Japan’s Radiation Fallout – Protect Yourself!

If you’re not familiar with potassium iodide, you need to be.  You may not live in Japan, but trust that most anywhere you live, there’s a chance for radiation to ruin your life.

[Update: Will radiation reach North America’s west coast?]

AS IF the earthquake wasn’t enough and the devastating tsunami that followed, Japan now has radiation leaks from compromised nuclear plants to contend with.

[Read how to store water and food to be prepared for the unforeseen.]

Radiation causes cancer, and it easily is disseminated by wind currents.  The radiation being emitted by damaged nuclear plants in the south northeast of Japan will not obediently stay there and be vacuumed up.  Rather, the radiation will move with air currents – yes declining in concentration, but dispersing as far as the wind will carry it.

The Japanese government has begun distributing potassium iodide pills to its citizens.
Why?  Because potassium Iodide will provide radiation protection in a nuclear disaster.

When a cloud of radioactive iodine passes through a populated area, the thyroid glands of people exposed to the radiation can cause irreparable damage to the thyroid, which can lead to cancer.

About this you should care deeply for selfish reasons, irrespective of how far away you may live from Japan.  Not because the radiation being emitted in Japan will blow over you with the wind.  But for two very good reasons that could affect you with much more harm:

  1. You may have nuclear plants near you that could be compromised. Most developed countries have nuclear power plants.  Some are old.  Some are located in known geographically unstable areas and could be effected, like in Japan, by earthquakes, tsunamis, or perhaps severe storms, or other nature-made disasters.
  2. The terrorist’s terrifying event of choice is the “dirty bomb”. This is the disaster of the man-made variety.  Terrorists could compromise a nuclear facility, or even more easily, explode a dirty bomb – a conventional bomb pregnant with radioactive elements.

For any particular individual reading this post, either of the above two situations may be improbable, and for that reason, if protective measures took considerable effort and a lot of money, you’d be rationale to do nothing.

However, there’s a really good preventive measure, while not fool-proof, nor offering complete protection, is useful, cheap and easy to do:

—> Buy some potassium iodide.

As Health-Marketplace puts it:

“Maintaining a supply of potassium iodide is one of the least expensive, simplest steps you can take to protect yourself and your family against the long-term consequences of exposure to radiation. Potassium iodide provides enough safe iodine to completely fill the thyroid’s binding sites, blocking any radioactive iodine from binding there. There is no other way to so quickly and completely protect the thyroid gland, which is one of the organs most commonly damaged by radioactive fallout.”

You can get potassium iodide just about anywhere that supplements are sold. I suggest you read what The Life Extension Foundation says about it, and you can buy it there as well.  130 milligrams of potassium iodide is recommended for providing radiation protection in the event of a nuclear fallout, however it’s made to happen.

Last Updated on April 11, 2023 by Joe Garma

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Joe Garma
 

I help people live with more vitality and strength. I'm a big believer in sustainability, and am a bit nutty about optimizing my diet, supplements, hormones and exercise. To get exclusive Updates, tips and be on your way to a stronger, more youthful body, join my weekly Newsletter. You can also find me on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

Click Here to Leave a Comment Below 2 comments
tknoerle - March 15, 2011

You need to edit your article, because Honshu, Japan, where the group of Fukushami Dai-ichi nuclear plants are loocated is NOT in the SOUTHEAST of Japan …it is in the most NORTHEAST portion of Japan.

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    Joseph Garma - March 15, 2011

    Yes, yes, exactly… I realized this last night that I turned it around in my mind's eye. Thanks!

    Reply

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