latest UPDATE ~ Radiation at Fukishima and It's Effects & Emergency Nutritional Steps to Take

The picture above was taken on the sidewalk of Hakusan Dori in Bunkyo-ku in Tokyo, and was uploaded on July 30. The air radiation in Bunkyo-ku has been higher than the official Tokyo number (measured in Shinjuku-ku, western central Tokyo), along with several other eastern "ku" (special wards of Tokyo). "About 30% of azaleas on the sidewalk are completely dead. Ginkgo leaves are browning." from http://www.NaturalNews.com/033310_Fukushima_radiation.html

Japan is considering the possibility of creating a back-up capital city in case they need to abandon the capital - http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-08-09/japan-govt-could-flee-tokyo/283041.... A new panel from Japan's Ministry of Land and Infrastructure will consider the possibility of moving some of Tokyo's capital functions to another big city, like Osaka. They talk about earthquake threats, which are quite real but mention nothing about the persistent radiation.

The story only gets worse and this one could eventually bring down the Japanese government, which withheld important information. Tamotsu Baba, the mayor of Namie, said that the withholding of information was akin to murder. Japan's system to forecast radiation threats was working from the beginning but they did not warn the people when a radiation plume hit the Karino Elementary School. The school, just over six miles from the nuclear plant, was not evacuated. Instead it was turned into a temporary evacuation center.

For three nights, while hydrogen explosions at four of the reactors leaked radiation into the air many Japanese stayed in Tsushima district. The radioactive "winds, in fact, had been blowing directly toward Tsushima but this vital information was left unpublicized by bureaucrats in Tokyo, operating in a culture that sought to avoid responsibility and, above all, criticism."
More at: http://www.naturalnews.com/033310_Fukushima_radiation.html#ixzz1VAQ4yczg

A MIndful Update by Arnie Gundersen - Fairwinds Associates - While many radioactive cattle have been discovered large distances from Fukushima, what is more important is where their feed is coming from. "It's not only about the radioactive cattle in Fukushima Prefecture; its also about the radioactive straw the cattle eat that was grown elsewhere". Straw found 45 miles from Fukushima is highly contaminated with radioactive cesium, which is an indication that radiation has contaminated large portions of Northern Japan. More than half a million disintegrations per second in a kilogram of straw are comparable to Chernobyl levels. This proves that the American Nuclear Regulatory Commission was correct when it told Americans to evacuate beyond 50 miles and that the Japanese should have done the same. An Ex-Secretariat of Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission blames this contamination on "Black Rain". Rather than minimize the information the Japanese people receive, Gundersen suggests minimizing their radiation exposure."See his whole mindful, unsensational report at: http://vimeo.com/26651670

Radiation Emergency Nutritional Steps to Take - This article is a nutritional heads-up as nuclear fallout from Japan is coming our way. TEPCO finally has admitted Fukushima suffered a nuclear meltdown on day one of the catastrophe at reactor one! And it wasn't just one meltdown - there were several. How to stay health now that we know nuclear contamination will probably affect us in north America, too. Of the six reactors in Japan that have constantly been in the news, three or four are now almost under control. But some of the fuel rods have melteddown to a blob and at best a mini-Chernobyl is in progress. Mitigating and en-tombing the damage is now beginning but the falsely reported fallout into water, earth and air cannot be reversed.

The events unfolding in northern Japan certainly have created health anxiety internationally, as the situation conjures up our memories of the 1986 Chernobyl meltdown that killed dozens of people down-wind almost immediately and thousands of people over the following decade, mostly undocumented at the time and now coming to the (information) surface. The Chernobyl catastrophe resulted in the release of major clouds of nuclear toxins, which the winds carried for thousands of miles, contaminating most of Europe. This led to a hundred-fold increase in thyroid cancer in children and adolescents in the Belarus and Ukraine regions. Most of the radiation was inhaled; and some was ingested (from contaminated produce and from milk produced by cows feeding on contaminated grass that slipped through the "tight Euro controls" from various countries).
 
There is much and varied information circulating furiously as to the supplements we should take to address harmful effects of radiation exposure. Potassium iodide was recently sold out at most drug stores in North America! People were taking this antidote indiscriminately, doing more harm than good.

There are many forms of radiation - gamma rays, strontium, radioactive cesium, radioactive potassium, etc – and not all are created equal – and our bodies are all different, too. So what could one REALLY do? (What follows is not medical advice, of course, and one must check everything with one’s main medical advisor).
 
