How Important is Air Quality?

Well, I’m only concerned because I live in Shanghai, one of the most polluted cities in the world. In fact, I remember one week where the air quality had a measure of 160 on some index, which is approximately four times than that of Chicago, the most polluted city in the states.

I was wondering if doing cardio in such an environment be detrimental to health, and is there any specific supplementation to help cope with this environment? I regularly take a gram of vitamin c and some fish oil everyday. I would take a multivitamin, but since I’m on a prescription of accutance (very concentrated form of Vitamin A) for my skin condition, my doctor advised me to stay away from multivitamins incase I overdose on vitamin A.

I’m pretty sure that since you are doing cardio in general, you will be ok. Yeah the pollution sucks and may not be the best, but you are doing cardio which is good for you. Just do it!

If you’re afraid of poor air quality, you could lock yourself in a room with an air filter and a treadmill (or some other similar machine) and just run.