Speaker 1:
Welcome to the Dr. Gundry Podcast, where Dr. Steven Gundry shares his groundbreaking research from over 25 years of treating patients with diet and lifestyle changes alone. Dr. Gundry and other wellness experts offer inspiring stories, the latest scientific advancements, and practical tips to empower you to take control of your health and live a long, happy life.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Welcome to the Dr. Gundry Podcast. Well, you hear me talk all the time about putting the right foods in your body, but what about the air you’re breathing? It’s no secret that here in LA, severe wildfires and wind storms have brought some of the worst air quality conditions that we’ve ever seen, and we see bad air quality, not to mention the tragedy for so many people. My heart goes out to everyone who has suffered loss and displacement. I remember all too well, seven years ago, my wife and I lost our home in Montecito to the fire and mudslides. And so we’re having PTSD in a big way. So I know what it’s like. I don’t want to do it again. It’s a big deal and not nice. But what might surprise you is that even indoors where you’d expect to be safe, your air can be up to 100 times more polluted than it is outside.
So the good news, well, there’s something you can do about it. My guest today is Helen Christoni. She’s a home environmental expert and she’s senior vice president of marketing for AirDoctor. In just a moment, we’ll discuss the hidden dangers in the air, even the stuff you can’t see, the impact of wildfires and other natural disasters, and how to ensure clean, clean air, safe air no matter where you are, including gyms, airplanes, and your own home. So stick around. You’re not going to want miss this one particularly in this time. Helen, welcome back to the show. It’s great to have you here again.
Helen Christoni:
Thank you so much, Dr. Gundry, and I’m really pleased to be with you here today.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Thanks. For listeners who have not heard our previous episodes, give us a quick overview of your background and what inspired AirDoctor, this device sitting between us.
Helen Christoni:
Yeah, so I’m Helen Christoni, and I’m senior vice president over at AirDoctor. And personally, I’ve had my own health challenges where I’ve had to really pay attention to my environment, the air that I breathe, the water I drink, and so I have a passion for wellness. And six years ago, I reconnected with the founder of AirDoctor, Peter Spiegel. And when I learned about air quality, air purification, I really am so passionate about educating about it. So I think that it’s a very important topic. And this air purifier right here, AirDoctor, is really a medical grade air purifier that’s meant for consumer use, and it really addresses all a bunch of concerns that many people have about their indoor air quality.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
So most people say, “Well, wait a minute. I know the air quality out there isn’t any good, but I’ve got all my windows closed in my house and I’ve got a …” We may talk about this later. “I’ve got a modern house that’s an energy efficient house, and I’ve got no leaks in my windows now. I’m sealed up tight, I’m safe in my house.” Right?
Helen Christoni:
Wrong.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Oh, no.
Helen Christoni:
Yes. And so let’s just talk about it. So what happens is these modern houses have HVAC systems, and what the HVAC systems do is pulling all the air from the outdoors inside, and then once outdoor air comes inside, it’s virtually trapped inside the box of your home. And in addition to that, everything around us can be polluting our indoor air quality. And so things like furniture, lighting, our gas stoves, cosmetics, every time I blow dry my hair, my AirDoctor goes off and is angry with me. So cleaning supplies, candles, and some of these can be really, really bad for health. So indoor air can be 100 times more polluted than outdoor air. And so it’s very important that we protect ourselves and our families.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
I was listening to an expert on the wildfires in LA. And how could these homes, which many of them are stucco on the outside, how could they just literally explode and go so fast? And he pointed out that we forget that almost everything in our homes is made out of petroleum, which is gasoline, and it is literally throwing a match in gasoline in your home. And it struck me. He’s absolutely right. And your point is exactly right. This stuff, our carpet, our clothing, our cosmetics, whatever, are leaching, basically these toxins, we know they’re toxins. There’s a sign when you pump gas, don’t breathe this stuff, right? And yet we’re surrounded by it, and we don’t realize that how much this has changed in the last 70 years.
Helen Christoni:
And I think that it’s super important to know that it can really impact your health. And so many people have. They suffer from allergies, and they are just sensitive to air pollution, whether it’s indoors or outdoors.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
So what do you recommend in a whole house filter? What’s this going to do?
Helen Christoni:
Okay, so I think it’s so important with air purification that people understand that air purifiers don’t purify through walls. You need to have an air purifier each room. And a lot of people think that I have an HVAC system. So when you’re in your HVAC system, you really want to make sure you have a very high quality MERV house filter. So something above a MERV-13. At AirDoctor, we have MERV-14 filters, which is the best quality filter you can get for your house.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Now, wait a minute. Let me stop you right there. How would I know if I have a MERV filter? Do I look?
