Tag Archive: radionuclide

Vitamin D has been largely ignored by mainstream medicine except when it comes to the very minimum levels required to prevent severe deficiency, a common cause of rickets in the past.

Vitamin D has been primarily associated with it’s role in helping the body to metabolize calcium, but it’s functions in the body go way beyond that.

Recently, the remarkable properties of Vitamin D are gaining more attention due to a long list of studies proving that it deserves its place as one of our most important medicines.

Some of the evidence on Vitamin D:

Vitamin D has some very specific benefits when it comes to radioprotection.  Vitamin D is an anti-oxidant, and anti-oxidants should be considered front-line defense against damage due to radiation.
Dr. Mercola writes: 

The protective mechanisms are so strong that researchers suggested vitamin D3 should be considered among the prime (if not the primary) non-pharmacological agents to protect against sub-lethal low radiation damage and, particularly, radiation-induced cancer.

It’s unclear how much vitamin D is necessary to protect against radiation-induced cancer, but researchers have found that daily intakes of vitamin D by adults in the range of 4,000-8,000 IU are needed to maintain blood levels of vitamin D metabolites in the range needed to reduce the risk of breast and colon cancers by about half.

Secondly, Vitamin D is an outstanding cancer fighting medicine.  Here are some eye-opening facts about Vitamin D and Cancer from the Vitamin D council:  


Top 10 facts about vitamin D and cancer

  1. Many studies have found solar ultraviolet-B (UVB) vitamin D associated with reduced risk of breast, colon, and rectal cancer.
  2. A randomized controlled trial with 1100 IU/day vitamin D3 plus 1450 mg/day calcium found a 77% reduction in all-cancer incidence.
  3. Geographical studies have found reduced risk in mortality rates for 15-20 types of cancer in regions of higher solar UVB doses.
  5. Mechanisms have been proposed to explain how vitamin D acts to reduce the risk of cancer from starting, growing, and spreading.
  6. Those who develop nonmelanoma skin cancer may have produced enough vitamin D to reduce their risk of internal cancers.
  7. Those with higher vitamin D blood levels at time of cancer diagnosis had nearly twice the survival rate of those with the lowest levels.
  8. African-Americans have an increased risk of cancer in part due to lower vitamin D blood levels because of darker skin.
  9. Higher UVB exposure early in life has been found associated with reduced risk of breast and prostate cancer.
  10. Those diagnosed with breast, colon and prostate cancer in summer in Norway had higher survival rates than those diagnosed in winter.
How does Vitamin D fight cancer so effectively?  Here are some of the mechanisms involved: 

  • prevents angiogenesis, the process by which cancerous tumors ‘steal’ blood supply from other tissues by building their own networks of blood vessels
  • increases apoptosis, or programmed cell death, in cancerous tissues
  • switches off ‘oncogenes’ that are involved with the growth of tumors
  • switches on tumor suppressing genes
Vitamin D plays a role in many natural approaches to cancer treatment, including Dr. Burzynski’s antineoplaston therapy, due to it’s ability to flip genetic switches that turn on our bodies’ defenses against cancer.

Some more info on VitaminD3 from Dr. Mercola:


Earlier studies have shown that optimizing your vitamin D levels could help you to prevent at least 16 different types of cancerincluding pancreatic, lung, ovarian, prostate, and skin cancers, so it’s not a stretch to add radiation-induced cancer to that list.

It has been my experience that many are still nervous about taking doses larger than 1,000 to 2,000 units per day. This is unfortunate as most adults without sun or safe tanning bed exposure will need 6,000-8,000 units of vitamin D per day to attain healthy vitamin D levels.

Three Points to Remember About Vitamin D

When using vitamin D therapeutically, it’s important to remember the following:

  1. Your best source for vitamin D is exposure to the sun, without sunblock on your skin, until your skin turns the lightest shade of pink. While this isn’t always possible due to the change of the seasons and your geographic location (and your skin color), this is the ideal to aim for. Vitamin D supplementation or use of a safe tanning bed can fill the gaps during the winter months outside of the tropics, when healthy sun exposure is not an option.
  2. If you supplement with vitamin D, you’ll only want to supplement with natural vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). Do NOT use the synthetic and highly inferior vitamin D2, which is the one most doctors will give you in a prescription unless you ask specifically for D3.
  3. Get your vitamin D blood levels checked! The only way to determine the correct dose is to get your blood tested since there are so many variables that influence your vitamin D status. I recommend using Lab Corp in the United States. Getting the correct test is the first step in this process, as there are TWO vitamin D tests currently being offered: 1,25(OH)D and 25(OH)D.

Some people may be concerned about the risk of Vitamin D toxicity, but most of the studies showing such toxicity involve long-term doses of 40,000 or 50,000 iu.  That is 500 to 1000% higher dosage than what Dr. Mercola recommends.  

I prefer to synthesize vitamin by exposure to sunlight when possible.  I live in Los Angeles where it is sunny all the time.  I try to work in the garden a little bit every day, often shirtless.  But during winter or when I am traveling (especially in Japan), I do sometimes supplement with Vitamin D at 5,000 iu per day.  That’s me, do your own research and decide what is right for you.  


Unfortunately, this article from the Japan Times repeats the brainwashing that radiation levels are negligible, as well as nonsense such as hydrogen explosions are what spread the radiation around, when we know their was more than one nuclear criticality at Fukushima.  I will also add that radionuclide contamination from Fukushima has been detected in every US state.   Due to the continued leakage of the reactors and the reckless policy of incineration of contaminated debris and agricultural wastes, fallout it going to continue to be an issue in North America for some time to come.  

