In developing the AQI that we have today, the most heated discussions were about colors. At a large meeting in Baltimore (in either 1997 or 1998), we took an unscheduled break during the discussion of colors because we thought attendees were going to start pushing and shoving each other. The focus was entirely around the level of the standard and the color red. Those were the days before the huge wildfires out West, so it was extremely rare to get into the Hazardous range. We mostly hit very unhealthy levels with ozone. Even though we didn’t have many continuous PM monitors then, we looked back at the filter-based PM data to evaluate the number of days in different categories. There were two factions. The environmental groups wanted red in the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (USG) category to show that levels were higher than the levels of the NAAQS. EPA and many of the state, local and tribal representatives wanted red in the Unhealthy category, because that’s when the AQI indicates that air quality can pose a risk to everyone. We were also concerned about message fatigue. In those days, it wasn’t unusual to have 30 days when ozone was above the level of the standard. We are not sure anyone knows for certain how the final decision was made, but in the end, DC decided to go with red at the Unhealthy category. The higher colors were decided by the AQI Team to show that as air quality worsens, it can be unhealthy for some people before it’s unhealthy for everyone. And even once air quality reaches unhealthy, higher levels can dictate different actions. At orange, members of sensitive groups may have effects; at red, some members of the general population may be affected, and the effects to sensitive groups may be more serious. At purple it’s an alert, and the risk is increased for everyone. Maroon – hazardous – represents emergency conditions. We don’t typically see that except for wildfires and occasionally, dust storms.
The Importance of Article Writing Quality: Tips for Creating Engaging Content
Have you ever stumbled upon an article that instantly captivated your attention, urging you to read till the very last word? Well, my friend, that’s the power of quality article writing. In today’s fast-paced world, where attention spans resemble that of a goldfish, creating engaging content has become a paramount task. Whether you’re a writer or a business owner looking to attract an audience, understanding the significance of article writing quality can make all the difference.
Hold onto yourseats as we unravel the secrets to crafting content that will leave your readers begging for more.
Why article writing quality matters
Article writing quality matters because it directly impacts the reader’s experience. Poorly written articles lack clarity and fail to engage the audience. Readers want valuable and reliable content that is easily understood and provides useful information. High-quality articles demonstrate expertise, credibility, and professionalism, leading to increased trust from readers.
Furthermore, quality articles are more likely to be shared and referenced by others, increasing visibility and establishing the author’s authority in their field. Writing high-quality articles requires attention to grammar, structure, and research, ultimately contributing to a positive reader experience and the overall success of an article.
The impact of engaging content
“We grew to 100k/mo visitors in 10 months with AIContentfy”
─ Founder of AIContentfy
Content creation made effortless
Engaging content is a game changer in the world of article writing. It grabs readers’ attention and keeps them hooked. When content is engaging, it ignites curiosity and encourages people to keep reading. It evokes emotions, making the readers feel connected and involved. Engaging content also has a higher chance of being shared and going viral, reaching a larger audience. This, in turn, boosts brand awareness and credibility.
By focusing on creating engaging content, writers can drive traffic,increase conversions, and build a loyal following. It’s the secret ingredient that can make or break an article. So, be sure to create content that captivates, delights, and leaves a lasting impact on your readers.
Life Kit
Lupi’s job is to translate data into visual images that are easier for our minds to process. Color, for her, is a vital tool. While purple often carries positive associations in Western culture — such as sumptuousness and royalty — Lupi also points to the color’s unsettling lividity. “Think of bruises, and the color purple on skin when talking about disease,” she suggests. “It is another level. It’s darker, and a more advanced stage, if you will.”
As for how purple came to officially represent “very unhealthy” air quality: Back in the 1990s, the Environmental Protection Agency held a conference in Baltimore. There was a lot on the agenda, including a brand new, color-coded air quality index.
Scientist Susan Stone was there, along with a number of advocates and state, local and tribal officials.
Color Decoded: Stories That Span The Spectrum
The color designation was a topic “that really blew the discussion up,” Stone recalls. “They were really getting too heated. We were all saying we need to call a break because otherwise people are going to start shoving each other.”
