Forum Request

In the same vein as the forum which was erected in the after math of The Gulf disaster, I think it would be helpful to erect another disaster information forum for the ongoing Japanese Tsunami/nuclear threat situation.

In the meantime I want to share this info.

Protecting Against Radiation Exposure
March 15, 2011

At this hour radiation has leaked from 4 of the 6 damaged nucIear reactors in Japan. It’s expected that some of the radiation will make it’s way across the Pacific over the course of the next 7 to 14 days.

To give an idea of the degree of of the severity of radiation leakage from the damaged nuclear power plants, Chernobyl was a level 7 and at least one of the reactors has been elevated to a level 6. Hundreds of thousands of Japanese have been evacuated from the region while roughly 50 brave souls have stayed behind to do whatever is possible to avert a complete meltdown of the reactor core.

This news has brought a flurry of emails and internet articles to our CMN inbox with people sharing information as to what we can do to protect ourselves against radiation exposure. As I spoke with my friend Linda about this, she remembered a story from the 1950s that featured survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear blasts.

Approximately 1.4 kilometers from the hypocenter of the Nagasaki blast, a 27- year old medical doctor named Dr. Akizuki was conducting experiments on the effectiveness of the traditional Japanese diet on the human body. He had just returned from Nagasaki to begin his work as Director of the Department of Internal Medicine at Urakami Daiihchi Hospital when Nagasaki (later St. Francis Hospital) was bombed. He had instituted a strict diet of traditional Japanese food that was based on brown rice, miso and tamari soy soup, seaweed, and Sea Salt .

In 2006 Hiroko Furo, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Japanese Studies, Illinois Wesleyan University asked the question “Why did some people within two kilometers suffer so greatly from radiation poisoning while others suffered few, if any effects?” In search of the answer, he met with 30 survivors who had all had the common experience of consuming this simple, traditional Japanese diet.

Some of the thirty survivors had originally experienced radiation poisoning due to their proximity to the blast, but recovered after consuming Dr. Akizuki’s diet. Others were indoors and, thus, had lower levels of contaminations. Some ended up on local farms in which they ate the same simple diet.

To cut to the primary point of the research, which we have posted on CMN as an article, is that every survivor ate miso soup every day, between one to three servings. In addition, Dr. Akizuki would not allow them to have any Sugar or sweets. In each case the survivors say they believe their simple diet with miso soup was the primary factor as to why they survived.

Miso is a soy paste that is created by inoculating trays of rice with the vitamin B12 synthesizing fungus, Aspergillus oryzae, then mixing in a ground preparation of cooked soybeans and salt, and letting the mixture ferment for several days to months or even years before grinding it into a paste with a nut butter consistency. Miso contains many trace minerals including zinc, manganese, and copper, which help to strengthen the immune system, boost energy, and protect bones and blood vessels. It is also a rich source of protein… Studies have also found that substances in miso help reduce the risk of breast cancer.

Most of the information circulating around the net as been focused on supplementing with potassium Iodide, Iodine and kelp, so I pulled up some information on the subject. Meanwhile, potassium Iodide has been administered to Navy personnel who were conducting humanitarian helicopter flights into a contaminated region. According to news reports, Iodine has been passed out to exosed citizens in Japan.

The best natural source of Iodine is from so-called “sea vegetables” such as kelp. Kelp is a type of seaweed and is a feature of the Japanese diet. It is commonly used in making soup broths. An excerpt from the Living Intentionally blog: On average, 20 grams of kelp contain 415 mcg of iodine. For adults 18-40 (or adolescents reaching a weight of ~70 kg), 50-60 grams of kelp/day should act as a reasonable prophylactic protocol. Children need approximately half that amount. In adults over 40, I’ve read that prophylactic protocols do not recommend the standard adult dosage until thyroid radiation exposure reaches 500 cGy or greater. This is because the risk of cancer and hypothyroidism decreases as adults age.

From a JAMA article authored by Manfred Blum, MD: The prophylactic administration of 100 to 200 mg of potassium Iodide in anticipation of radioactive iodine exposure will largely prevent uptake by the thyroid gland, thereby reducing the irradiation dose delivered by more than 98%.

From another JAMA article: A number of methods have been proposed to protect those at risk of exposure. Administration of thyroid blocking agents (such as potassium iodide) to exposed populations could be effective, but their use has raised a number of questions since there are considerable gaps in the scientific information available about the possible effects of low-level radiation from radioiodine. In addition, there are only limited data available about potential toxic side effects of potassium Iodide distributed widely to large, unsupervised populations.

Potassium iodide appears to be specific to the thyroid gland, which is vulnerable to radiation. As for the rest of the body, I found the article on the Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors valuable in that it focuses on creating a strong immune system with a balanced Ph as the antidote to not only radiation exposure, but to threats to health in general.

While evaluating the appropriateness of taking precautions in the event of radiation drift, perhaps it’s also worth considering simple fixes such as a basic healthy Diet with miso soup and seaweed and natural kelp supplements.