Originally published April 17 2011
Get more radiation protection with ginkgo and other natural supplements
by Paul Fassa
(NaturalNews) Reports on the radiation from Fukushima and on what we can do to protect ourselves are perplexing. Three things are certain: There is radiation leaking and spreading, and it is most dangerous as it seeps into our water and food supplies. And iodine supplements or iodine from kelp can block the iodine isotopes from rushing into our thyroids and disrupting our endocrine systems.
But the iodine isotope has the shortest half-life of all radioactive particles. Cesium isotopes hang around for thirty years, and strontium and others have even longer half lives. So what else can help reduce or reverse radiation damage? Ginkgo Biloba is another.
Real Life Heavy Radiation Episodes
Reportedly, the only trees that survived the Hiroshima nuclear blast were ginkgo trees. Not just the trees, but the seeds of the trees. That alone doesn't warrant using ginkgo to protect humans from radiation. Fast forward to the Chernobyl disaster.
Various herbal and mineral methods to protect and reverse radiation damage were experimented with. Ginkgo biloba was highly successful, even reversing radiation damage incurred by Chernobyl plant workers.
Ginkgo in the Lab
Empirical evidence is hardly acceptable by modern science. So Chang-Mo Kang of the Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences in Taegu led a research team in an ex-vivo human study of radioactive damage to white blood cells. Ex-vivo means testing outside the organism.
Blood samples were taken from several volunteers ranging from 18 to 50 years of age. The blood samples were all exposed to the same time period with and intensity of cesium radiation. Take note: Radioactive cesium was used in this experiment.
Half of the blood samples contained salt, and the other half contained commercially available ginkgo extract. They found that one-third of the lymphocytes or white blood cells in the salted samples underwent apoptosis, or cell death. But only one in twenty of the white blood cells in samples containing ginkgo had serious issues.
An Explanation
Again, if how something that worked can't be figured out or explained, it isn't acceptable science. So here is what science explains, or rather offers as an explanation, about ginkgo's ability to protect against radiation. Extracts from ginkgo leaves contain glycosides and terpenoids known as ginkgolides and bilobalides.
These are antioxidants that are not found in other plants or trees. The ancient ginkgo trees survived for thousands of years in all types of polluted environments, and they have no near relatives in the plant kingdom. Radiation causing free radicals seem to be easy fodder for gingko's antioxidants.
Caveats
Ginkgo seeds are toxic enough to cause serious illness or even death. The leaves are used for ginkgo extracts, and that is the safe source of Egb 761, the active compound of ginkgo biloba. Also, ginkgo is a blood thinner, so if one is on pharmaceutical blood thinners, beware taking both simultaneously.
Other Suggested Radiation Blockers
Sodium alginate is a seaweed extract used in food thickeners and over the counter heartburn remedies. German studies have found it absorbs radiation in strontium contaminated milk. To protect yourself from strontium radiation in food, it needs to be taken while eating.
Calcium also helps protect from strontium 90. It also should be taken with food. Hesperidin, the bioflavonoid common to the white sections of citrus fruit, has also been found to protect against DNA damage from radiation. The super chlorophyll packed super foods of chlorella and spirulina also protect against harmful radiation.
You can't lose if you take all of them. They are healthy, relatively inexpensive additives regardless of any situation.
Sources for more information:
http://www.hiralabs.co.nz/pp-gingko.html
http://pilladvised.com/ginkgo-leaf-extract-k...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leo-galland-md...
About the author
Paul Fassa is dedicated to warning others about the current corruption of food and medicine and guiding others toward a direction for better health with no restrictions on health freedom. You can visit his blog at http://healthmaven.blogspot.com
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