The Fukushima nuclear reactor disaster is the worst in the history of the world. And it is far from over. There are 11,000 spent fuel rods in danger of melting down and exposing the northern hemisphere with more than 330 million Curies of radiation; 134 million Curies is from cesium 137. There has been no significant effort to decontaminate this disaster.
The danger to humans from radiation exposure is primarily from damage to the intestinal tract and the bone marrow because these are the most radiosensitive cells in the body. When the balance between free radical production from radiation exceeds our antioxidant capacity, we develop pain and inflammation that leads to chronic diseases including cancer and autoimmune disorders.
We can protect ourselves with antioxidant rich foods that contain sulfur, so our cells can manufacture glutathione and other antioxidants. Examples include garlic, onions, ginger, cruciferous veggies, eggs, ECGC, juicing, and sea vegetables that include seaweed salads, miso soup, kim chi, and water cress. We can also benefit from supplements that include vitamins, A, C, E, D3, lipoic acid, resveratrol, quercetin, l-glutamine, protiotics, and sometimes, iodine.
How You Can Protect Yourself from Radiation
It is becoming clear that the consequences of the Fukushima nuclear disaster could be catastrophic because the system protecting the more that 11,000 spent fuel rods that must be constantly cooled has been jeopardized. Just one curie can be fatal and there is a total of 336 million curies of energy in these rods; 134 million is in the form of cesium 137. This is somewhere between 10 and 85 times what happened in Chernobyl. Almost no cleanup has been done and none is planned that we know about. The fallout is poisoning our food, water, air, soil, sea and sea life. It is imperative that we prepare to protect ourselves and our loved ones from this potential radiation damage.
This information is intended to be educational and is not intended to be treatment. Treatment should be supervised by a qualified health care practitioner. While these are guidelines Dr. Saputo uses for his own patients, he cannot give medical advice to anyone who is not his patient.
How much radiation does it take to make us sick?
Six Gray units (one gray unit is equivalent to one Sievert or 100 RADS) can be lethal and just one Gray is enough to cause acute radiation sickness that is characterized by nausea and vomiting within 6 hours of exposure.
What are the symptoms of acute radiation poisoning?
Intestinal destruction that leads to nausea, vomiting, and diarrrhe within a few hours or exposure
Bone marrow failure that causes bleeding and immune suppression that leads to infections within a week or two
What is the mechanism of radiation poisoning?
Ionizing radiation destroys tissue by causing free radicals to form
Antioxidants prevent the free radical destruction by neutralizing them before they can cause pain and swelling and autoimmune and chronic degenerative diseases such as cancer
Antioxidants are depleted when there is free radical stress, which causes a deficit in our cells' ability to repair cellular damage
Thus, it is critical to keep large amounts of antioxidants in our body
Remember that regular intense exercise is the best way to increase you antioxidant levels, so stay fit!
What foods can help protect us against radiation damage?
Foods rich in sulfur such as garlic, onions, ginger, brassica veggies, and eggs; they make glutathione, the most important intracellular antioxidant in the human body
Foods rich in ECGC that is found in green and white teas
Juicing is the most potent nutrition you can consume because it is nutrient dense and rich in antioxidants (especially berries)
Fermented foods that are rich in probiotics such as sauerkraut and yogurt
Sea vegetables that include seaweed salad, miso soup, water cress, and kim chi
What supplements does Dr. Saputo recommend?
Vitamin A 5000 IU per day plus beta carotene 25,000 IU per day
If you're exposed to iodine 131 it is good to take about 65 mg of iodine in the form of SSKI for adults and half that for kids. If exposure is prolonged it is important to supplement with one grain a day of desiccated thyroid as well
Once you are exposed to radiation what can you do?
Follow the advice that is above
Avoid further exposure by washing clothing and shoes because about 80% of your exposure is on your clothes
The Fukushima nuclear reactor disaster is the worst in the history of the world. And it is far from over. There are 11,000 spent fuel rods in danger of melting down and exposing the northern hemisphere with more than 330 million Curies of radiation; 134 million Curies is from cesium 137. There has been no significant effort to decontaminate this disaster.
