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Protect Yourself from the Damaging Effects of
Radiation
February 24, 2010
When most people think of radiation they picture nuclear weapons of some sort, a nuclear power plant, or a medical device such as an X-ray and Cat Scan machine. However, in our modern world today we are being exposed to radiation from many more sources than ever before. Other sources of radiation exposure include microwaves, high-voltage power lines, cell phones, televisions, video display monitors which includes computer monitors, and all devices that run on electricity.
Radiation Damages
the Body
Radiation produces free-radicals that damage cells that make up tissues
such as organs, glands, muscles, and bones. Besides causing the cells
to age more quickly they also become distorted, or mutated, creating
cancers such as leukemia, anemia, birth defects, and other diseases.
Radioactive Isotopes
Radioactive isotopes, depending on the isotope,
from either medical treatments or nuclear fallout, can remain radioactive
in the body for days, months, or years. Most kinds of radiation that
come from microwaves, cell phones, and medical devices such as X-rays,
Cat Scans, just pass through the body causing immediate damage to cells
and leaving behind free-radicals that continue their damaging effects.
Sometimes radiomimetic products are created that mimic radioactive substances
that cause similar damage to the body.
Levels of Exposure
The amount of exposure to radiation will vary from person to person
of course. However, I want to caution people not to become complacent
about this. There has been so much Strontium
90 released into our environment all over the world by nuclear explosions,
power plants, and nuclear weapon facilities that it is believed that
every person on Earth has levels that are detectable in their bone tissue.
Besides the continuous low levels of radiation exposure, people are
being exposed to higher levels from man-made sources than first realized.
First example, it has just been fairly recently that they discovered
that Cat
Scans are exposing people to higher amounts of radiation than they
thought, tremendously increasing their risk of cancer. One report said
that one Cat Scan could be equivalent from 50 to 400 X-rays!
Medical Radiation Accidents
Another area of lethal exposure to radiation is from medical equipment
accidents. In other words, the equipment was not programmed properly,
or the software and/or equipment had a glitch. To help you appreciate
this I provided an article that I found in my local Sunday newspaper
- The Columbus Dispatch. After you read the article I have provided
some ways that you can protect your body against radiation.
| Medical-radiation
accidents go unreported
Trusting doctors often unaware of machine errors Sunday, January 24, 2010 3:15 AM By Walt Bogdanich The New York Times As Scott Jerome-Parks lay dying, he clung to this wish: that his fatal radiation overdose -- which left him deaf, struggling to see, unable to swallow, burned, with his teeth falling out, with ulcers in his mouth and throat, nauseated, in severe pain and finally unable to breathe -- be studied and talked about so that others might not have to live his nightmare. Sensing death was near, Jerome-Parks summoned his family for a final Christmas. He died several weeks later in 2007. He was 43. A New York City hospital treating him for tongue cancer had failed to detect a computer error that directed a linear accelerator to blast his brain stem and neck with errant beams of radiation. Not once, but three times. Soon after the accident at St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan, state health officials cautioned hospitals to be extra careful with linear accelerators, which generate beams of high-energy radiation. But on the day of the warning, at University Hospital in Brooklyn, a 32-year-old breast-cancer patient, Alexandra Jn-Charles, absorbed the first of 27 days of radiation overdoses, each three times the prescribed amount. A linear accelerator with a missing filter would burn a hole in her chest, leaving a gaping wound so painful that the mother of two young children considered suicide. Jn-Charles and Jerome-Parks died a month apart. Both experienced the wonders and the brutality of radiation. It helped diagnose and treat their disease. It also inflicted unspeakable pain. Americans receive far more medical radiation than ever. The average lifetime dose of diagnostic radiation has increased sevenfold since 1980, and more than half of all cancer patients get radiation therapy. Serious accidents are rare. But patients often know little about the harm that can result when safety rules are violated and the technologically complex machines go awry. To better understand those risks, The New York Times examined thousands of pages of public and private records and interviewed physicians, medical physicists, researchers and government regulators. The Times found that although this new technology allows doctors to more accurately attack tumors and reduce certain mistakes, its complexity has created new avenues for error -- through software flaws, faulty programming, poor safety procedures or inadequate staffing and training. "Linear accelerators and treatment planning are enormously more complex than 20 years ago," said Dr. Howard I. Amols, chief of clinical physics at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. But hospitals, he said, are often too trusting of the new computer systems and software, relying on them as if they had been tested over time, when they have not. No one agency oversees medical radiation, and there is no central clearinghouse of cases. Accidents are chronically underreported, records show, and some states require no reporting. In June, it was reported that a Philadelphia hospital gave the wrong radiation dose to more than 90 patients with prostate cancer and then kept quiet about it. In 2005, a Florida hospital disclosed that 77 brain-cancer patients had received 50 percent more radiation than prescribed because one of the most powerful -- and supposedly precise -- linear accelerators had been programmed incorrectly for nearly a year. Dr. John J. Feldmeier, a radiation oncologist at the University of Toledo, estimates that 1 in 20 patients will suffer injuries. Most are normal complications, not mistakes, Feldmeier said. "My suspicion is that maybe half of the accidents we don't know about," said Dr. Fred A. Mettler Jr., who has investigated radiation accidents and written books on medical radiation. In 2009, the nation's largest wound-care company treated 3,000 radiation injuries, most of them serious enough to require treatment in hyperbaric oxygen chambers, which use pure, pressurized oxygen to promote healing, said Jeff Nelson, president and chief executive of Diversified Clinical Services. Although the worst accidents can be devastating, most radiation therapy "is very good," Mettler said. "And while there are accidents, you wouldn't want to scare people to death where they don't get needed radiation therapy."