Helen Christoni:
When you look online, there’s different ratings for MERV quality. And so just like our AirDoctor here, we have an ultra HEPA filter. You want to make sure when you’re looking for whole house filtration in your filters for your furnace filters, HVAC filters, that you’re looking for a MERV-14 or something above a MERV-13. It’s very important.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
And that will be on my filters that I put in my-
Helen Christoni:
Yeah. They’re rated. And so a lot of these things, all types of HEPA filtration, they’re rated, and they have to be third party tested and validated and scored, as is our air purifier. So I think it’s important that people educate themselves on different levels of filtration. And our AirDoctor right here, it removes particles down to 0.003 microns. And so what that means, if you go get an ordinary HEPA filter, they’ll only remove particles down to 0.3 microns. So that’s a 100 times difference. So making sure that you have an ultra HEPA filter is very, very important.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Now wait a minute. I have a nose and that I have been taught in medical school is a really good filter. What say you?
Helen Christoni:
Well, unfortunately, the stuff that we have in our air, there’s particles called PM 2.5 particles, and they’re very, very tiny particles that can break the blood barrier and get into your bloodstream, your brain and these tiny particles do the most amount of damage. And so big particles like dust, allergens, things like that are going to make us uncomfortable, but it’s the tiny microscopic particles that break the blood barrier that really can have a lot of harm to our health.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
I had the pleasure of doing some of my training in pediatric heart surgery in London, England in the mid-1980s. And every day my kid’s wife and I would blow our nose and literally sweat came out of our nose. When I was recruited to come to Southern California in the late-1980s, my partner Leonard Bailey said, “I don’t trust air I can’t see.” Because we are still very polluted here in Southern California. So I hear what you’re saying, and maybe I filtered the soot with my nose, but it’s the stuff we really can’t see that’s so much trouble.
Helen Christoni:
Yeah.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Speaking of stuff we can’t see, because everybody is obviously concerned with the wildfires. What are we dealing with that’s so bad with these things?
Helen Christoni:
Yeah, I mean, I think that it’s been so interesting over these last few weeks, especially at AirDoctor as a company. We were fortunate enough to have disaster units nearby here about an hour or so away outside of Los Angeles that we were able to bring into the community right in the beginning of the wildfires to address the initial smoke that was in the air. So an ultra-HEPA filter will deal with smoke, but as the fires progressed and the disaster ensued, we initially didn’t realize two cities were going to burn. And so when you think about these whole cities that have burned and what’s burning in them, you have pharmacies. You have auto shops, you have grocery stores. You have everybody’s homes, cars, gas tanks, petroleum. I mean, all this wildfires in the forest are one thing and they’re bad enough as it is, but when you have two complete cities burned down, we will be learning about the impact of this for years to come.
And there’s some doctors over at Harvard School of Medicine that says that these fires here in Los Los Angeles is an environmental health disaster that’s going to unfold for the next few years, and they’re comparing it to post-9/11. And so I think that we’re learning what’s in the air, and I think we’ll continue to do so. But one thing that I am happy that people are talking about is volatile organic compounds and gases and benzines and all these really harmful things that are in the air. I feel like the public really has a new awareness for the need for carbon filtration when it comes to air purifiers. And that’s one thing with AirDoctor Pro here. It’s very important that people have a very thick, dense carbon filter in their air purifier to make sure that their family is protected when they’re inside.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Thank you for donating and contributing all of these air filters because as all of us know, it’s a mess, and it’s going to be a mess for a very long time. Not to mention the fire retardants that have been sprayed on all of our hills and all of our homes. And you’re right. It’s going to take years for this mess to dissipate.
Helen Christoni:
Dr. Gundry, since I’ve been with AirDoctor over the last six years, I think that it’s so important that people at home in their emergency kit make sure that they have an air purifier because since I’ve been with AirDoctor, we had the Canadian wildfires in 2023. So I was reading an article that UCLA put out, and smoke from the Canadian wildfires affected over 122 million people in 2023.
And then just before the Canadian wildfires, we had the East Palestine, Ohio chemical spill. And 16 states were affected by that, that pollution. And then you think about here now in Los Angeles, I mean just the damages from these fires, it’s at 250 billion in counting. And these are just a couple of the things that have happened over the last few years that I’ve been with AirDoctor. And so hundreds of millions of people have been affected by bad air quality. And the thing about it is when you go to … when something happens and a disaster happens, a chemical spill, a tornado, when you go to your hardware store to pick up an air purifier, there are five units they have on hand are sold out.
