Radiation Exposure: Natural ways to prevent damage to your body

It’s a harsh reality to face that since the 2011 Fukushima earthquake, tsunami and meltdown, 20 trillion to 40 trillion Becquerel’s of radioactive tritium has leaked into the Pacific Ocean, in addition to large amounts of cesium, and strontium which replace calcium in the bones and remain in human bodies and sea life.

More than 300 tons of radioactive water is still being released into the sea each day.

While we feel far away and protected from the damage of the 2011 disaster, the effects of radiation last for a long time and continue to spread for years. So much so, that some cow’s milk samples taken from across the US after the Fukushima incident have three times higher the radiation levels than the EPA maximums.

Radiation exposure breaks down the cells in the body and is a prominent cause of cancer, so protecting yourself against radiation exposure is important.

Luckily, avoiding certain foods and increasing your intake of others can contribute to increasing your body’s auto defense against radiation.

Foods to Avoid:

1. Avoid eating fish, seafood and seaweed that comes from the Pacific Ocean and especially from Japan. According to Ken Buesseler a Marine chemist, the cesium levels in the Pacific are 50 million times higher than pre disaster levels. (The levels then decreased and have remained at 10,000 times higher than normal). The algae becomes contaminated and then moves up the food chain to the smaller fish, then to the larger fish and finally to humans.
2. Avoid dairy and meat: When the food is higher on the food chain, the higher the concentration of radioactive materials. Dairy products may especially be one of the most contaminated foods, because the animal has eaten the contaminated grass, other foods and water. This contamination occurs by rain that forms from the Pacific and atmospheric particles.  Radiation is then stored in the animal’s body and passed on to anyone who eats it in the form of dairy or meat.  After the Chernobyl disaster there were numerous cases of children becoming severely ill from drinking cow’s milk.

Foods to Include:

1. Apple or citrus pectin: In supplement form, these have been shown to bind to and remove radioactive materials such as Cesium-137 from the body.
2. Spirulina and chlorella have both been shown to significantly reduce or remove radioactive materials in people who were contaminated by the Chernobyl fallout. However, these blue – green algae super foods should not be sourced from Japan or nearby waters.
3. Seaweeds have been shown to neutralise radioactive isotopes in the body, and contain a high amount of natural iodine that would protect the thyroid. Dulse from Ireland maybe your safest bet! Avoid seaweeds from Japan and North America.
4. Foods rich in carotenes (vitamin C and E), are natural protectors against radiation induced carcinogenesis. This includes carrots, sweet potatoes, beetroots, Swiss chard, spinach, melons, and yellow peppers.
5. The cruciferous family: These foods are cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels’ sprouts, bokchoy, radishes, and mustard greens. They are high in caffeic acid which protect peripheral blood lymphocytes against gamma radiation induced cellular damage.
6. Herbs high in selenium are nettles, burdock root, catnip, ginseng and Moringa. Selenium may protect against DNA damage.
7. Lentils, astragalus, and red clover may help with DNA repair.
8. Miso soup has been found to be extremely protective as it contains dipicolinic acid and removes radiation from the body.
9. Rosemary is a powerful herb which helps to detox the liver and rid the brain of free radicals.
10. Reishi mushrooms, are known to increase the white blood cells and increase overall immune protection of the body even in combating cancer.
11. Coriander and chlorella are both very efficient at removing heavy metals from the body.

Have you ever had health implications from radiation exposure?