Experts share how seaside walks could relieve fatigue, headaches and dry skin by boosting your vitamin levels
Every day, we breathe 10,000 litres of air – a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, water and traces of other gases. But could it also contain vital nutrients we need to keep our bodies working?That’s the radical idea being put forward by scientists, who argue so-called ‘aeronutrients’ may play a crucial part in providing us with sufficient intake of certain nutritional must-haves.What’s more, we may have a better chance of inhaling those nutrients if we live near the sea or in rural areas. Even taking regular walks in the countryside or by the coast could improve our levels, experts claim.The human body needs a range of nutrients – about 13 vitamins and 15 minerals – to support key functions. But not everybody currently gets all the nutrients they need.For example, around one in five adults in the UK falls short of vitamin D – which we mostly get from skin exposure to the sun. The NHS advises most people take a 10mcg daily supplement, especially during autumn and winter when sunshine is in short supply.And vegans and vegetarians are known to be at risk of vitamin B12 deficiency – which can cause breathlessness, headaches and heart palpitations – as it’s found mainly in red meat, fish, eggs and dairy.Vegans (or anyone who doesn’t regularly eat fish or eggs) are also at risk of becoming deficient in iodine, a mineral which helps the thyroid gland make hormones to regulate the metabolism. Common symptoms include fatigue, dry skin, weight gain and hair loss. Some of these crucial nutrients are present in the air around us – not at levels that could sustain the body’s needs, but enough to make up for deficiencies from our dietThe latest theory, put forward by researchers at the University of Newcastle in Australia, is that some of these crucial nutrients are present in the air around us – not at levels that could sustain the body’s needs, but enough to make up for deficiencies from our diet.‘Ingestion of food is the predominant source of nutrition in our diet, but aeronutrients may be able to provide another fast and reliable way to supplement the diet,’ says Dr Flavia Fayet-Moore, a nutritional scientist and author of the paper, published last year in the journal Advances In Nutrition.‘This might come from greater exposure to the natural environment and “fresh air”,’ she told Good Health.Some vitamins – such as B12 and D – are already available as sprays. The aerosolised particles get rapidly absorbed into the body via blood vessels that line the inside of the mouth and nasal cavity. Breathing in the nutrients would, theoretically, take the same pathway.The potential significance of aeronutrients was highlighted in a 2011 study by the National University of Ireland in Galway, which looked at iodine levels of schoolchildren: one group lived near beaches with seaweed (which releases iodine gas into the air), another near beaches with no seaweed, and a third group living inland.The results revealed those near seaweed-laden beaches had the highest iodine levels, which researchers said was likely due to breathing in the gas on a daily basis. Dr Flavia Fayet-Moore, a nutritional scientist and author of the paperDr Fayet-Moore says the study found that air was accounting for up to 40 per cent of iodine intake.Exactly how many types of nutrients circulate in air remains unknown and is subject to research. They could emanate from different sources, says Dr Fayet-Moore, including decaying plants, soil, sea spray – and even from molecules released into the air during cooking.Others have pointed to the possibility of ‘aeromicrobes’, which are helpful bacteria in the air which can replenish our gut microbiome.When researchers at the University of North Carolina compared air samples from areas with lots of vegetation with urban areas devoid of greenery, the former had a much broader range of airborne bacteria.Writing in the journal Science of the Total Environment in 2023, they suggested exposure to diverse microbes in the air in greener areas ‘may lead to health benefits – such as improved immune system functioning and ultimately less morbidity and mortality’.But some experts are sceptical. ‘The idea of aeronutrients is daft,’ says Tom Sanders, a professor of nutrition and dietetics at King’s College London. ‘For example, iodine in our diet normally comes from food and that’s dependent on the level of iodine in the soil.’He raises the possibility that the children in the study by the National University of Ireland could have had higher iodine levels for other reasons, such as eating meat from animals that grazed on seaweed.Mike Lean, a professor at Glasgow University, told Good Health it’s well known that nutrients are absorbed through the nose and lungs. But he added: ‘The amount of nutrients in the air is usually far too small to prevent deficiencies.’
