Airing the house is important, and should be done often, especially during or after cooking and when we want to liven up the atmosphere by lighting candles. This is because both cooking and keeping candles lit are actions that can cause the emission of particles capable of increasing inflammation and damaging DNA, as emerges from a very recent scientific research published in the journal Particle and Fiber Toxicology by a team of Danish scientists (Laursen et al, Particle and Fiber Toxicology, Jul 2023).
Air outside and inside the home
Many studies are dedicated to the effects of outdoor air quality on health, as a consequence of exposure to exhaust gases and industrial fumes. But what about the air we breathe in our homes? The research we are talking about today delves into this important topic, given that people generally spend 90% of their time indoors and most of this time in their homes.
Why it is important to ventilate often, the study
Scientists recruited 36 young adults, aged between 18 and 25, non-smokers and diagnosed with mild asthma. The volunteers were asked to stay in one room for 5 hours. During this time the air that was blown into the room was clean. In a subsequent session, lasting 5 hours, the air was the same as what you can breathe in a kitchen when cooking using an oven and/or hob. Finally, in a third session, also lasting 5 hours, the air introduced was what you can breathe in a room with a lit candle. Before and after each session, the volunteers underwent medical tests to assess their state of health following exposure to ultrafine particles released by cooking processes and lit candles. What has emerged is that both cooking and lighting candles induce irritation and inflammation, both at the airway and systemic level. Not only that, traces of DNA damage were also found in the blood of the volunteers.
Conclusions
The study focused on young adults with mild asthma. The findings are therefore truly significant as young adults are generally more resilient and fitter than older people. Moreover, what has been observed does not apply only to those suffering from asthma. Other research will follow to better understand the effects of the particles released by cooking and lit candles in the case of healthy people, but the authors of the study themselves anticipate that they expect the same results and indicate that everyone should pay attention and ventilate the house often, in order to prevent pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases and even cellular degeneration. After all, these are really small tricks that we can all put into practice to gain in health.