Why the thyroid gets all the attention:
The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland in the throat and naturally requires iodine to help make the hormones needed to maintain normal metabolism and many other functions in our bodies. Normally, iodine is absorbed from our diet, enters the bloodstream and is then concentrated in our thyroids. Radioactive iodine also will concentrate in our thyroid – or body sees no difference and once there, will then damage the tissue there. This can lead to the formation of benign and malignant thyroid nodules. Infants and children are the most susceptible to radioactive iodine's harm, because their thyroid cells are more active.
Don't assume that you have enough on board in your body because you saw that iodine is now added to your table salt. Some governments have mandated that iodine be added to table salt, but that common heat-treated type of salt that the majority of the population still uses is not often digested by our bodies and the iodine is then not used either, as our bodies recognize those salt molecules as toxins and surrounds them with mucous to take them out of harms’ way (including the trace amounts of iodine). See “78 Foolproof Ways to Improve Your Health” at http://www.pacificholistic.com to see what is the best type of salt.
Some thyroids are hyper and some are hypo and are already challenged. Does a hyper thyroid become more hyper with potassium iodide? Does a hypo thyroid get fixed in the process of taking supplements due to this radiation scare?
See "The Thyroid: over & under - hyper and hypo? tired and cold? active and healing?" at http://www.thehealingjournal.com/node/1842 as to what causes our thyroids to be imbalanced in the first place at normal times.
 
Why is iodine needed elsewhere, too:
Thyroid hormones are integral in the myelination of the central nervous system - most important in the womb and shortly after birth. It has been shown that a deficiency creates a potential IQ deficit. A well known expert states: "a drop of IODINE each day can be the difference between an idiot and an Einstein."
 
What to take in advance of being compromised by radiation:
Whatever you take in the coming months, the rule of thumb is that it should add to your overall health and not be some emergency knee-jerk reaction, nor a burden to the very sensitive and intricate ways of all our organs and tissues. In fact some of the herbs, supplements, tinctures and foods mentioned below, you may already have in your home. Now's the time to stock up on the rest of the items that "speak" to you - only you are in charge of your survival strategy - and there are many strategies and advices out there!
 
Selenium, a necessary, miraculous mineral at any time, is a “repair workhorse” in the body and also protects DNA. Selenium deficiency is pervasive and leads to impaired immune systems and also leaves people depleted from some of the harsh orthodox “radiation therapy” for cancer. Get plenty of selenium by switching to Brazil nuts for a while for all your snacking and include them in your cooking (nut-coated crispy chicken, in salads, in nutty pie crusts, etc) and eat while you drive or have a need to nibble - keep at your desk and in your purse. Brazill nuts are packed with selenium – this is one mineral that you can infuse your body with simply by eating it. Glutathione peroxidase is an important enzyme produced from selenium – you cannot live without it at the best of times and now it's crucial to have more than enough. Pick some up pronto.
Drinking 2 cups of nettle tea per day - as an infusion is an option if you are allergic to nuts.
 
Vitamin A and beta-carotene counteracts gamma radiation damage to cells to some extent. It also improves the healing of wounds and supports a number of essential reactions in our bodies and some of our organs. For therapeutic purposes, such as with this possible fallout, or a compromised immune system, or if one is recouping from a continuous, severely poor diet, then temporarily 25,000 to 35,000 IU is the dose for adults. General maintenance would be less. (Vitamin A in large doses can be toxic to pregnant woman and their babies).
 
Strontium 90, another radioactive mineral we need to block, is a more difficult issue, as it is chemically similar to calcium and can end up in our bone marrow and bones. One of pantothenic acid’s (vitamin B5, calcium pantothenate) many functions is that it helps normalize red and white blood cell formation in the bone marrow (and therefore indirectly helps to decrease the effects of radiation on bone marrow, too). The various B vitamins all dance together synergistically and should be taken together, as recommended on the supplement bottle.
 
