How The Environment Affects Your Health

It is no secret that our air is polluted, certain foods contain pesticides and that a large amount of plastics end up in the oceans and eventually inside of many marine animals.

We often hear about how waste and pollution harms nature, but how exactly does that affect you?

The Dangers of Indoor Air

We may think that our homes are sealed from the dangers of outside pollution, but in fact you could still be damaging your health by spending too much time indoors.

In fact, the air inside of our homes are filled with numerous toxic chemicals. More precisely, there are 3 chemicals that are particularly dangerous: flame retardants, phthalates and PFAs.

These three groups of chemicals are present all over our homes and have the potential of disrupting our hormone or endocrine systems.

Flame retardants have the potential of hindering children’s development, phthalates can damage fertility and PFAS can influence pregnancy.

The Effects of Pollution On Your Body

Health & Environment.

 

A clean environment is essential for human health and well-being. At the same time, the local environment can also be a source of stressors - for example air pollution, noise, hazardous chemicals - that negatively affect health. The health of the EU population is also adversely affected by climate change, through heatwaves, floods and changes in the distribution of vector-borne diseases. At a broader level, climate change, loss of biodiversity, and land degradation can also impact on human well-being by threatening the delivery of ecosystem services, such as access to freshwater and food production.

Human health and well-being are intimately linked to the state of the environment. Good quality natural environments provide basic needs, in terms of clean air and water, fertile land for food production, and energy and material inputs for production. Green infrastructure also serves to regulate climate and prevent flooding. Access to green and blue spaces also provides important opportunities for recreation and supports well-being.

Air pollution is the single largest environmental health risk in Europe, and is associated with heart disease, stroke, lung disease and lung cancer. Exposure to air pollution is estimated to result in over 400 000 premature deaths in the EU each year. Noise exposure from transport sources and industry can lead to annoyance, sleep disturbance and related increases in the risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
     

Exposure to hazardous chemicals is also a key concern. People can be exposed to a wide range of chemicals in their daily lives, via polluted air and water, consumer products and diet. The properties of certain hazardous chemicals cause them to persist in the environment and bioaccumulate in the food chain, which means there will be a considerable time lag before reductions in emissions translate into reduced exposure. In addition, the volume and range of chemicals in use today and the ongoing growth in chemical production suggests that human and environmental exposure will continue to increase. This raises concerns about the health effects of exposure to mixtures of chemicals over our lifetime, in particular during vulnerable life stages, such as early childhood, pregnancy and old age.

The impacts of climate change also pose immediate threats to health, in terms of heat waves and shifts in the patterns of infectious diseases and allergens.

In general, bathing water quality is of a high standard across the EU, with the quality of bathing waters consistently improving over time as a result of investment in the sewerage system, better waste water treatment and the reduction of pollution from farms.

A growing body of evidence suggests that environmental risks are not evenly distributed across society, but rather disproportionally affect socially disadvantaged and vulnerable population groups. An individual’s socioeconomic status influences their exposure to environmental stressors, since poorer people are more likely to live in degraded environments. Socially disadvantaged people may be more sensitive to the impacts of environmental stressors due to pre-existing health conditions, poor nutritional status and specific behaviours, such as smoking or inactivity. They may also face constraints in adapting to and avoiding environmental risks.

The Benefits of Pets for Human Health.

                                                                       

      

Animals play an important role in many people’s lives. In addition to seeing-eye dogs and dogs that can be trained to detect seizures, animals can also be used in occupational therapy, speech therapy, or physical rehabilitation to help patients recover. Aside from these designated therapeutic roles, animals are also valued as companions, which can certainly affect the quality of our lives. Is that companionship beneficial to our health?

The better we understand the human-animal bond, the more we can use it to improve people’s lives. This article summarizes what is known and not known about how animals help improve the health and well-being of people, and what the implications might be for helping people who don’t have pets of their own. Over 71 million American households (62%) have a pet, and most people think of their pets as members of the family. Some research studies have found that people who have a pet have healthier hearts, stay home sick less often, make fewer visits to the doctor, get more exercise, and are less depressed. Pets may also have a significant impact on allergies, asthma, social support, and social interactions with other people.

Impact on Physical Health

Companion animals may improve heart health by lowering blood pressure and regulating the heart rate during stressful situations. In a 2002 study, researchers measured changes in heart rate and blood pressure among people who had a dog or cat, compared to those who did not, when participants were under stress (performing a timed math task). People with a dog or cat had lower resting heart rates and blood pressure measures at the beginning of the experiment than non-pet owners. People with a dog or cat were also less likely to have spikes in heart rates and blood pressure while performing the math task, and their heart rates and blood pressure returned to normal more quickly.They also made fewer errors in their math when their pet was present in the room.  All these findings indicated that having a dog or cat lowered the risk of heart disease, as well as lowering stress so that performance improved.

A similar study found that having your dog in the room lowered blood pressure better than taking a popular type of blood pressure medication (ACE inhibitor) when you are under stress. Other research has indicated that the simple act of stroking a pet can help lower blood pressure and cholesterol.

Children’s exposure to companion animals may also ease anxiety. For example, one study measured blood pressure, heart rate, and behavioral distress in healthy children aged 3 to 6 at two different doctor visits for routine physicals. At one visit, a dog (unrelated to the child) was present in the room and at the other visit the dog was absent. When the dog was present, children had lower blood pressure measures, lower heart rates, and less behavioral distress. However, research on the health benefits of child and animal interaction is still limited. Further research is needed on how pets influence child development and specific health outcomes.

Findings suggest that the social support a pet provides can make a person feel more relaxed and decrease stress.Social support from friends and family can have similar benefits, but interpersonal relationships often cause stress as well, whereas pets may be less likely to cause stress. The social support provided by a pet might also encourage more social interactions with people, reducing feelings of isolation or loneliness. For example, walking with a dog has been found to increase social interaction, especially with strangers, compared to walking without a dog.

Among elderly people, pet ownership might also be an important source of social support that enhances well-being. In one study, elderly individuals that had a dog or cat were better able to perform certain physical activities deemed “activities of daily living,” such as the ability to climb stairs; bend, kneel, or stoop; take medication; prepare meals; and bathe and dress oneself. There were not significant differences between dog and cat owners in their abilities to perform these activities. Neither the length of time of having a dog or cat nor the level of attachment to the animal influenced performance abilities. Companion animals did not seem to have an impact on psychological health but researchers suggested that a care-taking role may give older individuals a sense of responsibility and purpose that contributes to their overall well-being.

                                                                      

The Effects of Animals on Human Health and Well-Being.

                                                                               

Substantial sums of money are invested annually in preventative medicine and therapeutic treatment for people with a wide range of physical and psychological health problems, sometimes to no avail. There is now mounting evidence to suggest that companion animals, such as dogs and cats, can enhance the health of their human owners and may thus contribute significantly to the health expenditure of our country. This paper explores the evidence that pets can contribute to human health and well-being. The article initially concentrates on the value of animals for short- and long-term physical health, before exploring the relationship between animals and psychological health, focusing on the ability of dogs, cats, and other species to aid the disabled and serve as a “therapist” to those in institutional settings. The paper also discusses the evidence for the ability of dogs to facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of specific chronic diseases, notably cancer, epilepsy, and diabetes. Mechanisms underlying the ability of animals to promote human health are discussed within a theoretical framework. Whereas the evidence for a direct causal association between human well-being and companion animals is not conclusive, the literature reviewed is largely supportive of the widely held, and long-standing, belief that “pets are good for us.”