***RADIATION PROTECTION?: Building your body's natural defenses to radiation / the Fukushima Fallout***

First things first…I fully anticipate that this post may be ridiculed and ultimately dismissed by many, even in the GLP community for reasons to be made clear later on. (The post is also admittedly long, so my guess is most people won't take the time to read it all anyway, although I would humbly request a careful examination before judgment is cast.) I do believe, however, that many GLP’ers are open-minded critical-thinkers with a surprising breadth of collective knowledge capable of valuable discourse when we come together. I have been doing my own research over the past month trying to come up with a reasonable strategy for how to approach the days/months/years that lie ahead in light of the recent turn of events in Japan, and the ominous threat of chronic low-dose radiation that is looming over the entire northern hemisphere. I sincerely hope that the “official story” we’re being told is correct – that outside of the immediate geographical radius surrounding Fukushima, the long-term consequences of this event will be minimal. It seems, however, that even this version of the story continues to devolve, slipping gradually into worse and worse case scenarios. The reality, as I’m sure many of you have concluded, however, is that although this situation may come and go without as much as a scare, that it's shaping up to have long-term negative health implications for people the world over. Whichever end of the spectrum you choose to subscribe to, it doesn’t change the fact that the potential offender – radiation - is invisible, odorless, and generally difficult to substantiate without expensive equipment. In other words, barring an acute nuclear holocaust, we probably won’t know either way whether or not we are being slowly inundated with low-doses of radiation until years from now. Either way, we will have to go on living somehow and I for one refuse to live like a hermit in a bomb shelter, afraid of wind and rain and what they may be carrying. At the same time, I don’t want to be blindly ignorant to a real situation with real consequences either.

I have taken an interest in many of the techniques/ideas that I’ve heard bantered about in these forums for long-term radiation protection (i.e. introducing iodine-based foods into the diet, using sodium bicarbonate both externally for bathing and internally for drawing out radiation, growing food in protected greenhouses, filtering water both for bathing and especially for drinking, taking certain nutritional supplements etc). I believe all of these may be valuable, but the reality as I see it is that we will simply not be able to shield ourselves from radiation exposure completely. If it is truly being blown all around the world and will be doing its damage for years to come, blanketing crops, water supplies etc, effectively shielding ourselves from this cloud seems like an exercise in futility. My preference instead, is to do everything I can to build up my own biological ability to “handle” the increased radiation load. Before I go any further, I need to make a disclaimer: I make absolutely no claims in this post. This is important. All I am trying to do is take a very convoluted situation, and rationally put together the puzzle pieces that I have gathered in my journey to try and make sense of it. Again – I make no claims, inherent or implied, just some ideas. Do what you will with the rest of it. In fact, I would welcome anyone’s informed opinion on these ideas, either in support, or as a critique. I’m not an expert on how radiation impacts biological systems, but we all are on this journey together and I truly believe that “iron sharpens iron.” Feedback is welcomed, so here we go:

I have read many times that one of the primary mechanisms through which radioactive material damages biological organisms is through a process called oxidative stress. I believe this is fairly well-established in the medical community, but would be open to critique if I jumped to this conclusion too quickly. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept of oxidative stress here is the first paragraph from Wikipedia’s entry on the subject:

“Oxidative stress represents an imbalance between the production and manifestation of reactive oxygen species and a biological system's ability to readily detoxify the reactive intermediates or to repair the resulting damage. Disturbances in the normal redox state of tissues can cause toxic effects through the production of peroxides and free radicals that damage all components of the cell, including proteins, lipids, and DNA. Some reactive oxidative species can even act as messengers through a phenomenon called redox signaling. In humans, oxidative stress is involved in many diseases. Examples include atherosclerosis, Parkinson's disease, heart failure, myocardial infarction, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, fragile X syndrome[1] and chronic fatigue syndrome, but short-term oxidative stress may also be important in prevention of aging by induction of a process named mitohormesis.[2] Reactive oxygen species can be beneficial, as they are used by the immune system as a way to attack and kill pathogens.”

To give a common illustration of the oxidative process think about rusting metal – the same process is at play there as is in the body. The theory that oxidative stress or free radical damage is at the root of most chronic, degenerative diseases – even aging itself - was birthed in the 1960’s and I believe, is now quite readily-accepted in the scientific community. Although I don’t claim to understand the biochemistry involved, it is not a far stretch for me to accept that the oxidative stress that is induced by exposure to radiation may be the mechanism that causes a significant portion, if not the majority of the damage.