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What You Can Do to
Protect Against and Remove Radiation
Pectin
Pectin has the ability to bind radioactive residues and remove them
from the body. Apples are high in pectin. Other fruits are guavas, quince,
plums, gooseberries, oranges and other citrus fruits. Try to use organic
fruits. You can also purchase concentrated pectin powder from a health
food store. It can be mixed in fresh juice or chlorine-free water.
Edible Clay
Add 4 ounces of chlorine-free unboiled water to 1 ounce of bentonite
clay. Let sit for 8 hours, stir and drink once a day. Make
sure you drink plenty of chlorine-free water throughout the day. You
can also use other forms of edible clay such as French green clay.
Sea Salt and Baking Soda
Add 1 pound of sea salt and 1 pound of baking soda and soak in chlorine-free
water for 20 minutes. Then rinse with cool water. You can also 1 pound
of betonite, or other clay, to the sea salt and baking soda when soaking
which increases the removal of radiation. Some specialists who work
with radioactive isotopes use this method to remove radiation from their
body. If you have been exposed to an abnormally high level of radiation
you can use this method three times a week for one month.
Chlorophyll
A number of studies found that chlorophyll-rich foods can decrease radiation
toxicity. Spirulina and chlorella are two micro-algae that are rich
in this substance, as are leafy greens, celery, parsley, the sprouts
of any grain or bean, the young shoots of any edible grass, such as
wheat and barley, and sunflower greens. Chlorophyll is similar in structure
to hemoglobin.
Source: “Fighting Radiation and Chemical Pollutants
with Foods, Herbs and Vitamins” by Steven R. Schechter, N.D.
Guinea pigs on a diet rich in chlorophyll showed increased resistance
to lethal X-rays.
U.S. Army report in 1950
Alfalfa
Organic alfalfa is a good
source of natural chlorophyll.
Other Benefits of Alfalfa
- Rich source of absorbable minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium,
phosphorous, and iron.
- Natural fluoride and trace minerals
- Fiber for for good bowel health and function
- All vitamins including A as beta carotene, B-6, B-12, C, D, E, and
K
- Essential Fatty Acids
- Antioxidants such octacosanol, saponins, carotenoids, and other phytonutrients
- Helps to balance the pH (reduces an over-acid pH which is very destructive
to the cells.)
- Promotes healthy kidney function and water retention
- Promotes healthy joints
- Contains enzymes to help in digestion
- Nourishes the glandular system
- Supports healthy blood sugar levels
- Assists in healing peptic ulcer
- Assists the body in fighting infections
- Assists in building strong bones and teeth
- Assists in cleansing the blood
- Assists in removing excessive cholesterol and supports healthy blood
vessels
Chlorella
In Japan, interest in chlorella has focused largely on its
detoxifying properties - its ability to neutralize or remove poisonous
substances from the body, including Cadmium, mercury-caused disease,
dioxin, PCBs, X-rays and other radiations.
A Report by Scottist in 1986
and report from Japan showed that increase absorption of Cadmium by
Chlorella and increased excretion of Cadmium by threefold after intake
of Chlorella from animal testing. Chlorella can also detoxify Uranium,
Lead, Copper, PCB.
Source: " A good Health Guide: Chlorella "
by William H Lee. R. Ph.D. and Michael Rosenbaum, M.D.
