What are “aero ingredients”? Scientists say you can inhale nutrients and vitamins

The human body obtains nutrients primarily from the diet, while some vitamins, such as vitamin D, are absorbed from sunlight. But can air also be a source of human food?

Although little is still known about airborne nutrients, a recent study explored more deeply the concept of “airborne nutrients” and their absorption mechanisms for human health.

A person inhales about 9,000 liters of air a day, which gives a total of about 438 million liters over the course of a lifetime. That being said, the components of the air we breathe can have long-term effects on our health.

Although most research has focused on the harmful effects of air pollution, the air around us may contain not only pollutants, but also essential nutrients such as vitamins, fatty acids and minerals that can support our health.

Before test in the 1960s, they showed how iodine from the air is absorbed into the body. Scientists found that laundry workers exposed to airborne iodine had higher levels of the mineral in their blood and urine, but the study did not determine the route through which the iodine entered the body.

Evidence also found that welders exposed to higher concentrations of manganese in the air accumulate in harmful ways. Recent test in Ireland found that children living near coastal areas with high levels of seaweed had significantly higher urinary iodine levels compared to children in coastal areas with less seaweed or from rural areas, despite no change in dietary iodine intake.

In the latest test published in the journal Advances in Nutrition, scientists coined the term “aeronutrients” to describe beneficial nutrients in the air. These airborne nutrients include vitamins, fatty acids and minerals, which the study suggests are absorbed through two main routes: the respiratory system and the olfactory system.

The study also examined the role of airborne bacteria called “aeromicrobes,” which may help maintain microbiota diversity in the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts.

Scientists believe both of these concepts have important implications for city dwellers and people with limited access to nature, such as astronauts, who spend long periods in highly filtered air that may be lacking nutrients and aerosol microbes.

“The possibility that fresh air contributes to human nutrition and health may spur a re-evaluation of guidelines on nutrition and environmental access and open new avenues for scientific research,” the researchers wrote in the study.