Healthy Habits: 5 Ways to keep yourself healthy through this hazy time
updated the 12 October 2015 à 09:06We can’t control the haze, but we definitely can take the necessary precautions to protect ourselves from it.
We’ve been plagued with the great grey veil for almost a month now. That’s a month worth of air that contains carbon monoxide, dirt and other pollutants we’ve inhaled.
The potential danger of the haze has most respiratory effects, putting asthmatics at a higher risk. However, it can also affect your eyes and your skin.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) measures the pollution levels in the air through the Polluntant Standard Index (PSI). Anything above the PSI value of 100 is considered ‘unhealthy’, while a PSI of 300 and above is considered ‘hazardous’.
According to the NEA, when the quality of the air drops to the ‘unhealthy’ range, it will cause eye irritations, hacking coughs and a lot of sneezing. Those who suffer from respiratory illnesses will experience aggravated symptoms.
With such implications, it is important to take precautions against haze. Other than wearing a mask and staying indoors as much as possible, there are other ways to keep you healthy while we endure through this hazy situation. We round up the five most important.
Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate
Chugging down bottles of H2O is more important that ever now. The very air is dehydrating your body with every breath you take. Drinking water will also help flush the toxins that build up in your system. You can also have tea, juice or add a lemon into your water.
Eat superfoods
Increase your intake of vitamin C and E rich food. Together the vitamins help boost your immunity and even repair damaged tissue. The latter will help build healthier lung tissue, which the poisonous air deteriorates. Get your vitamin C from oranges and lemons and your vitamin E from spinach and broccoli.
Stay away from alcohol and coffee
We’re sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but these two liquids are poor beverage choices during this time. Alcohol and coffee both have the tendency to further dehydrate your body, so you should bear with this slight inconvenience for the time being.
Keep washing hands
Other than through our noses, we can also absorb toxins through our skin. Most of us touch our faces regularly, and use our hands to handle our food, therefore it is important to wash your hands regularly.
Purify the air
When indoors, keep the air clean with ionisers and purifiers. If you don’t own one, you don’t have to rush out the door to buy one. Your airconditioning helps purify the air too.
Amanda Lim
Photo: Getty Images
Read More:
Healthy Habits: 5 Reasons to take sleep seriously