Chlorella exhibited radioprotective
action against Gamma-ray induced Chromosomal damage in mice. The Anti-mutagenic
activity of chlorophyll and beta-carotene present in vegetable extracts
is now well established.
The Japan Radiation Research Society in 1993
Other Benefits of
Chlorella
- Improving and cleansing digestive system
- Protecting against damaging free radicals
- Increasing growth of gut micro-flora
- Detoxing - including heavy metals and PCBs
- Purifying and cleansing the blood
- Help balancing body's pH
- Boosting immune system
- Helping with weight loss/maintenance
- Stimulating the growth of new cells
- Supplementing essential vitamins and minerals
- Assist in protecting and repairing the nucleic acids (RNA/DNA) of
the cells
Not All Chlorella Supplements Are the Same
For chlorella to be effective it must be cultivated properly and then
made absorbable to the body without destroying its benefits.
YAEYAMA CHLORELLA
Yaeyama Chlorella is 100% fresh-water chlorella, grown on the coral
reef island of Ishigaki, Japan. Chlorella may enhance health naturally
by supporting the immune system and promoting energy, vitality, and
natural cleansing. Yaeyama Chlorella is rich in chlorella growth factor
(CGF), vitamins, minerals, chlorophyll, beta-carotene, and other phytonutrients.
It is spray dried using a special process that breaks the cell wall,
yet preserves the nutrients within, ensuring a highly digestible and
nutrient-rich product. Source
Naturals Yaeyama Chlorella contains absolutely no added binders,
fillers, or flow agents.
Nucleic acids
RNA and DNA increase the survival rate of mammals exposed to irradiation.
Bee pollen, nutritional yeast and certain sea algae such as chlorella
contain relatively large percentages of nucleic acids. Onions contain
RNA.
Source: “Fighting Radiation and Chemical Pollutants
with Foods, Herbs and Vitamins” by Steven R. Schechter, N.D.
Vitamin E
It can protect against the effects of x-rays and radioactive cobalt.
It improves anemia following exposure to radiation. It can provide internal
and external protection against cesium-137 which is a common component
of fallout and nuclear power plant leaks and routine emissions. Vitamin
E also helps prevent the destruction of Vitamin A and fatty acids by
massive doses of x-rays. If large doses of C, B and E are taken before
exposure, the terrible symptoms of radiation sickness can be reduced
or eliminated to a large degree. Caution: E should
be used cautiously if you have high blood pressure or rheumatic heart
disease.
Source: “Fighting Radiation and Chemical Pollutants
with Foods, Herbs and Vitamins” by Steven R. Schechter, N.D.
Not All Vitamin E Supplements Are the Same
Most vitamin E sold today are not produced properly. Too little gamma
tocopherol and oil fillers are used which can produce free-radicals
as they go rancid. E-Logic™
E-Complex is properly formulated and made oil-free in a GMP and
ISO 9001:2000 registered facility.
Onions
Cysteine, present in onions, binds with and deactivates both the radioactive
isotopes and toxic metals such as cadmium, lead and mercury. The sulfur
in cysteine helps the kidneys and liver detoxify the body.
Source: “Fighting Radiation and Chemical Pollutants
with Foods, Herbs and Vitamins” by Steven R. Schechter, N.D.
Olive Oil
In one mice study, olive oil taken internally
fully protected rats against progressive doses of x-rays ranging from
300 to 2,400 roentgens. The olive oil provided optimal protection when
is comprised about 15 percent of the total calories of the diet.
Source: “Fighting Radiation and Chemical Pollutants
with Foods, Herbs and Vitamins” by Steven R. Schechter, N.D.
Rutin
A glucoside found in buckwheat can help protect the body from the effects
of radiation.
Other Benefits
- Inhibits plaque buildup in blood vessels, decreases capillary permeability
and improves circulation.
- Combats inflammation
- Strengthens the capillaries, and, therefore, can reduce the symptoms
of hemophilia.
- Helps to prevent unpleasant-looking venous edema of the legs.
- Some evidence Rutin can be used to treat hemorrhoids, varicosis, and
microangiopathy
- An antioxidant
Seaweeds
Also called sea vegetables, are not only
a great natural source of nutrients they are very effective at removing
radiation from the body as they contain sodium alginate. I had an individual
come to me about 15 years ago who had been subjected to many radiation
treatments to combat a cancer he had. When I first saw him his whole
body had a slight greenish tinge to the skin because of the amount of
radiation he was exposed to. He was very sick and weak. I suggested
that he drink 3 glasses of water a day with 2 tablespoons of sodium
alginate powder mixed in. He decided to try it and when I saw him again
about 2 weeks later his skin was back to its normal color and healthy
looking. He also had a lot of energy and felt great.
