Protect Yourself from Radiation with This Superfood

As Fukushima radiation nears our west coast shoreline, here’s one obvious and practical precaution to take daily: Eat foods that will protect you. Conversely, avoid the foods that increase your absorption of radiation. Unquestionably, the best food is seaweed; you’ll find other top foods listed below. And what about the seaweed itself, you might ask. What if it contains heavy metals and radioactive isotopes? Three companies that test for purity and offer lab analysis disclosure are Eden Foods, Maine Coast Sea Vegetables and Nature Spirit Herbs; as you can read, their products are clean.

But first, here’s why taking care of ourselves is important for more than just our personal pleasure. By maintaining our individual health, we then have the energy to care for our larger surroundings and the creativity to come up with viable solutions for our environmental challenges. So enjoy a quality diet and be part of the solution.

A Three-Part Prescription for Radiation Protection

1. Eat whole foods: The polysaccharide (long-chained carbohydrate) fibers in whole foods are like a superglue that bonds with heavy metals and radioactive toxins, making those toxins impossible for your gut to absorb. This insoluble fiber, its trapped toxins in tow, passes harmlessly through your stool. Whew . . . good riddance!

Therefore, favor whole foods, as their fibers are intact. And stop eating refined foods as their long-chained carbs were stripped away (and then packaged and sold as expensive fiber supplements). “Yes” to brown rice, “no” to white rice. And toss out your vegetable peeler, as the skins of produce are fiber rich.

2. Eat sea vegetables: Seaweed is, without par, the top radioprotective food. It is remarkably high in polysaccharides and antioxidants, it strengthens your immune system and is the very best food source of minerals and trace minerals. And, here’s the most amazing thing: It also protects you from ambient radiation.

If your thyroid is iodine (I53) deficient,* it will absorb radioactive iodine (I131) from the air, water or food. Frequently enjoying seaweed fulfills your basic I53 requirements and makes the receptor sites in your thyroid unable to absorb a single rad of I131. (While you could take a potassium iodine supplement instead, don’t settle for yet another refined substance that lacks polysaccharides, antioxidants and a full spectrum of minerals.) Besides, the various types of seaweeds are tasty and enhance the flavor of more than just sushi.

How much seaweed is recommended daily? About 5 grams a day, or about one ounce per week. Here’s how I  reach this quota. My zesty—homemade and store bought—condiments contain seaweed. Kombu goes into every soup stock and wakame flakes enhance soups and salads. I periodically feature arame or hiziki in side dishes. Arame typically goes into my sauerkraut and kimchee. Nori, Crisped Dulse and toasted sea palm make great snacks. And for pudding and aspics, my gelling agent of choice is agar (see Better-Than-Jell-O).

3. Support your system with other radioprotective foods: Top among them are miso, mushrooms, burdock, cilantro, pectin, spirulina, chlorella, bee pollen, and cabbage-family veggies.

Back to your radioprotective prescription: Three times a day, enjoy freshly prepared meals made of whole, not refined, ingredients. With each meal make sure you have adequate protein and fats (and aim to include a little seaweed). For if a meal lacks protein or fat, you will likely overeat carbohydrates and excessive carbs are problematic. With this nurturing diet it’s then easy to pass on baked goods, packaged foods and refined grains and sugars. These modern foods neither deeply satisfy nor provide you with baseline protection.

*Self test for iodine deficiency. Purchase an inexpensive USP iodine tincture from a drugstore, dip a cotton-ball into it and paint a two-inch circle on your inner thigh or upper arm. If the yellow-orange iodine stain persists for more than six hours, you’re probably not iodine deficient. Should the iodine be absorbed within three hours, it indicates iodine deficiency. For an accurate test, ask your healthcare provider for a 24-hour iodine/iodide-loading test.