You might
recognize the name Fukushima – just a couple years ago, a massive
tsunami hit the nuclear power plants on Fukushima’s coast, which led to
major radioactive leaks into the atmosphere and ocean. The government,
and regulation authorities told the public “not to worry,” and that the
levels of radiation were not harmful – well, they were wrong.
Just a few
weeks ago, Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority raised the rating of
radioactive water leak from the Fukushima nuclear power plant to Level
3, making this incident much more serious than previously imagined (on
an international scale of radioactivity). They upgraded the level from
Level 1 (which was initially assigned to a leak of 300 tons of
radiation-contaminated water from a tank at the Fukushima plant).
This level of
radiation, now labelled as “serious threat” (level 0 being no threat to
level 7 being the highest threat) should be taken into consideration,
especially when it comes to diet. There are many harmful effects of
radiation, and many of them go unnoticed in the body. Even over time, a
low level of radiation exposure can lead to major digestive imbalances,
blood alterations and destruction of tissue and organ systems at a
cellular level. Symptoms may include things such as fatigue, headaches,
nausea, scalp issues, and dry/itchy skin – in more extreme cases (aka.
if you lived in Fukushima, or within a couple mile radius of the
disaster), symptoms may include mood changes, memory problems, brain
damage, attention disorders and slowed information processing and
psychomotor abilities.
In particular,
our circulatory and reproductive systems are incredibly sensitive to any
level of radiation – the effect is reduced blood lymphocytes which can
lead to higher incidence of body infections (also known as “mild
radiation sickness”) – symptoms are often flu-like and can increase your
likelihood of developing cancers of the blood (leukaemia and lymphoma)
in the future. Long-term radiation exposure can affect our reproductive
system, leading to birth defects and still-births (as well as
infertility).
Here is a list of 10 foods which can be used to help protect your body against the harmful effects of radiation:
Cilantro
Helps remove
heavy metals from the blood stream. It draws lead, uranium and mercury
from your organs and blood which helps assist the kidneys in flushing
out your system.
Red Beets
Studies have
shown that beets can help aid the body in rebuilding damaged
haemoglobin. With radiation exposure, haemoglobin gets broken down, so
it is important to protect our blood systems at all costs. Eating beets
has actually been found to help absorb and detox radioactive isotopes in
studies with animals.
Dandelion
Dandelion is an
amazing plant! Most of us don’t think twice when we rip them out of our
lawns because they are considered “weeds” and not “aesthetically
pleasing” but these plants are detox miracles. It helps keep free
radicals at bay and ensures a healthy functioning liver (which ensures
that toxins are properly eliminated from the body).
Apples & Sunflower Seeds
Apples and
sunflower seeds contain high levels of pectin which helps to bind and
remove radioactive residues from the body. Particularly, these two foods
protect against caesium-137 which collects in the endocrine glands,
pancreas, thymus and heart. Caesium-137 emits gamma rays, as well as
beta rays which are incredibly toxic to the cells in our body. Consuming
plenty of apples, and a healthy amount of sunflower seeds is a perfect
snack addition to your day, and can help protect your body from
radiation.
Burdock Root
This root helps
remove radioactive isotopes from the body! Consuming 1-4 ounces
(120-300 grams) of fresh burdock root, whether lightly cooked in a tea
infusion or juiced using a juicer (this is the best method, because raw
is always best – enzymes are not destroyed) can help reverse and prevent
the DNA damage done by radiation.
Leafy Greens
All greens
contain the molecule chlorophyll which is incredibly alkaline and helps
provide protection from radiation damage. Since the early 1950s, studies
have proven the miraculous effects of chlorophyll and radiation. These
effects are even greater when darker green vegetables like mustard
greens, and alfalfa leaves as well as kale and collards are used.
Consuming two or more green vegetables together gives the greatest
radiation resistance.
Buckwheat
Glucosides in buckwheat can help protect from radiation exposure, if consumed before radiation exposure has occurred. Cereal
grasses help to cleanse our bodies of radiation in a similar way that
other green foods do like leafy greens (rich in chlorophyll) and
blue-green algae.
Ginseng
A great way to
protect and treat yourself from radiation is ginseng! Ginseng’s ability
to help heal radiation damage is still being studied, but preliminary
studies have pointed to the conclusion that it is a wonderful healing
agent for any type of radiation exposure. Consuming between 100 to 200mg
of ginseng twice per day was found to help speed up recovery of
individuals exposed to radiation (healing of bone marrow, skin, internal
organs and blood cells).
Rosemary
Compounds in
rosemary fight against the mutagenic effects of radiation. Studies have
shown that the carnosic acid and carnosol found in rosemary allows it to
provide this anti-mutagenic effect. As well, rosemary was found in
another study to be 3.34 times better at protecting against radiation
effects than a variety of other compounds studied.
No comments:
Post a Comment