There are literally thousands of different types of seaweeds but some
of the most popular are arame, wakame, kombu, hijiki, bladderwrack,
rockweed, sea lettuce, and dulse. You can find them in your local health
food store and various oriental grocery stores in your neighborhood
in their natural form, or in flakes, flat sheets, and powders. They
can be mixed in soups and salads, or eaten by themselves. If you don't
like the taste of seaweeds, or you want something more convenient you
can find various seaweed supplements in capsules or tablets.
Dose: The Atomic Energy Commission recommends
for maximum protection against radioactive poisoning for humans, taking
a minimum of 2 to 3 ounces of sea vegetables a week or 10 grams (two
tablespoons) a day of sodium alginate supplements. During or after exposure
to radiation, the dosage should be increased to two full tablespoons
of alginate four times daily to insure that there is a continual supply
in the GI or gastrointestinal tract. There may be a rare problem of
constipation but this can be avoided if the sodium alginate is made
into a fruit gelatin. Agar, derived from sodium alginate in kelp, is
a safe, nontoxic substance that can be used as a thickening agent or
gelatin.
Source: “Fighting Radiation and Chemical Pollutants with Foods,
Herbs and Vitamins” by Steven R. Schechter, N.D.
Another benefit of sea vegetables
is the natural iodine. If there is insufficient iodine in the diet radioactive
iodine-131 will be absorbed and collected in the thyroid gland. Even
if radioactive iodine is absorbed by the thyroid, taking natural iodine
helps offset the side effects of exposure. According to Dr. Russell
Morgan, 1 mg. of iodine for children and 5 mg. for adults taken daily
will reduce by about 80 percent the radioactive iodine accumulated in
the thyroid. Whole foods are the best source of iodine, e.g. sea vegetables
like hijiki, arame, kombu and dulse. Iodine is leached from the thyroid
gland by drinking chlorinated water. Avoid iodized salt which contains
excessive sodium and no potassium. Sea vegetables are rich in vitamins
and contain most if not all of the essential minerals and trace elements.
Sea vegetables also help dissolve fat and mucus deposits.
Source: “Fighting Radiation and Chemical Pollutants
with Foods, Herbs and Vitamins” by Steven R. Schechter, N.D.
Miso
Miso has been used to treat radiation sickness. It is is a
traditional Japanese seasoning produced by fermenting rice, barley and/or
soybeans, with salt and the fungus kojikin, the most typical miso being
made with soy. The result is a thick paste used for sauces and spreads,
pickling vegetables or meats, and mixing with dashi soup stock to serve
as miso soup called Misoshiru, a Japanese culinary staple. High in protein
and rich in vitamins and minerals, miso played an important nutritional
role in feudal Japan. Miso is still very widely used in Japan, both
in traditional and modern cooking, and has been gaining world-wide interest.
Miso is typically salty, but its flavor and aroma depend on various
factors in the ingredients and fermentation process. Different varieties
of miso have been described as salty, sweet, earthy, fruity, and savory,
and there is an extremely wide variety of miso available.
Below is information on how seaweeds and miso were used to treat radiation
poisoning.
