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The Most Dangerous Types of Water You Can Drink
With all the different types of water out there, it can be very easy to get confused about which water is really best for your health. Most of us live in urban areas and need to rely on commercial water distribution systems that are often loaded with chlorine, disinfection by-products, fluoride, and many other toxins. To make things worse, every year, a greater number of contaminants are uncovered in public and private water supplies. And with each passing day, we learn more about how these substances have the potential to harm our health. What’s inside your glass of water? If you’re like most people, you probably take your drinking water…
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Asthma: Triggers & Treatment
Asthma is a chronic disorder of the lungs. It causes the airways to swell and thus, narrows the air passage causing shortness of breath, wheezing and coughing. In patients, asthma is typically triggered by allergens like, Dust Mold Pollen Tobacco smoke Changes in weather Chemicals Animal Hair Stress (Emotion) The symptoms and complications of asthma vary based on the severity of the attack. Some of these include: Inability to sleep Decreased ability to exercise Persistent coughing Uneasy breathing, may be even requiring assistance (ventilators) Functional changes in the lungs Death Take proper care to prevent an attack. Asthma is a difficult condition to live with. With proper care and treatment…
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Charcoal Briquettes or Lump Charcoal?
Charcoal Briquettes or Lump Charcoal? This article is not talking about cooking with gas and cooking with charcoal. I’m also not going to discuss the differences between grilling and barbecuing. What I really want to talk about is charcoal. More specifically, charcoal briquettes vs. lump charcoal. Back in the day, my father always used charcoal briquettes, and for years I did the same. But about two years ago, my BBQ buddy convinced me to make the switch over to lump charcoal. And yes I did, until I actually did the research to write this. So, since doing a little research, I’m back to my old fondness of briquette charcoal. But…
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Coconut Charcoal
Coconut shell charcoal is made with a process begins with the carbonization by burning the coconut shell with controlled air that is sufficient for carbonization. The output of charcoal in the traditional pith method is just below 30% yield. To obtain good quality charcoal, fully dried, clean, only mature shells are used. Coconut charcoal is then sieved to the different sizes that the buyer requires. Coconut charcoal briquette is a compact block charcoal made from coconut shell charcoal. Charcoal briquette is made of granular coconut shell charcoal that is crushed charcoal and molded using a natural binder. As fuel, it burns hotter and lasts longer than other charcoal. It is…
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Activated Media Filters
Water often contains unwanted substances – “dissolved solids”. Dissolved solids are defined as those smaller than 0.5 micron. They cannot be removed by sand filters, dual-media filters or by multi-media filters. Removing them requires the use of membranes or media that are “activated”. There are a variety of activated media, such as wood (soft & hard), coal, coconut shells, peats and others. Each tailored to the removal of one or more specific dissolved substances. They work via adsorption, absorption or ion exchange, and must be replaced regularly. In all, these media can remove more than 200 dissolved substances. Examples of dissolved substances often found in water sources such as ground…
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Air Pollution Damages Our Heart
Effects of air pollution on our health and well-being are almost a universal consensus. But if you are still skeptical, here’s evidence: recent findings published in the journal Hypertension, suggested a conclusive connection between heart problems and fine particulate air pollution. This also serves as a dramatic reminder of why achieving clean, healthy air is so critical. The Significance of the Study Previous studies have never been able to make a clear determination between whether fine particulates measuring under 2.5 microns were more hazardous to people’s health. The University of Michigan study has now proved that fine particulate pollution is, indeed, more problematic than ozone. Neither thing is good, but fine…
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Coconut Shell Based Activated Carbon
The use of activated carbon to remove harmful impurities like organic contaminants from water has been practiced since Roman times. Activated carbon is a carbonaceous adsorbents with extensively developed internal pore structure. Activated carbon is extremely porous with a very large surface area, which makes it a powerful adsorbent material. This large surface area relative to the size of the actual carbon particle makes it easy to remove large amounts of impurities in a relatively small enclosed space. An approximate ratio of surface area is one square meter per gram. The two mechanisms by which the chemicals are adsorbed onto activated carbon are either it ‘dislikes’ water or it attracts…
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Indoor air quality sensors in your smartphone
Indoor air quality can be as much of a health concern as the air quality outdoors. Things like volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbon monoxide, mold and other compounds can cause things like headaches, fatigue, respiratory illnesses and worse. The EU has started to focus on how to combat indoorpollution and is funding a new project that would allow people to have real-time air quality information wherever they are — at home, at work, even in the car. The project aims to “develop new nanotechnology-based sensor systems that will precisely monitor the composition of the air in terms of both chemical and bio contaminants.” It is designed to be both tiny and low cost so that…
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In Sweden, sweat machine turns perspiration into drinking water
The global water crisis has inspired innovative ideas for conserving water — or finding filtered to remove any salt, bacteria and other textile bits — and guess what, tasty drinking water! Would you like to try?
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Clean Air Raises Kids With Stronger Lungs
A two-decade study that looked at 2,000 kids in 5 cities in Southern California was recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Its results remind us once again of the importance of clean air. After all, air is now the world’s biggest environmental health risk with 7 million deaths per year. The researchers found the relationship between the decline of air pollution in the region since the early 1990s and the “statistically and clinically significant improvements” in children’s lung function and growth. In fact, the number of school-age kids with “abnormally low lung faction” dropped by more than half between the 1994-1998 group (7.9% with abnormally low lung function) and the most recent…