And Amazon, if you go to try and get one delivered because of shipping delays, you can’t get one for a week. So what we saw here in Los Angeles, I mean, we had people lined up. We put 20,000 units into the community within days. And so the massive need and demand really outweigh supply. And as a company, we’re still effectively trying to get as much air purification in the community as possible. So really important that you have an air purifier so you can create a safe space for your family in the event of an emergency.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
So that brings up a point, which I see around town. There’s a lot of mask wearing now. Is there a place for a good quality mask? What do you think?
Helen Christoni:
Yeah, I mean, I think it’s really important for people that are outside and when they’re sending their children to schools, it’s very important they have a very good quality K-95 mask. And this is the time that we should be wearing them. It’s really important. And when you go to industrialized countries like China where they do manufacturing, and there’s all this off gassing and pollution, everybody’s wearing masks. And we don’t know what’s in the air right now. So very important that you’re protecting yourself and your family.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
I used to do mission work in some of the remote areas of China where it’s still actually all coal burning, and you would be in one building and you literally could not see the building next to you. And everyone was wearing masks. And now of course with Covid, we said, “Gee, those people maybe were pretty smart wearing masks.” But they were worried about pollution, which is still a huge problem in China. But you’re right. I was in New York City during the Canadian wildfires, and the pollution in New York City from the Canadian wildfires, it was impressive. And you’re going, that’s a long way from the Canadian wildfires, but these things drift dramatically.
Helen Christoni:
Yeah, I mean, in southern California, we’re used to having wildfires. We’re not used to having city fires. This is new to us. And I think that unfortunately when they had the fires in Canada, I mean the whole eastern seaboard was affected by this. Like I said, 250 million people. That’s a lot of people that were affected by smoke. And we’ve all been … the TV commercials about secondhand smoke. I mean, I think about that secondhand smoke kills. We really don’t know what we’re breathing in this stuff. So it’s really scary.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
A lot of people say, well, maybe there’s safe places. We know that airplanes try to increase their air movement during Covid. Gyms are obviously, in theory, a notorious breeding ground for mischief. What’s the real story about those places?
Helen Christoni:
Yeah, I mean, hair salons are a really big offender because anytime you put heat to hair with product in it, it’s off gassing formaldehyde. And that’s one of the reasons a good carbon filter that has potassium permanganate, it’s one. It’s one part of the carbon is so important because it removes formaldehyde. But I think that over the last few years, it’s been great to see airlines, car manufacturers really embrace putting good HEPA quality filters into establishments. And I think that now that consumers are getting more savvy, that they demand them. And so I love to see when I go into a gym or a yoga studio or my hair salon, they have air purification.
In some hotels, they’re offering wellness rooms where the rooms have purified air, purified water. And I think as we, during this time in our lives here in the United States, I think that with our just awareness about air quality, I’m happy to see people really getting on board. And what I’ve learned after these wildfires here in Los Angeles is now parents, mothers, and so many people are demanding air purification for their kids, their nursery schools, their libraries. I mean, we have been inundated with phone calls from moms making sure that their kids are safe and they have air purifications in place. So I think with awareness and education, coming on here and talking to you, I think that the air is in public spaces is getting better, but what’s really important is that we’re safe at home.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Yeah. One interesting story that you just brought up. I have a loaner car because my car is in the shop, and it’s actually a 2025 model, and I won’t say who it is. But I was actually driving from Palm Springs to Santa Barbara through the Altadena fire, and the warning things were coming on, and it was dense smoke. And as I approached, I hit the [inaudible 00:18:02] button on the air conditioner. Now, I’ve had other cars. I’ve always done that because we have a lot of fires here in Southern California. And I was shocked that I did not smell any smoke in this car. First time in my life. Normally you could … every car I’ve ever had, oh yeah, I’m going through smoke, but I’m okay. This time, there was absolutely no smoke, and it was dense smoke. Yeah. So you’re right. They paid attention, I guess.
Helen Christoni:
Yeah. So I mean, my car too, I mean, it shows me that it’s purifying out PM 2.5s. And to your point, with the Altadena fire, I was evacuated from the Eaton fire myself, and it was in the morning, and I kept asking my husband … we had no electricity, of course, because they turned it off, “When’s the sun going to come out? When’s the sun going to come out?” And he’s like, “The sun is out.” And it was pitch black outside. It’s so overwhelming, the smoke pollution that really gets set off during massive fires like this.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
We’ve had you on the show to talk about your companion product, AquaTru, your advanced water purifier that uses reverse osmosis to deliver the cleanest water possible. Is there an equivalent in air purification for achieving the top-tier health benefits?