In 2021, a spokesperson from the Environmental Protection Agency offered the following history:
In developing the AQI that we have today, the most heated discussions were about colors. At a large meeting in Baltimore (in either 1997 or 1998), we took an unscheduled break during the discussion of colors because we thought attendees were going to start pushing and shoving each other. The focus was entirely around the level of the standard and the color red. Those were the days before the huge wildfires out West, so it was extremely rare to get into the Hazardous range. We mostly hit very unhealthy levels with ozone. Even though we didn’t have many continuous PM monitors then, we looked back at the filter-based PM data to evaluate the number of days in different categories.
There were two factions. The environmental groups wanted red in the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (USG) category to show that levels were higher than the levels of the NAAQS. EPA and many of the state, local and tribal representatives wanted red in the Unhealthy category, because that’s when the AQI indicates that air quality can pose a risk to everyone. We were also concerned about message fatigue. In those days, it wasn’t unusual to have 30 days when ozone was above the level of the standard.
We are not sure anyone knows for certain how the final decision was made, but in the end, DC decided to go with red at the Unhealthy category. The higher colors were decided by the AQI Team to show that as air quality worsens, it can be unhealthy for some people before it’s unhealthy for everyone. And even once air quality reaches unhealthy, higher levels can dictate different actions. At orange, members of sensitive groups may have effects; at red, some members of the general population may be affected, and the effects to sensitive groups may be more serious. At purple it’s an alert, and the risk is increased for everyone. Maroon – hazardous – represents emergency conditions. We don’t typically see that except for wildfires and occasionally, dust storms.
Stone told NPR she never suspected how often purple would be used as a color for alarm.
Art Where You’re At
“Looking at the data,” she says, “if we put red as ‘hazardous,’ it would never occur.”
Now, of course, hazardous days are not uncommon, and at least in some places, the AQI is turning to an even worse color: maroon. (Black, as it turns out, is less legible on maps, and it’s hard to see borders.) For now, purple continues to show how royal a mess we’re in.
8 Impressive Benefits of Purple Cabbage
Purple cabbage is a nutrient-rich vegetable linked to a variety of health benefits, including reduced inflammation, a healthier heart, stronger bones, improved gut function, and maybe a lower risk of certain cancers.
Purple cabbage, also referred to as red cabbage, belongs to the Brassica genus of plants. This group includes nutrient-dense vegetables, such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and kale.
It tastes similar to green cabbage. However, the purple variety is richer in beneficial plant compounds that have been linked to health benefits, such as stronger bones and a healthier heart.
Purple cabbage is also thought to lower inflammation and protect against certain types of cancers. Moreover, it’s an incredibly versatile vegetable that can be enjoyed raw, cooked, or fermented and added to a variety of dishes.
Here are 8 impressive health benefits of purple cabbage, all backed by science.
Despite being low in calories, purple cabbage contains an impressive amount of nutrients.
One cup (89 grams) of chopped, raw, purple cabbage contains the following nutrients ( 1 ):
Purple cabbage also provides small amounts of iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, and zinc.
Summary Purple cabbage is low in calories yet a good source of fiber and
vitamins A, C, K, and B6. It also contains small amounts of other vitamins and
minerals.
Purple cabbage is a great source of antioxidants and other beneficial plant compounds that help protect against cellular damage.
Its antioxidants include vitamin C, carotenoids, and flavonoid antioxidants, such as anthocyanins and kaempferol. In fact, it often contains higher amounts of these than green cabbage (2).
For instance, research suggests that the antioxidant levels in purple cabbage are around 4.5 times higher than those found in green cabbage varieties ( 1 , 3 , 4 ).
What’s more, purple cabbage is one of the foods that offers the highest levels of antioxidants per unit cost ( 4 ).
It’s also a good source of sulforaphane, a sulfur-rich compound that forms when raw cabbage is cut or crushed. Sulforaphane is linked to powerful heart health benefits and cancer-fighting properties ( 5 , 6 ).
Summary Purple cabbage is a great source of beneficial plant compounds and
offers one of the highest amounts of health-promoting antioxidants per unit
cost.
Purple cabbage may help fight inflammation, which is thought to contribute to many diseases.
One test-tube study using an artificial model of the human gut found that certain varieties of purple cabbage reduced markers of gut inflammation by 22–40% ( 7 ).
Animal studies report that sulforaphane, the beneficial sulfur compound found in many cruciferous vegetables, may be to thank for its anti-inflammatory effects ( 8 ).
Interestingly, applying cabbage leaves to the skin also appears to reduce inflammation.
