Air is an invisible, tasteless, odorless mixture of gases surrounding the earth. Air at sea level is composed of 21% oxygen, 78% nitrogen, 1% water vapor, carbon dioxide and traces of ammonia, argon, helium, and other rare gases. Experiments have shown that death will occur from prolonged inhalation of air, in which the proportion of oxygen is much greater than that in which it naturally occurs in the atmosphere. Therefore, we know that the mixture called air is not an accidental compound, but one perfectly adapted by our Creator to the needs of the human body. …
Air is Electrically Charged
Air contains electricity. The air we breathe affects the body as if it were charged with electricity. This electrical energy, absorbed by the blood, is carried to all parts of the body. The air we breathe contains both negatively charged ions and positively charged ions. Our bodies need a larger portion of the negatively charged ions for optimum health. As we breathe large quantities of positively charged ions (the bad kind), we may feel such adverse effects as headache, nasal obstruction, hoarseness, fatigue, dry throat, dizziness, etc. Breathing mostly negatively charged air (the good kind) will produce feelings of exhilaration and well-being. Negatively charged air has been shown to decrease the respiration rate and lower blood pressure, while positively charged air [the bad kind] does just the opposite.
Negatively charged air (the good kind) is found in abundance at the ocean, in the mountains, at the foot of a waterfall or by a river or stream. All outside air has a large amount of negative ions. This is why we feel so good when we go camping or to the ocean. Or, if one is fatigued, a short walk outside in the fresh air will liven up the whole body. There are over 3–4 thousand negative ions in one cubic centimeter of mountain air, but only 100 negative ions in one cubic centimeter of air in an office building at the end of an eight hour day. All electrical appliances, air conditioning units, and the like use up the good negative ions and give off positive ions. All the air we exhale is positively charged; that’s why a person gets drowsy after sitting for a long time in a closed room that is full of people.
The Lungs Give Off Positively Charged Poisonous Gases
Both food and oxygen are taken by the blood to the cells and are there converted into heat and energy by a process similar to combustion. When common fuel is burned, a by-product is formed – a gas or smoke which is deadly and must be removed. In like manner, the burning of food and oxygen in the body cells produce a positively charged carbonic acid gas, which is taken by lymph and blood to the lungs to be exhaled, thus saving the body from harm. If this elimination should cease for a few minutes, life would cease. About thirty quarts of this positively charged carbonic acid gas are exhaled per hour by one person. About one third of the body wastes, which are poisons, go out from the lungs. We should always so arrange our ventilation that those wastes will quickly go out-of-doors rather than accumulate in the room, thus enabling the lungs to always have a good supply of fresh, clean, negatively charged air.
Our Skin Also Needs Pure Fresh Air
The skin has millions of minute openings known as pores. One of the functions of these pores is to breathe in the fresh air. If we covered the skin of a person with a material like paint and closed these pores up, the person would suffocate in a short time.
Dr. Kellogg, an authority in natural medicine, who stressed adequate ventilation in homes, offices, and school rooms, estimated that each person requires at least 3,000 cubic feet of fresh air per hour to dilute the poisons poured forth from his own lungs and skin. He tells us that any system of ventilation is inadequate which does not supply this amount of air to each occupant of a dwelling. …
An old army surgeon who had charge of large hospitals during the war related a very interesting experience illustrating the importance of giving the sick, especially persons suffering with fever, an abundance of pure air. He said that in a large hospital he had at one time 320 cases of measles during the winter season. The hospital caught fire and burned to the ground, and the patients had to be placed in tents. All but one or two recovered. He said he had no doubt but that the number of deaths would have been thirty or forty at least, had the patients remained in the hospital.
One would never think of eating food some other person had chewed; yet we don’t realize how breathing enclosed, foul air over and over again will poison the bloodstream and injure the lungs. To enjoy good health our homes should have plenty of ventilation (windows opened winter and summer). With our modern sealed homes and air conditioning units re-circulating a large percentage of the impure indoor air, we are starving our lungs of pure fresh air. The oxygen the body obtains from the air is very important in maintaining good health. Without an abundance of pure fresh air, the important work of normalizing the blood chemistry could not be successfully performed and the individual would suffer serious consequences. …
The health of the whole body depends in part upon the healthy action of the respiratory organs and the kind of air we breathe. Man can live weeks without food, days without water, but only minutes without air.
Excerpts from Natural Medicine, Jerry Hoover, N.D., KNI Printers, Inc., pages 1–10.