Vitamin C - a VERY IMPORTANT supplement as it protects cell membranes (not just nuclear radiation but also from chemo and other harsh therapies). If the Vitamin C is buffered (with minerals) - called an ascorbate - then large dosages can be taken - up to bowel tolerance (in a smoothy, for example, with organic yoghurt, good oils, your iodine and other supplements) - a very different amount of buffered Vitamin C leads to loose stools for each of us - can be from 2 to 8 grams per person per day.
Extra Vitamin C, such as these extreme amounts of buffered vitamin C can be done at any time for health purposes but surely during fallout times. If you have ascorbic Vitamin C at hand - not buffered with minerals - then 200 to 500 mg several times a day is best.
This would not be a time to quibble about politics but... in Canada the only non-cornstarch Vitamin C left is Camu, Camu which is NOT buffered, but in spite of that, a quality product. Health Canada “rules” have become too onerous for the top notch American companies to bother to continue to import into Canada. At the top of my US list are: buffered Vitamin C from Allergy Research and Nutriceuticals.
In Canada a few cornstarch products may say “made with Such-and-Such a berry” but that is usually a miserable 8% or less! Definitely not worth it. "Made from" is the right wording. No source stated on the bottle means that it's probably made from cornstarch and is less expensive and desirable.
 
Organic Vegetable oil - 1⁄4 cup daily of any cold pressed, organic oil, just before exposure, will strengthen red blood cell membranes. Extra virgin olive oil, unheated and added to food is best. If you have an unhappy liver, then less is better - you may want to change over to top quality flax oil, once in a while, too..
 
Vitamin E protects vitamin A and many of the important fatty acids in our body and energizes selenium, too. 800 IU per day is abundant for an average sized body (of the non-synthetic alpha-tocopherol variety) and that should be the maximum and only for a few days before reducing to 400 IU, as a maintenance amount. More than 400 IU taken for a long period of time, can compromise the integrity of the red blood cell.
 
Seaweed (thousands of different types and Laminar Japonica is the winner of radiation absorption in most literature) is a superb source of nutrients and they are very effective at removing radiation from the body in general as seaweeds contain the natural sodium alginate (cleans up in the the GI tract much like the action of apple pectin). Sheets and powders of seaweed can be mixed into soups, salads, or eaten by themselves as in sushi, but we are not likely to eat these in large quantities at every meal unless stranded on a deserted island and that was all there was to eat...
Supplements or capsules provide us with the alginate and a bonus of iodine (on average .05/.10 mg per capsule). This is why it is good to take several caps / tabs daily for normal healthy functioning, even in good times with no radiation threat.
 
Potassium Iodide is what we have heard the most about for anti-radiation use. This is a sticky wicket. The iodide in this is to protect mainly the thyroid but is too great an amount.. The potassium is supposed to protect your whole body from the radioactive cesium (cesium acts like potassium). There is nowhere near enough potassium in this combination to protect and flood your body against all the radioactive cesium that you might take on (we are still experiencing some of the cesium 137 from the atomic bomb experiments in Nevada from way back!).
I’d suggest you start eating potassium rich foods such as organic bananas NOW, and don’t stop until we know we are in the clear - or never stop, for that matter. If you can afford organic coconut water, then that will be even better! If, per chance, you notice a few more trips to the bathroom after your new and improved potassium intake, then you know you have affected your potassium/sodium pump in a good way (that's a ration of potassium and sodium that swims in and around your tissue cells throughout your body). Now is a perfect time to include potassium rich foods into your diet. Seriously.
Lug's iodine or Lugol's was what we used in the old days. It is a solution of elemental iodine and potassium iodide in water, named after the French physician J.A.G. Lug. Lug's iodine solution is still used as an antiseptic and disinfectant, even for emergency disinfection of drinking water.
When an alternative health expert advises on supporting and returning a hypo thyroid to better functioniiing (a sluggish thyroid), the amount of potassium iodide advised, is usually miniscule – from one to three drops per day. A little iodide/iodine is dynamic and goes a long way, especially as it is partially cumulative! And more is not better in this case as one does not want to repair an unhappy thyroid with a sledge hammer.
 
The amounts that are now recommended for radiation protection vary but run around 130 mg per adult per day. This is a huge amount! My pharmacist recommended twice that amount - and even suggested to get started right away - much too early! The FDA recommends 130 mg once radiation has fallen... and that is too late.
So a very fine balance has to be maintained. I have an unhappy thyroid, personally, so what I do is eat potassium rich foods and take my normal amount of potassium iodide - a few drops per day in order to ensure that it is as close to "normal" as possible. I have quite a bit on hand for just before the fallout arrives, and then I'll take significant amounts - about 48 hours prior and take my 130 mg daily, THEN, in divided doses throughout the day.

