Radioprotective Potential of Plants and Herbs against the Effects of Ionizing Radiation

Ganesh C. Jagetia*
Department of Radiobiology, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal-576 104, India

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2127223/

This review mainly dwells on the radioprotective potential of plant and herbal extracts. The results obtained from in vitro and in vivo studies indicate that several botanicals such as Gingko biloba, Centella asiatica, Hippophae rhamnoides, Ocimum sanctum, Panax ginseng, Podophyllum hexandrum, Amaranthus paniculatus, Emblica officinalis, Phyllanthus amarus, Piper longum, Tinospora cordifoila, Mentha arvensis, Mentha piperita, Syzygium cumini, Zingiber officinale, Ageratum conyzoides, Aegle marmelos and Aphanamixis polystachya protect against radiation-induced lethality, lipid peroxidation and DNA damage. The fractionation-guided evaluation may help to develop new radioprotectors of desired activities.


Yeah, I know, it's mice. But we've got no jobs, no health care, no health insurance, no EPA, no Democratic party.... so it looks like we're living the Republican Dream. We're all forced to take care of ourselves with what scraps of information we can eke out.

If you want to scoff at this and claim "skepticism", here's a challenge: If you've got better ideas, by all means, let's hear them.

Stop being so paranoid about the harmful effects of miniscule levels of radiation.

Radiation is dispersed with distance. The levels detected in Europe and the UK have been reported as peaking at 300 micro-becquerels per cubic metre of air (which is a very insignificant amount).

The reported levels of detected radiation in rainwater in the US appear to be at most 1 becquerel per litre (which is 1/300th the level recommended as potable by health authorities in Japan; 1/500th the level, bY European standards).

So yes, I am going to be sceptical. There really isn't anything to worry about if you're in the US. Or Europe. In parts of Asia, perhaps, in Japan, certainly. Fear born of ignorance isn't going to do anyone any good though.

The EPA is preparing to dramatically increase permissible radioactive releases in drinking water, food and soil after “radiological incidents,” according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.

What is termed a guidance that EPA is considering - as opposed to a regulation - does not require public airing before it’s decided upon.

snip:

Drinking water, for example, would have a huge increase in allowable public exposure to radioactivity, the group says, that would include:

A nearly 1000-fold increase in strontium-90

A 3000 to 100,000-fold hike for iodine-131

An almost 25,000 rise for nickel-63

The new radiation guidance would also allow long-term cleanup standards thousands of times more lax than anything EPA has ever before accepted, permitting doses to the public that EPA itself estimates would cause a cancer in as much as every fourth person exposed, the group says.



Source:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x773522

Hence the quotes. NeoSkeptics are debunkers. You excel at naysaying. As you so aptly proved with your post.

So, do yourself a favor, go and educate yourself on the actual practice and philosophy of skepticism and get back with me.

especially not when the need for them is questionable in the first place.

A skeptic wouldn't make a firm declaration one way or the other.

While the comment above is closer to something an actual skeptic might say, you are focused on one segment of the thesis.

So, pose yourself this problem: If a friend brings you a big plate of cooked straight out of the Gulf seafood, would you feel comfortable eating it?

The government says it is safe. There are reams of results that suggest the food they've tested (not the food you are eating, just what they've tested) is fairly free of dangerous chemicals. Are you going to feast or forgo?

So... when they get the reactors under complete control, like they got the Deepwater Horizon under complete control, we can have this discussion again.

means scepticism about all things. It doesn't.

:hi: Gingko biloba and ginseng I've heard of and use to take all the time...all the others I've never heard of. I wonder if they're available in health food stores? Thanks for the info! K&R!

Thank you for providing this information.

Informed preventative home care and care of minor health ailments with herbs is good knowledge to have. :)

Commonly used in the aftermath of Chernobyl, as well as for many other things including cirrhosis. Admittedly, the FDA states that 'studies are inconclusive'.