| NUCLEAR
RADIATION • Macrobiotic
Diet Prevents Radiation Sickness Among A-Bomb Survivors in Japan
- In August, 1945, at the time of the atomic bombing
of Japan, Tatsuichiro Akizuki, M.D., was director of the Department
of Internal Medicine at St. Francis’s Hospital in Nagasaki. Most
patients in the hospital, located one mile from the center of
the blast, survived the initial effects of the bomb, but soon
after came down with symptoms of radiation sickness from the fallout
that had been released. Dr. Akizuki fed his staff and patients
a strict macrobiotic diet of brown rice, miso soup, wakame and
other sea vegetables, Hokkaido pumpkin, and sea salt and prohibited
the consumption of sugar and sweets. As a result, he saved everyone
in his hospital, while many other survivors in the city perished
from radiation sickness. • Macrobiotic
Diet Heals Atomic Bomb Survivor in Hiroshima - In 1945,
Sawako Hirago was a ten-year-old school girl in Hiroshima. In
the atomic bombing on August 6, she was exposed to severe radiation
that burned her face, head, and legs. The burned parts swelled
up nearly three times normal. In the hospital, doctors feared
for her recovery because one-third of her body was burned. Her
mother gave her palm healing therapy over the abdomen every night,
and she ate the only food available, two rice balls and two daikon
radish pickles each day. Inside the rice balls was umeboshi (pickled
salted plum). • Seaweeds Protect
Against Nuclear Fallout - Scientists at the Gastro-Intestinal
Research Laboratory at McGill University in Montreal, Canada,
reported that a substance derived from the sea vegetable kelp
could reduce by 50 to 80 percent the amount of radioactive strontium
absorbed through the intestine. Stanley Skoryna, M.D., said that
in animal experiments sodium alginate obtained from brown algae
permitted calcium to be normally absorbed through the intestinal
wall while binding most of the strontium. The sodium alginate
and strontium were subsequently excreted from the body. The experiments
were designed to devise a method to counteract the effects of
nuclear fallout and radiation. • Seaweeds Protect
Against Nuclear Fallout - Canadian researchers reported
that sea vegetables contained a polysaccharide substance that
selectively bound radioactive strontium and helped eliminate it
from the body. In laboratory experiments, sodium alginate prepared
from kelp, kombu, and other brown seaweeds off the Atlantic and
Pacific coasts was introduced along with strontium and calcium
into rats. The reduction of radioactive particles in bone uptake,
measured in the femur, reached as high as 80 percent, with little
interference with calcium absorption. “The evaluation of biological
activity of different marine algae is important because of their
practical significance in preventing absorption of radioactive
products of atomic fission as well as in their use as possible
natural decontaminators.” • Miso Protects
Against Radiation - People who eat miso regularly may
be up to five times more resistant to radiation than people not
eating miso. This is the conclusion of scientific studies conducted
by Kazumitsu Watanabe, professor of cancer and radiation at Hiroshima
University’s atomic bomb radiation research center. • Doctors Treat
Radiation Sickness in Russia with Macrobiotics - In 1985,
Lidia Yamchuk and Hanif Shaimardanov, medical doctors in Cheljabinsk,
organized Longevity, the first macrobiotic association in the
Soviet Union. At their hospital, they have used dietary methods
and acupuncture to treat many patients, especially those suffering
from leukemia, lymphoma, and other disorders associated with exposure
to nuclear radiation. Since the early 1950s, wastes from Soviet
weapons production were dumped into Karachay Lake in Cheljabinsk,
an industrial city about 900 miles east of Moscow. • Diet Helps
After Chernobyl Accident - Russian scientists reported
that beta carotene-rich foods and dietary therapy helped people
suffering from the Chernobyl nuclear accident in Ukraine. • Nuclear Radiation
and Thyroid Cancer - Nuclear tests in the 1950s and early
1960s exposed millions of American children to large amounts of
radioactive iodine, especially through milk, resulting in up to
50,000 cases of thyroid cancer around the country of which 2500
would be expected to be fatal. According to a National Cancer
Institute study, the releases of fallout were larger than earlier
estimates and at least 10 times larger than those caused by the
Soviet nuclear accident in Chernobyl in 1986. Vast regions of
the country were affected by the nuclear radiation, especially
the West, Midwest, and New England. • Radioactive
Food Tested on Retarded Children - More than 120 mentally
retarded children, as young as ten years old, were given breakfast
cereals injected with radioactive substances in federally sponsored
nutrition studies in Massachusetts in the 1940s and 1950s. Supervised
by MIT scientists, the children at the Fernald School in Waltham
were enrolled in a special "Science Club" and given
the contaminated food without their knowledge or consent or that
of their parents. The program was part of a Cold War experiment
on the effects of radioactive iron and calcium. The results were
published in the Journal of Nutrition in 1950, 1954, and 1956. |
Besides the information provided
above there are many more ways to fight radiation contamination and
exposure.
If you wish to learn more, and you can find a copy, an excellent source
would be the book - “Fighting Radiation and Chemical Pollutants with
Foods, Herbs and Vitamins” by Steven R. Schechter, N.D..
It came out about 20 years ago and may be out of print. However, you
can check with your local library and if you can't find it go to Amazon.com
and Barnes&Noble
as they list older publications for sell.
References
1. Steven R. Schechter, N.D., “Fighting Radiation and Chemical Pollutants
with Foods, Herbs and Vitamins”
2. Paul Pitchford, "Healing
with Whole Foods" 1993; North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, CA
3. The
Columbus Dispatch
4. The Kushi Institute of Europe