For instance, adults with arthritis who wrapped their knees in cabbage leaves once per day reported feeling significantly less pain by the end of the 4-week study. However, the cabbage wraps reduced pain less effectively than a topical pain gel ( 9 ).
Moreover, cabbage leaves appear to reduce breast pain, swelling, and inflammation due to increased milk supply and blood flow during the early postpartum period ( 10 ).
Summary Purple cabbage may help fight inflammation and reduce accompanying
symptoms, such as pain, swelling, and discomfort.
Purple cabbage may also benefit your heart.
This may be due to its content of anthocyanins, which are flavonoid antioxidants that give purple cabbage its characteristic color ( 11 ).
One large study found that women who regularly eat large amounts of anthocyanin-rich foods may benefit from an 11–32% lower risk of heart attacks, compared with those who eat fewer of these foods ( 12 , 13 ).
Higher anthocyanin intakes may also be linked to lower blood pressure and a lower risk of heart disease ( 14 , 15 ).
Purple cabbage contains more than 36 types of anthocyanins, making it an excellent source of this heart-healthy compound ( 16 ).
Summary Purple cabbage is a rich source of anthocyanins, which are beneficial
plant compounds that may reduce your risk of heart disease.
Purple cabbage contains several bone-benefiting nutrients, including vitamins C and K, as well as smaller amounts of calcium, manganese, and zinc ( 17 ).
For instance, 1 cup (89 grams) of raw purple cabbage contains around 56% of the DV for vitamin C, which plays a role in bone formation and helps protect your bone cells from damage ( 1 , 18 ).
Purple cabbage is also rich in vitamin K1, offering a little over a quarter of the DV per cup (89 grams) ( 1 ).
Vitamin K1 is mostly found in plant foods, such as leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables. This distinguishes it from vitamin K2, which is found in animal products and fermented foods.
There’s evidence that both forms of vitamin K play a role in maintaining strong and healthy bones, although more research is needed to pinpoint the specific effects of each ( 19 ).
Summary Purple cabbage is rich in vitamins C and K1, both of which are
essential for building and maintaining strong, healthy bones. Purple cabbage
also contains smaller amounts of bone-benefitting nutrients, such as calcium,
manganese, and zinc.
Purple cabbage may help protect against certain types of cancers, though more research in humans is needed.
Experts believe this may be because it contains sulforaphane and anthocyanins — two compounds researched for their cancer-fighting properties.
Research links high intakes of cruciferous vegetables, including cabbage, to an 18% lower risk of colon cancer. Diets rich in cruciferous vegetables have also been linked to a lower risk of breast cancer ( 20 , 21 ).
Moreover, there’s evidence to suggest that the sulforaphane found in purple cabbage and other cruciferous vegetables may help kill cancer cells or prevent them from growing and spreading ( 22 ).
Cell and animal studies suggest that anthocyanins may have similar anti-cancer effects. Anthocyanins are found in red, blue, and purple fruits and vegetables, including purple cabbage ( 23 ).
However, more human research is needed before strong conclusions can be made.
Summary Purple cabbage contains beneficial compounds, such as sulforaphane and
anthocyanins, which may help protect your body against certain types of
cancers. However, more research is needed to investigate these effects.
Purple cabbage may improve the function of your gut.
There’s evidence that cabbage may lower inflammation in the gut and reduce intestinal mucositis — a condition in which lesions develop in the gut, often as a side effect of cancer treatment ( 7 , 24, 25).
Cabbage is also a good source of fiber, which keeps your gut healthy and helps it digest foods more easily.
Insoluble fiber comprises around 70% of the fiber in cabbage. It adds bulk to stools and helps food move through your gut more easily, reducing the risk of constipation ( 26 , 27 ).
The remaining 30% is soluble fiber, which provides food for the beneficial bacteria living in your gut. In turn, these friendly bacteria produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), such as acetate, butyrate, and propionate, which feed the cells of your gut ( 28 ).
Research shows that SCFAs may also reduce inflammation and other symptoms of gut disorders, such as Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and ulcerative colitis ( 28 , 29 ).
There’s also some evidence that drinking around 1 quart (946 ml) of cabbage juice per day may help heal gut ulcers in 7–10 days. However, the studies showing this are outdated, so more recent studies are needed to investigate this effect ( 30 , 31 ).
Summary Purple cabbage may help boost your gut health by reducing
inflammation, preventing gut lesions, and treating ulcers. However, more
research is needed to investigate these effects.
