Fresh and pollution-free air, to breathe, is a necessity for every human being on this earth. However, as per the recent reports, entire environment is hugely polluted all over the world. Now, the question is how to get fresh and pollution-free air for our survival. Human beings can survive without food for some time, but without pure air, life would be in danger.our body receives a sufficient quantity of oxygen through blood circulation. It is considered that we receive 95% energy in our physical system by oxygen and only 10% by food and water. Oxygen level below 90% in the physical body is known as hypoxia, means a low oxygen level, which results in various kinds of diseases. Cancer is one major disease caused by hypoxia.
The air we inhale contains, by volume, 78.08% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen and small amounts of argon, carbon dioxide, neon, helium, and hydrogen [according to “Earth Fact Sheet” – nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov]. Our physical body works well only in the situation when every organ of Plants are the best source of oxygen in our environment. Tiny ocean plants – called phytoplankton, that live near the water’s surface and drift with the currents, are the major contributors. Like all plants, they photosynthesize – that is, they use sunlight and carbon dioxide
Why should I care if your children die from dirty water; polluted air; CFCs in the environment; plastic in everything that they ingest and breath; radiation from microwave towers, communication networks and mobile phones; radiation from nuclear fallout and artificial microbes bred for specific uses? You don’t? Otherwise, if you did care, you would actually get off your seats and do something. But you don’t. You just sit back and let everything happen because you believe that you can’t make a difference, but the truth is; everyone can make a difference if there is enough of us. It’s time to put greed aside and start living with the knowledge that you can make a difference.
– Anthony T. Hincks
“You wouldn’t think you could kill an ocean, would you? But we’ll do it one day. That’s how negligent we are. – Ian Rankin”
to make food. A byproduct of photosynthesis is oxygen. It is believed that phytoplankton contribute between 50 to 85 percent of the oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere. Indian plants/trees like Peepal (Ficus Religiosa), Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum), Neem (Azadirachta Indica), and Banyan tree (Ficus Benghalensis) provide more oxygen than other terrestrial plants.The human body needs a certain level of oxygen for its functioning. Low oxygen levels in the physical system result in difficulty in breathing. Besides many vital organs, like liver, brain, and kidney stop functioning correctly due to the lack of sufficient amount of oxygen and results in various kinds of physical ailments.Oxygen is not required just for the functioning of different organs but also their growth. Therefore right diet is essential to achieve higher level of oxygen in the blood circulation. For example sprouted food contains lots of fiber. Similarly, raisin, dates, carrot, ginger and green vegetables include lots of antioxidants. Fruits full of vitamins and herbs with high level of iron help in absorbing more and more oxygen in our blood. Another great source of oxygen is water, and hence drinking a sufficient quantity of water is vital to acquire more oxygen in the blood.
Morning walk and deep breathing are other sources of increasing the oxygen level in the physical body, improve blood circulation, and energize entire mind-body system. Bones and muscles become strong with regular walking. Fresh air received during morning walk also creates red blood cells. Psychiatrists recommend morning walk to get rid of problems like anxiety and depression. Doctors recommend morning walk for asthma and TB patients or any other type of lung-related issues. Those who face the problem of sleeplessness, morning walk is considered the best remedy.
The amount of total oxygen required for one person to breathe for one full year is considered to be equivalent to the amount of oxygen released by five big size trees. However, ratio of plants, trees, and human beings has been disturbed in today’s world due to cutting of trees from the forests and urban areas, resulting in polluted air and diseased society.
Oxygen is a precious gift from nature to human beings. To increase the quantity of precious oxygen, it is essential to keep the earth green. Air is hugely polluted in the cities due to limited number of plants in the environment. The number of concrete houses is more than the number of plants in urban areas. Even the forests are being converted into cities these days due to increasing population. Further, there is no replacement for trees, which are destroyed. We must understand the importance of plants and trees in our lives. We must keep a balance of plants, trees and concrete buildings in our surroundings, where we live.For our healthy body and mind, our environment must be clean. As we have discussed above, plants and trees play very important role in harmonizing our mind-body system. Therefore, if we save plants, they will save our lives.
“The health effects of air pollution imperil human lives. This fact is welldocumented. – Eddie Bernice Johnson”
Akhand Jyoti Magazine Nov-Dec 2019