What then should we do? For years, we’ve been told to eat “antioxidants” to help combat free radical damage. Although this idea seems to make sense, many of the long-term studies that have been done to see if antioxidant consumption makes a long-term impact on preventing disease have been disappointing. (Again, I have not read all of these studies, so please do your own research.) As I understand it, this is because antioxidant molecules are “used up” or neutralized when they come into contact with a free radical. This is why we constantly need to be eating more antioxidants: to combat the constant cascade of newly-generated free radicals caused by stress, toxicity, lack of sleep, radiation etc.

Our bodies, however, have an internal process for combating oxidative stress that is apparently more efficient. Certain enzymes that our bodies create (see SOD or superoxide dismutase, glutathione, and catalase for example), are able to combat free radicals much more efficiently. As I understand it, the ratio is more like 1,000,000:1 vs the 1:1 free radical neutralization ratio you get from consumption of antioxidant-rich foods like acai/goji berries. Studies done on the science behind how these enzymes work are plentiful – I might suggest you look up any of the enzymes above along with the phrases “oxidative stress” or “free radicals” in Google Scholar to do your own reading on the matter. The question then becomes, how do we generate more of these enzymes to combat free radical damage?

This is where I may lose some of you, but if you’ve read this far, I hope you’ll hear me out. I have been on a health/nutrition education journey for the past several years, and have come to appreciate the feedback of a few select people who have earned my trust. One such person who I have learned a lot from chose to endorse a supplement for the first time last year that claims to do just what we addressed above: reduce the impact of oxidative stress on the body by increasing the body’s intrinsic defensive mechanisms, specifically the production of certain enzymes such as SOD, glutathione, and catalase. It sounded very interesting, but I did not start using the product right away because – and here’s where I may lose some of you - the product was distributed through a network marketing company. The person I had been learning from had the same reservations, but after doing his due diligence, decided that the product was too important to ignore just due to the business model the manufacturing company chose to utilize. I had to do my own research as well, but ultimately came to the same conclusion as my mentor. Below are a few of the key reasons I chose to pursue the product despite the negative stigma that MLM companies tend to have:

1) The product was formulated by the “father of free radical biology” himself, Dr. Joe McCord. Dr McCord actually discovered the enzyme SOD in the 1960’s and was a pioneer in the fledgling study of oxidative stress as it was birthing. Google him – he’s legit.

2) The product was originally formulated and distributed through traditional retail, but it didn’t sell. They say this was because the typical retail consumer didn’t understand the antioxidant/enzyme mechanism that made this supplement different from other direcy antioxidants they were more familiar with (i.e. Vitamin C) and hence weren’t willing to pay more for it. The new distribution channel has given the product’s “story” more of a chance to be told.

3) The product has been evaluated in multiple peer-reviewed studies (naming the product by name) that were conducted at large universities all around the world. They have been published in high level journals, and dozens of studies are currently in process with new ones being released all the time.

4) The 5 primary ingredients are plant-based. This is not a drug, but rather a supplement, something that resonates with my personal philosophy.

5) It was quite affordable: around 40 bucks for a 30 day supply.

The science behind how it works is beyond the scope of this already monumentally long post, but I will link to some videos below that can tell the story better than I can. IMPORTANT: The manufacturing company has made no claim regarding this product’s ability to protect anyone from radiation. I also make no claim of this sort. The studies are in, however, on how this product can reduce the negative effects of oxidative stress. Draw your own conclusions.

You’ve waited long enough for this – the name of the product is Protandim and the company that manufactures it is called LifeVantage. It’s available on Amazon, but if you’re interested in purchasing from me, I wouldn’t stop you either (I can sell it a bit cheaper).

Here is a link to an ABC Primetime video that featured Protandim from a few years ago and describes in laymans terms how it works: [link to www.mylifevantage.com]

If you’re interested in purchasing the product, it is available here for $40+shipping for a 30 day supply: [link to www.mylifevantage.com] (Full disclosure: this option is only available when purchasing through a distributor like myself. You don’t have to become a distributor to buy the product either. If you would rather not purchase through me, I completely understand. Here is a link to Amazon where the product is also available, currently at just under 54 dollars a bottle: [link to www.amazon.com]

I hope this information was helpful or at least thought-provoking. Do with it what you will and best of luck to all of you as you consider the best strategies for you and your families moving forward.