The health effects of the Fukushima nuclear accident and the use of potassium iodide continue to spread fear in the public because of how the information is used. At the best, it appears that reassuring the public is inadequate and what we hear from the media confuses and aggravates the situation in what is supposed to be a well-informed choice of the people.
Earlier, I have posted the proper use of potassium iodide to reduce the load of radioactive particles among those who were contaminated by it—the nuclear workers, and not you who is thousands of kilometers away. Visit this link for details.
This report is intended to share more information and assuage unnecessary public anxiety over the nuclear plant accident in Japan.
It was reported recently that the Fukushima I plant released radioactive particles to as much as 500 meters (1,640 feet) in high heavens. Fine, but the Chernobyl plant spewed radiation 9,144 meters (30,000 feet) above sea level for several months.
The US west coast reported detecting radioactive materials last week possibly coming from Japan. But a blog entry said the detected level was one-millionth of what we receive from Nature everyday.
I wonder how certain the authorities are that it came from Japan and not from the several nuclear plant accidents and nuclear tests by China, France, Russia, UK and the US in the past.
Japan has banned all shipments of its contaminated foods coming from the areas near the nuclear plant the moment radiation was reported to be leaking.
Radiation is all around us, without knowing it. There are two kinds of them—electromagnetic and particle radiation.
The harmless—or sometimes medicinal—electromagnetic waves include electrical, infrared, visible light and ultraviolet (UV) rays. Some rays are used for diagnostic purposes like gamma rays. They should be used with caution and careful monitoring is necessary. It is emphasized that the Sun is an important source of harmful UV rays. The earth, rocks, stars and surprisingly, our bones emit radiation.
Other sources of radiation come from our daily equipments like microwave ovens, smoke detectors and television. How about mobile phones and computers?
Our body can tolerate about 1 millisievert of ray exposure per year from nature and everyday gadgets. It's like this: Our body can accept 33 chest x-rays in one year and still fall within the annual radiation allowance.
On the other hand, nuclear plant accidents—Fukushima, Three Mile Island and Chernobyl—may cause health damage due to spewing of uranium and plutonium particles as a result of atomic combustion much less than the bombs that were dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the Second World War. Despite global condemnation, France tested their nuclear weapons in the South Pacific in the mid-1990s. The US has made 24 such tests over the years and the last one was in August 2010.
In the Chernobyl meltdown, about one million people were reported to have died between 1986 and 2005 from genetic anomaly caused by leakage of radiation into the environment (air, food, soil, water). Many had also suffered from leukemia and thyroid cancer.
So why the renewed panic over Fukushima? Isn’t it that we should have worried a long time ago since Marie Curie coined the word “radioactivity”?
A blog entry recommends seven methods how to reduce the radiation load in your body in a natural way.
1. Add foods that are rich in chlorophyll such as blue-green algae, chlorella, kelp, seaweed and spirulina. These foods go to the thyroid glands and fill them so that radioactive iodine cannot harm the gland.
2. Colorful foods that are endowed with antioxidants help the body rid off free radicals and toxins. These are blueberries, cherries, pomegranates, sweet potatoes and yams.
3. Drink six to eight glassful of filtered water daily.
4. An increased intake of vitamins C, D and E will help antioxidants do their job. Taking in alpha-lipoic acid will protect cells from radiation damage.
5. For detoxification, take herbs like chrysanthemum, dandelion and peppermint.
6. Medically-supervised detoxification programs to support healthy cleansing well-being.
7. Physician-supervised chelation therapy with EDTA.
And of course, red wine is another healthy way for adults to decrease radiation exposure because of its antioxidant properties.
It is better to ask around from local authorities than to be carried away with what media say.
Details of this report here.