Regardless, a couple of tips that may be useful:


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Simple solutions: Cesium-134 and -137 are easily dissolved in water, which means rinsing vegetables and fruit can help reduce radiation levels. Cutting vegetables into smaller pieces and soaking them in water is even more effective.

Noguchi says that radiation, though invisible and odorless, can be treated and cleaned up like a stain, noting that by rinsing the food well before cooking, preferably with hot water, and/or boiling or stewing it, a large portion of radioactive elements can be removed. In his book, published in Japanese in mid-July, “Hoshano Osen kara Kazoku wo Mamoru Tabekata no Anzen Manyuaru” (“The Safety Manual for Protecting Your Family From Radiation Contamination”), Noguchi offers tips on how to prepare food, item by item, so consumers can reduce their radiation intake at home.

In the book, he refers to data released in 1994 by Japan’s semi-public Radioactive Waste Management Center (now the Radioactive Waste Management Funding and Research Center). The center’s report, titled “Removal of Radionuclides during Food Processing and Culinary Preparation,” compiled results of detailed tests conducted in Europe and Japan following the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

“This is not something we must absolutely do,” he said about radiation-removal steps. “But since we don’t know how much — within the safety limits — food is irradiated, taking these steps can safeguard us further.”

Here are some of Noguchi’s tips on preparing major food groups:


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A series of hydrogen explosions at the plant in March resulted in the release of large amounts of radioactive particles into the atmosphere, tainting vegetables and fruits grown outdoors. They also contaminated soil with iodine-131, cesium-134 and cesium-137. Iodine-131 is no longer detectable due to its short half-life of eight days. The cesium isotopes, meanwhile, need long-term monitoring because cesium-134 takes two years to decrease by half and cesium 137’s half-life is 30 years.

The good news is, cesium can be easily dissolved in water. So the best way to prepare vegetables and fruits is to rinse them well before cooking. If possible, cut vegetables into small pieces and soak them in water for a while.

More radiation in spinach and other leafy vegetables can be removed if they are boiled. As for lettuces, throw away the outer leaf and rinse the rest well. Data from Chernobyl shows that rinsing lettuce can remove up to half of the cesium-134 and two thirds of the cesium-137. Cucumbers can be pickled with vinegar, which cuts radiation by up to 94 percent. Peeling carrots and boiling them with salted hot water would also help reduce cesium levels.

Meat and fish

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Livestock can be tainted through the grass and water they consume. Well-grilled, salt-sprinkled beef poses less risk than anything cooked to a medium-rare or medium state, by cutting 28 percent of cesium, according to a Chernobyl-tied study. Boiling leg meat has been proved to reduce cesium by about 50 percent. Make sure to drain off the hot water. Don’t worry about the pork bone broth; cesium accumulates mostly in meat, not bones, and the levels of strontium-90, which does accumulate in bones, are negligible.

For fish and other seafood, however, watch out for strontium-90, which has a half-life of 29 years. According to Noguchi, far greater quantities of strontium-90 were released into the ocean than into the air and ground. Contrary to popular thinking, large fish are not necessarily riskier to consume. Though large fish do eat smaller fish, which leads some to believe they accumulate more radioactive materials, Noguchi says it is the small fish and flat fish that have stayed close to the Fukushima plant that pose more risk. Unlike large fish that swim longer distances, small fish cannot move far from contaminated areas.

With tuna fish, rinse with water before eating or cooking. Boiling or marinating salmon helps remove cesium-137, and avoid eating fish bones, as they could contain strontium-90.

Rice and wheat

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Much has been said about the nutritiousness of brown rice, but when it comes to radiation, it is the bran layer beneath the husk that absorbs and accumulates cesium from soil. That means white, polished rice, which has no bran layer, is a safer option — though it does contain fewer vitamins, minerals and fiber than brown rice. If you rinse white rice well before cooking, you can also remove radiation-emitting residue on the grain.

Wheat products such as bread, spaghetti and noodles pose very little risk, since 90 percent of wheat in Japan has been imported from overseas. For those concerned with radiation in pasta or noodles made from wheat in Japan, the thinner the noodle, the more cesium released when cooked.

Dairy products

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Fresh milk from Fukushima Prefecture was suspended from the market from mid-March until the end of April after it was found to contain radioactive iodine. The air and grass consumed by dairy cows had been contaminated. Authorities have since been keeping an eye on levels of radiation in milk, so you need not worry too much about the products currently on sale.

Cheese and butter are fine, too, because, during their production, the milk whey — the liquid that gets separated from curd — is removed. While rich in nutrition, cesium and strontium tend to remain in whey. Yogurt, which usually has whey floating on top, also undergoes radiation checks before going on the market, but if you are still worried, pour off the whey before you eat the yogurt.


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Wakame (soft seaweed) and kombu (kelp) are integral parts of the Japanese diet. They flew off store shelves in the wake of the nuclear disaster, when consumers heard that the natural iodine in them might help them fight radiation contamination.

Seaweed from the sea close to the nuclear plant, however, will likely absorb high levels of radiation in the coming years. You can rinse it before cooking, or choose seaweed harvested elsewhere.

Kunikazu Noguchi’s book, “Hosha no Osen kara Kazoku wo Mamoru Tabekata no Anzen Manyuaru” (“The Safety Manual for Protecting Your Family from Radiation Contamination”), was published by Seishun Shuppansha in July, in Japanese only, priced at ¥1,000.
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