Helen Christoni:
Sort of. So there is a HEPA standard, and so HEPA filters are tested to something called the HEPA standard. And there’s also something called CARB certification where you have to, every year you need to certify your products to a CARB certification for your HEPA. But carbon filters are not regulated. And so it’s very important when there’s absolutely no regulation for carbon filters and air purifiers. So number one, it’s very important when you’re looking for an air purifier that it has a dense, thick carbon filter. And some manufacturers, they spray carbon on it. They have a thin film of carbon to pass it off. So it’s really important that you’re able to look in the machine and have a really, really thick, at least a half-inch thick carbon filter in your air purifiers for volatile organic compounds.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
It’s intriguing to me that your founder, who we’ve also had on the program, was really the largest manufacturer of air purifiers for general consumer use. So Costco and Walmart and big box stores.
Helen Christoni:
That’s right.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
And if I’m telling the story correctly, he said, “I can do a whole lot better and it’s mission to do a whole lot better.” Is that advertising or is that what’s going on?
Helen Christoni:
No, not at all. I mean, our mission at AirDoctor is that everybody has the right to pure clean air that’s backed by science. And so it’s very important to us as a company that we do third party testing and validation on all of our products, and we’re very aware of all the other products that are out there on the market, and we test them also. And so it’s very interesting to see a lot of companies, they need to get under a price point to be able to survive at a big box establishment, and they just keep pulling all the efficacy out of these air purifiers. And I always love to say AirDoctor is called AirDoctor for a reason. You really have efficacious, very well third party tested air purification. Our AirDoctor ultra HEPA filters can capture 99.99% of particles down to 0.003 microns.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
That’s a lot of particles.
Helen Christoni:
And that covers viruses, the tiniest of mold spores, a lot of these gases with our carbon filters that we’re talking about here. So it’s a really, really great unit. We’re really, really proud of it.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
I see a lot of patients who we do mycotoxin testing, and we see a lot of patients who have come from a sick house. And it’s actually fascinating to me the number of people who believe they’re in a safe house or even a new house, and yet, they test very positive for mycotoxins, a lot of them black mold. And so what you’re saying is this will actually get mold spores.
Helen Christoni:
Yes. Mold spores can be as small as 0.1 microns. So this pulls down to 0.003 microns. And so luckily, mold spores are fairly large, and this will absolutely remove mold spores from the air. And what I love about AirDoctor is it has this indicator light, and it’s blue right now. But what AirDoctor does is if something’s amiss in your air quality, it ramps up, it turns on, and it goes to bright red, and then it cycles through your air to clean your air. So pretty quickly you learn the behavior in your home that is really affecting your air quality, and it really gives our customers such peace of mind that they know when there’s something wrong with their air, and then they can deal with it.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Now, you’re also launching a new model AirDoctor Pro. What …
Helen Christoni:
So we have AirDoctor Pro, but it’s actually an AirDoctor Pro 4000. So it’s a beautiful cylinder unit. It comes in matte black and in off-white, and it really has a lovely aesthetic. And so they’re on pre-order now, and we’re really excited for this launch.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
So what’s different, just the look or …
Helen Christoni:
It’s a tall cylinder shape. It’s about the same performance of this. It’s really easy to move around. And so it’s on casters, so you can kind of roll it here and there. And what we’ve really tried to do, there’s a lot of cylinder air purifiers in the marketplace that are really hard to take apart, clean. And so we’ve put a gorgeous door on the back where you can easily remove the filters from it. And the great thing with all of our AirDoctor units, whether it’s our small units that are designed for bedrooms, our larger units that are designed for larger spaces like living room, open concepts, is that they all work the same. You are going to be removing 0.003 microns. They’re going to have the same dense carbon filter technology. And so we really have something for everybody.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
I’ve asked this question before, but I think it’s worth asking because obviously budgets are different. If I only had one room to put this in, where would I put it?
Helen Christoni:
In your bedroom. So we as humans are very big air consumers. We’re breathing 3,000 gallons of air a day. And when you think about that, you want to make sure you’re breathing the cleanest, purest air as possible. So we spend most of our time in our bedroom.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Good point.
Helen Christoni:
And what we find and what our customers tell us, when you have an AirDoctor in your bedroom, you’ll get a beautiful night’s sleep. So the bedroom is the most important place.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
So what do you say to somebody that, “Well, I’m going to go to a big box store, and I’m going to get a big box air filter. This is really cool, and I appreciate … this is really cool, but I just need something.”
