12 Antioxidants for Protection Against Ionizing Radiation

This article discusses the antioxidants that protect against ionizing radiation from medical imaging and atomic explosions.

On January 24, 2023, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the Doomsday Clock to ninety seconds to midnight. The stroke of midnight is the start of a global nuclear conflagration.

The ninety seconds is the closest to the nuclear catastrophe ever. Previously, it was set at 100 seconds to midnight in 2020.

Source: Bulletin of Atomic Scientists

The people at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists must have listened to this.

Scott Ritter: Thermonuclear War in 2023

Effects of Nuclear Explosion

Contrary to what some say, a nuclear exchange can be survivable depending on the distance from an atomic blas and the presence of shielding.

A typical scenario will be a limited nuclear exchange first that targets military installations. The hope is that one side will or negotiate after that.

If cooler heads don’t prevail, the next is a full-scale nuclear war with atomic weapons landing on several countries. All are viable targets now aside from military. So economic, industrial, communications, power supply and and civilians will be targeted.

There will be time to hide underground between the limited and full scale. The thick barrier will shield against the destructive effects of the nuclear explosion. It will also be a perfect time to take antioxidants.

Effects of a Nuclear Blast

The Atomic Archive states that the energy released from nuclear explosions can be divided into four categories.

  1. 50% – blast energy
  2. 30–50%  –  thermal radiation
  3. 5%  – ionizing radiation (more in a neutron bomb)
  4. 5–10%  – residual radiation

The first two kill instantly, and the last two produce a slow and agonizing death.

Radioactive Fallout

The Radiation Emergency Medical Management says this about radioactive fallout.

  • Contamination with radioactive fallout is NOT immediately life-threatening to the population or the responders who assist them.
  • The primary radiation hazard from fallout after a nuclear detonation arises from external exposure to penetrating radiation released from the decaying radioactive particles rather than internal contamination (exposure) from breathing or ingesting radioactive material.
  • External radiation exposure from fallout represents the greatest preventable injury after a nuclear detonation.

Ionizing Radiation

Ionizing radiation is a form of energy that acts by removing electrons from atoms and molecules of materials that include air, water, and living tissue.

 Ionizing radiation can travel unseen and pass through these materials.

CDC

Ionizing radiation causes damage to the cells and the DNA. The damage results in cell death and DNA mutations.

Ionizing radiation prevents the formation of new cells that typically replace old cells. Organs with surfaces like the skin and intestines and blood vessels have with rapid cell turnover. They will be the ones first affected.

This is why nausea, vomiting, internal and external bleeding, and skin sores are the common symptoms of acute radiation poisoning.

The loss of the protective barrier in the intestines leads to the passage of bacteria into the abdomen, and severe infections result.

Blood cells are also affected and are wiped out by the radiation resulting in anemia, bleeding, sepsis and death from common infections. Lots of cancers will happen.

In a normal situation, there are mechanisms that repair damaged DNA, like p53 and BRCA1, and BRCA2. Ionizing radiation, like the SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins, affects the body’s DNA repair mechanisms and lead to mutations and cancer formation.

The spectrum of ionizing radiation includes x-rays from medical imaging aside from gamma radiation. The studies below were made to provide information to cancer patients who undergo repeated CT scans and x-rays and receive a lot of ionizing radiation.

Antioxidants for Ionizing Radiation

I list the following antioxidants shown to prevent the effects of ionizing radiation.

I only included studies about readily available antioxidants. All of the information is from the exhaustive review of Smith et al.[1] I highlighted and linked some of the researchers.

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1. N-acetylcysteine (NAC)

NAC was shown to protect lymphocytes against radiation by decreasing DNA damage. The additionally, NAC does not prevent apoptosis or the purposeful death of pre-cancerous or cancerous cells.

What that means is that NAC prevents the death of normal cells and allows therapeutic radiation to destroy cancer cells.

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2. Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)

Brand et al. found that vitamin C prevents radiation induced double stranded DNA breaks by binding with free radicals.

Nature Made Vitamin C 1000 mg

3. Carvacrol

Carvacrol can be found in oregano oil. Arivalagan et al., discovered that lymphocytes treated with carvacrol could tolerate higher amounts of radiation and significantly decreased DNA damage, lipid peroxidation, and apoptosis. 

Carvacrol decreases free radical damage as an antioxidant and a free radical scavenger.

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4. Hot Pepper

Hot pepper or Capsicum annuum L has several phenolic glycosides. A study by Materska et al. found several substances that have a radioprotective effect on irradiated lymphocytes.

Additionally, the glycosides have mopped up free radicals and reduced their damage.

