Paleo Air®

And Why Should I Care?

Our ancestors breathed healthy air. It had essentially no pollution, and it had a tremendous number of Secondary Metabolites, those wonderful compounds released by plants that have been proven to be so healthful to humans.

Secondary Metabolites

If you think about plants from a biological perspective, it becomes obvious that one of their main characteristics is that they grow.  Their growth is dependant upon photosynthesis, in which carbon dioxide from the air is combined with nutrients found, in general, in the soil, and plant material is produced.

However, if you consider the fragrance found within a forest, it becomes very apparent that not all of the compounds produced by a plant leads to plant growth. This is because if you are smelling a fragrance, those molecules have left the plant itself.  

Note that the plant growth material is called primary metabolites, and the fragrances, which are compounds released by the plant, are called secondary metabolites.

We call the air that is filled with secondary metabolites Paleo Air®, and it provides a tremendous number of health benefits, such as lower stress. It is our belief that paleo air, is a meaningful component of forest bathing. Forest bathing has been shown to lower pulse rate, improve glucose metabolism, improve immunity and lower salivary cortisol levels, which is an indicator of lower stress, and we believe that it is the secondary metabolites primarily that leads to these health benefits.