Helen Christoni:
Yeah. I mean, all air purifiers are not created equal and neither are the HEPA filters that are in them. So I think, like we were talking earlier, it’s very important that you’re looking for something that has an ultra HEPA filter in it, that removes particles down to 0.003 microns. Because a lot of these other air purifiers in the market, their HEPA filters only pull out 0.3 microns, and that’s not even capturing PM 2.5. And we know that PM 2.5 particles that are happening with tornadoes, hurricanes, these fires. It’s such a problem currently. And unfortunately, I think it will continue to be so. Those break the blood barrier. And the smaller the particle, the more hazardous to our health.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Filters are expensive, expensive to replace. I know particularly in water filters, sometimes what looks like a bargain ends up not being a bargain because you’re replacing the filter so often. Is there a difference in lifespan of filters?
Helen Christoni:
Yeah, so our carbon filter in the unit, we change it every six months. And then our HEPA filter, ultra HEPA filter, we change it every year. So you’re looking at two filters a year to really make sure that the life of the machine is extended. And then also, we were talking about this earlier. If you have dogs at home or something like that, you can easily vacuum the top filter to make sure you’re extending the life of your filter.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
I have one in my office, but does it tell you when to change the filter?
Helen Christoni:
It does. We have a couple lights here on top, one for our ultra HEPA and one for our carbon. They’re super easy to change, and it lets you know when to change them.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
So it’s like a check engine light.
Helen Christoni:
Totally your check engine light.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Time for service.
Helen Christoni:
I really like that. I’m going to use that. It’s like the check AirDoctor light goes on.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Well, because I don’t think I’ve been in a taxi yet that doesn’t have an engine warning light flashing, which is another story.
Helen Christoni:
It’s true. And I mean, this is serious stuff. I mean, breathing, polluted air can really have serious effects on people’s health, and cancer, respiratory issues, heart disease. There’s so many things.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Endocrine disruptors.
Helen Christoni:
Endocrine disruptors, yeah, hormone disruptors, fertility. You have people having … young girls that are going through puberty early. You have women going through menopause early, and this is happening in our society. So clean air, pure water is really foundational for health. And so I think it’s so important that people really take purifying their air seriously for their family.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Great. So how do we find out? Where are we getting more information on AirDoctor?
Helen Christoni:
So you can find us at airdoctor.com.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
That sounds easy.
Helen Christoni:
Yeah, and you can also, we’re on social @AirDoctorPro.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
And do you have a special discount for our audience?
Helen Christoni:
We do. So you can save up to 40% off AirDoctor, for your followers and your listeners, Dr. Gundry with a code GUNDRY.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Whoa.
Helen Christoni:
Yes.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Well, thank you very much.
Helen Christoni:
You’re welcome.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
It’s very much needed right now. Now, before I let you go, we always have an audience question, and this is great. Perfect timing. This is from AbrakaDebra6420 on YouTube. “Hi, Dr. Gundry and crew. Hi, crew. What are your thoughts please on More plants inside? Namely, mother-in-law’s tongue, devil’s ivy, ribbon spider plant, said to be air purifying plants.” You want to take this one first?
Helen Christoni:
Yeah, I’ll take it. So we love plants at AirDoctor, and we think they’re amazing. But to have enough plants around you, really purify your air, you’d have to live in a forest. And so we love plants along with a great air purifier, and we really think that they’re great for our environment. It’s important that we have them at home, but I think when we’re talking about some of the stuff we’re talking about today, better be safe than sorry and get something a little more powerful.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Yeah, you’re right. There were some NASA studies actually looking to see whether plants could improve or oxygenate the air and remove carbon dioxide from self-enclosed, like a mission to Mars. And yeah, they do that. But a recent meta-analysis of all these studies, literally you would have to have, I think I’m correct, 16,000 plants in a 1,500 square foot house. Now, go ahead, try that. It’d be fun walking through your jungle. I wonder where the kids are.
Now it’s time for the review of the week. The review of the week comes from @sorobin171 on My Leaky Gut YouTube video. He says, “Dr. Gundry, you are literally giving the world a gift. Thank you. There are so, so many people that have no idea why they are sick and how many western doctors have no idea or don’t want to know. Thank you, sir.” Well, thank you for writing. I continue to see patients six days a week, and I continue to produce these videos because you are absolutely right.
Most practicing physicians either don’t have the time or don’t have the interest to find out about this because quite frankly, they’re busy writing prescriptions. And my job is to get people off of their prescriptions. And so far, so good. And I’ll keep doing it as long as you keep writing in. That’s what keeps me going. Thank you so much.
Speaker 1:
I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Dr. Gundry Podcast. If you did, please share this with family and friends. You never know how one of these health tips can completely transform someone’s life when you take the time to share it with them. There’s also the Dr. Gundry Podcast YouTube channel, where we have tens of thousands of free health insights that can help you and your loved ones live a long, vital life. Let’s do this together.