5. Cinnamic Acid

Cinnamic acid is from cinnamon oil and has been shown to have antioxidant properties. Lymphocytes treated with cinnamic oil have less DNA damage against x-rays.

6. Curcumin

Curcumin is from turmeric. Soltani et al. found that pretreatment of lymphocytes with low concentrations of free curcumin had a protective effect on irradiated cells via enhanced antioxidant effects. However, low concentrations of DNC lead to decreased cell viability and survival.

Curcumin is believed to be an antioxidant at lower concentrations and a prooxidant at higher concentrations.

Curcumin has to be in a lipid vehicle to increase its absorption. Not a problem when used in cooking since there is oil. In a study by Nguyen et al., liposomal encapsulation has higher absorption.

7. Green Tea

Davari et al. studied volunteers who drank green tea for five consecutive days before blood draws. Blood samples were then exposed to gamma radiation.

The lymphocytes collected 3 hours after drinking green tea showed a significant decrease in DNA damage compared to controls.

Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCg) is a natural antioxidant from green tea. Monzen et al. found that adding ECGC before irradiation significantly improved the survival of red blood cell progenitors but not white blood cell precursors.

According to Monzen et al., Drinking green tea may be more cost-effective than getting the more expensive injections to increase red blood cells after radiation treatment.

8. Ferulic acid

Ferulic acid is part of plant cell walls. They are found in high concentrations in popcorn, bamboo shoots, bran, flaxseed, and barley.

Prasad et al. found that pretreatment of ferulic acid on cultured lymphocytes reduced DNA damage and higher concentrations provided more protective effects.

9. Mango

Rodeiro et al. found that lymphocytes incubated with varying concentrations of Mangifera indica L. extract (mango)  before exposure to gamma radiation reduced DNA damage.

10. Resveratrol

Carsten et al. studied mice given resveratrol before and for 30 days following the whole-body dose of 3 Gy gamma radiation irradiation.

They found that mice treated with resveratrol before radiation exposure significantly decreased the total number of chromosome aberrations at 30 days post-radiation compared to controls.

Zhang et al. also studied resveratrol in mice.  The mice were pretreated with resveratrol five days before and one day after a single dose of partial-body (abdominal) irradiation.

Six days after irradiation, the intestines were examined, and they found that the resveratrol-treated mice had reduced intestinal damage.

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11. Lactoferrin

Lactoferrin is found in human and cow’s milk and is also available as a supplement. Nishimura et al. found that mice fed with a diet high in lactoferrin and exposed to radiation had a higher 30-day survival rate.

In another experiment, Nishimura et al. injected mice with 4 mg of lactoferrin. The lactoferrin-treated group had a survival rate of 92% after 30 days, significantly higher than the saline-treated group, which was 50% after 30 days.

Lactoferrin 250mg

12. Combination

Wan et al. exposed human breast epithelial cells to a combination of NAC, ascorbic acid, sodium ascorbate, alpha-lipoic acid, coenzyme Q10, l-selenomethionine, and vitamin E. Then the breast cells were also exposed to the substances individually.

They found that the combinations of several antioxidants produced the most profound reduction in DNA damage (94.7% reduction against X-ray radiation and 100% reduction against gamma-ray radiation) than individually.

They also found that water-soluble antioxidants like the NAC, ascorbic acid, sodium ascorbate, and α-lipoic acid were the most effective at reducing DNA damage.

Conclusion

In their review article, Smith et al. recommended natural foods rich in natural antioxidants to prevent radiation damage from medical imaging. I agree. Make it a point to eat them every day.

X-rays and gamma radiation are both ionizing radiation. Among all the substances listed, I like the NAC best because it has other uses, plus it is generally safe and has a long track record of safety.

Bicheru et al. compared four antioxidants, β-carotene, vitamin E, vitamin C, and NAC. They preincubated human blood with the four antioxidants and then exposed them to radiation.

The most significant reduction in DNA damage was found with the NAC, followed by vitamin C, vitamin E, and β-carotene.[2]

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References:

  1. Smith TA, Kirkpatrick DR, Smith S, Smith TK, Pearson T, Kailasam A, Herrmann KZ, Schubert J, Agrawal DK. Radioprotective agents to prevent cellular damage due to ionizing radiation. J Transl Med. 2017 Nov 9;15(1):232. doi: 10.1186/s12967-017-1338-x. PMID: 29121966; PMCID: PMC5680756.
  2. Bicheru NS, Haidoiu C, Călborean O, Popa A, Porosnicu I, Hertzog R. Effect of Different Antioxidants on X-ray Induced DNA Double-strand Breaks Using γ-H2AX in Human Blood Lymphocytes. Health Phys. 2020 Jul;119(1):101-108. doi: 10.1097/HP.0000000000001267. PMID: 32483045. .

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