A new study from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University in New York, found that a combination of vitamins could help protect your health when exposed to high levels of fine particles in the air.
An international research team found that a combination of three B vitamins – folic acid, B6 and B12 – could strengthen the self-defence mechanism of genome molecules, which are prone to mutate when exposed to high levels of PM2.5 (respirable suspended particles with a diameter of 2.5 microns or less). In addition, these vitamins could help healthy adults offset the inflammatory and other symptoms of short-term exposure, especially if they came from an area low in pollution.
While no dosages have yet been given, researchers recommended eating more food rich in vitamin B when traveling to an area of high air pollution. Leafy green vegetables and beans which are rich in folic acid. Fish, beef liver and starchy vegetables are high in B6. And B12 requires eating animal products, such as fish, meat, eggs and milk.
This is the first test on living humans to suggest a remedy for genetic damage caused by smog.
Well known symptoms of smog exposure include chest pain, dizziness, headaches and heart disease. Smog has also been associated with an increased in death rates, damage to human brain cells and interfering with the way genes work.
More than 90 per cent of the world’s population live in places where the annual average PM2.5 level is worse than the 10mcg per cubic metre of air recommended by the World Health Organisation.
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST: How vitamins can protect you from the damaging effects of air pollution
