes
Your footwear could also be tracking unwanted pollutants into your home — think pathogenic bacteria and viruses, heavy metals, industrial chemical, pesticides and, of course, poop.
uncertain
footwear → track → course
Burkart suggests leaving shoes worn outside the home at the door: “Things that are outside should stay outside.”
uncertain
that → leave → door
“That doesn’t mean you have to go barefoot,” she added.
asserted
she → mean → ?
“You can wear slippers, you can wear other shoes that are specifically meant to stay indoors.”
asserted
that → wear → shoes
The Aporia
