The subject of radiation protection is fast becoming ever more pressing since the Fukushima disaster. The nuclear fallout from the earthquake in Japan is going to be on top of the list for health-conscious people and health professionals for an indefinite period of time.
I believe it is important to spread the message of the importance of minerals in protecting us all from radiation, as well as the general heavy metal toxicity of the environment we now live in.
It is no secret that the economic progress has led to alarming rises in the number, as well as levels, of heavy metals in the air we breathe in, the food we eat, the water we drink.
Under a normal, healthy environment with nutritionally abundant uncontaminated soil and clean air and water, the body would receive all the nutrients it needs to perform all the cleaning and detoxification procedures efficiently. However, we do not live in an ideal environment, and unfortunately, things are not getting any better.
The role of minerals in radiation protection
Minerals play a vital role not only in the detoxification of the body from heavy metals but also help protect all tissues from further radioactive damage. Popular thinking is that radiation protection mostly involves using iodine, so iodine supplements have been taken in large numbers recently, by those who need it and those who don’t, while supplementation in such vital minerals as magnesium and selenium is being often overlooked.
Magnesium supports all the body systems and detoxification processes. It provides the body with the energy it needs to ensure the elimination of toxins. Magnesium is an integral part of glutathione – a detoxifying agent which protects the body from oxidative damage. It binds toxins into soluble substances excreting them with urine through the kidneys.
When magnesium is deficient, the body cannot produce sufficient glutathione, leading to cellular damage from free radicals, which leaves them exposed to further radioactive damage. The liver, kidneys, the heart, the lungs, as well as other organs of the body all have glutathione, and with magnesium deficiency, all of these vital organs are exposed to radiation. Magnesium plays a vital role in the detoxification of the body from such toxins as mercury, cadmium, lead, aluminium.
The best way to supplement magnesium in the home environment is through the skin. Magnesium chloride is the most easily absorbed form of magnesium. So I can suggest using magnesium massage, magnesium spray, magnesium bath, foot bath, magnesium wrap, and any form of magnesium application you can think of.
Selenium is a trace element that protects body cells from oxidative damage. According to scientific research, “low serum Se levels have been reported in pediatric and adult patients with cancers. On the other hand, hair Se levels, predicting the long-term body Se status, have been reported in only adult patients with cancer.” Ozgen, Ilker Tolga MD et al.
Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology: August 2007 – Volume 29 – Issue 8 – pp 519-522
Another study concluded that “metal binding is a primary mechanism of selenium antioxidant activity, and both the chemical functionality of the selenium compound and the metal ion generating damaging hydroxyl radical significantly affect selenium antioxidant behaviour.”
Erin E. Battin, Matthew T. Zimmerman, Ria R. Ramoutar, Carolyn E. Quarles and Julia L. Brumaghim Preventing metal-mediated oxidative DNA damage with selenium compounds
Zeolite & clays – their toxin-binding properties
Powdered zeolite clinoptilolite and bentonite or green montmorillonite clay are invaluable in providing detoxification both through the skin, and when taken orally. Both clays and zeolite are irreplaceable in radiation protection because they are highly sorbent, as well as chemically active. Their chemical activity is due to freely available cations within their structures which when clays and zeolite are hydrated can exchange these cations for heavy metals.
This property has been known for decades and is being used in industrial applications agriculture – for example, in water purification, soil and feed additives. However, the cation exchange capacity of zeolite still have the potential for a much wider range of applications, and its ability to remove heavy metals out of the body is still not used on a wide scale.
Zeolite clinoptilolite and bentonite clays have proved their wonderful properties in terms of radiation protection. They are used by the military. They are stocked near most nuclear sites and plants. If it was not for clays and zeolite, the Chernobyl disaster would have had much more devastating effects. Thousands of tonnes of clays and zeolite were used to cover up the site and the reactor. People were given zeolite-based galettes to help decontaminate them from the heavy metals. The problem is – they were given too late when many people had already received a lethal dose of radiation.
However, they can certainly help those of us who are exposed to moderate doses of radiation. Clays trap heavy metals between their platelets, thanks to a slight negative charge which is created between the platelets when clays are hydrated. The negative charge attracts positively charged ions of heavy metals. However, the holding power of clays is weaker than that of zeolite, since the platelets are freely movable, and the particles between the clays can still escape given the right conditions.
Zeolites have stronger holding power. This is due to their cage-like structure which is interspersed with multiple channels of a very small diameter. Inside those channels, zeolite has freely available cations of sodium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, calcium, etc – the cations which are normally required by the body in large quantities. These ‘safe’ cations are exchanged for heavy metals in the process of cation exchange. Apart from detoxification, the process of cation exchange also provides minerals that the body requires for everyday functioning.
Would you like to learn more about how clays and zeolite work and why they are used to reduce radioactive damage? Read my book – “How Clays Work – Science & Applications of Clays in Health & Beauty”.
Learn how to do mineral treatments on yourself and/or your clients.
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Take a look at my books where I describe how minerals – salts, mud and clays – help us heal. They are some of the best remedies for our joints. The resorts where people go to get help with arthritis are the most solid proof that they work.
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I am a big fan of Magnesium and have taken it for years. Thanks for educating me on the benefits of zeolites and clay.