Then, I’ll check my thyroid’s condition when this is all behind us. The FDA’s advice is interesting as I wonder about what the double blind cross-over studies look like that they draw their advice from - always seems to be demanded from the alternative folks for proof of credibility... and did they use truly radiated people or just (not the same) radiated lab rats... one group of radiated humans with placebo and one group with potassium iodide (a few corpses would ensue, perhaps...?) This comment just to make the point that we should not believe everything we hear.
On the other hand, and on a bright and non-cynical note: this scare has gotten the public to focus on potassium iodide. Some people, in real need and not aware of their under-functioning thyroids or because the regular GP's tests were too insensitive, may now be benefiting from improved thyroid tissue!
(Women who are breast-feeding - take the adult dose. Children and infants should obviously have their dosages reduced to an amount that is proportional to their weight). If one has contra-indicated meds, or are hyper-thyroid, then please ask your GP first and go with yor info in hand and educate yourself thoroghly before the visit.

I have the following items on hand in the event the radiation does come to my area.
 
If you have deep pockets, then Beta-1,3 glucan- I is a free radical scavenger supplement that you will also like to have in store. In a controlled study done at the US Armed Forces Radiobiology Institute, 70% of rats (not humans) were given a lethal dose of radiation exposure and then were completely protected from the radiation effects when given a dose of yeast beta glucan. It protects certain types of white cells from free radical attack during and after the radiation, allowing these cells to continue to function in their irradiated bodies and clean up. Reishi mushroom is high in beta 1,3 glucan (500 mg once a day).

Burdock Root - removes some radioactive isotopes from the body - also good for taking after a few plane trips, a CT Scan or if you are a pilot or flight attendant. This root is also good for after radiation "therapy" for cancer (and hopefully you would be doing much more if you actually had had radiation for cancer). It’s inexpensive and available at health food and Asian grocery stores – just an ugly inexpensive root that is invaluable. It’s also one of the 4 herbs in Essiac and acts like a gentle detox herb, as well. Or purchase the dried herb from a reputable herbal apothecary or on-line. Burdock root tea can be consumed three to five times per day 5gm of finely chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon coarsely dried powdered herb per cup of tea. Infuse the root in cold water first (for up to several hours) and then boil for up to an hour and finally passed through a strainer. This long process serves to increase the bioavailability of some of the active ingredients. As a food, this root can also be added to soups. Burdock root may reduce the requirements for insulin, as it helps to normalize blood sugar levels. (Therefore it is recommended that diabetics consult with a wise health care practitioner. Burdock during the first trimester of pregnancy is contra-indicated.)
 
Herb Robert - a herb that specifically takes out radiation - see "Herb Robert (geranium robertianum) and Removing Radiation" - http://www.thehealingjournal.com/node/153 - should be available at better herbal apothocaries in larger cities and online as a tincture. See a dropper full every 2 hours once the fallout has fallen, once you are done your cancer therapy and take once in a while if you fly a lot.
 
Cilantro Leaf in tincture form - is a natural heavy metal chelator and is often used to remove heavy metals from the body and is believed to cross the blood/brain barrier (plutonium and cesium are the heavy metals it also targets.) Several droppers full spread out over the day, will provide you with enough. Eating cilantro raw, would require an enormous amount - no fun - not feasible. It only takes 1-3 droppers full daily of tincture. If a headache ensues, then reduce the quantity.
 
And borrowed from alternative chemo-cancer-after care: Rutin - a bioflavonoid (can be purchased on its own and sometimes included in vitamin C supplements containing bioflavonoids). It is used by alternative health seekers to rebalance our body from excessive x-ray exposure and radiation therapy. I’d take 200 mg a day as a preventative supplement now and several times more than that amount when the radiation were to befall us.
 
With a good dose of nuclear fallout, potassium iodide is not nearly enough protection. So stock up and become familiar with these other synergistic, health promoting, items and then...
 
And then... lay back and have a nice long 30 minutes soak in a hot Sea Salt and Baking Soda bath - 1 lb of each and if no sea salt is available, then 2 lb. of baking soda (don’t skimp). Many flight attendants and pilots use this detoxification method - every other day - if we are inundated by radiation fallout.
 
by Merrie Bakker, 604-261-7742

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