Currently viewing the category: "radiation"

Don’t Let Fear Run Your Life

By On · Add Comment · In Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, physicists, public health, radiation, Randall Munroe at xkcd.com
It’s your choice–want to be scared, or want to be free…you decide.  But here’s the skinny on the radiation risk from Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant–very, very low risk of adverse public health effects.  The danger zone, as pointed out by physicists (sorry, not pseudo natural-health hacks) is ~ 50 km or 30 miles from the reactor.The following chart was graciously provided by Randall Munroe at xkcd.com.  Please educate yourself:

According to Ben Parr at Mashable:

We encounter sources of radiation every day, from natural background radiation to bananas. (Yes, bananas emit gamma rays, but you’d have to eat 5 million bananas in one sitting to get any kind of radiation sickness.) The absorption of this radiation is measured in units called the sievert (Sv). As the chart explains, we absorb approximately 0.1 microsieverts (μSv) of radiation per day from eating a banana, 10 μSv from background radiation and 20 μSv from a chest x-ray. That’s more than the radiation you’ll absorb from living within 50 miles of a power plant (0.09 μSv). Even a coal power plant generates more radiation (0.3 μSv) because coal has trace amounts of uranium.

It takes a lot more radiation to actually cause harm to a person, although, the maximum yearly dose permitted for a U.S. radiation worker is 50 millisieverts (mSv), more than 200 times the exposure received from a typical X-ray. It takes double that amount though (100 mSv) for an increased risk of cancer and a full 2,000 mSv for severe radiation poisoning to occur.

Fear comes from dis-empowerment, which results from ignorance.  When you are dis-empowered, expect somebody to come in and have power over you, thus the fear-mongers and charlatans capitalizing on your fears.  Educate yourself, and get empowered.  Don’t let fear run your life.

*Than you, Randall for an a$$-kicking chart–job very well done!

My Airport X-ray Experience

By On · Add Comment · In airport security, brain cancer, cancer, fertilization, leukemia, radiation, Transportation Security Administration (TSA), x-ray scanners
It was just a matter of time before it would be necessary for me to make a Gargantuan decision–airport x-ray or pat-down.  What to do, what to do?  (sweat, sweat, sweat).

Uh…can I get the pat-down instead?

You mean opt-out?

Yeah, opt-out.

TSA person 1: We got an opt-out here?  TSA person 2: Opt-out!  TSA person 3: Opt-out?  TSA person 4: We got an opt-out!  (Sirens blaring)

I guess the airport security would rather not have to actually do a pat-down, as it took a full 10-minutes (no exaggeration) to get the frisker to come a-friskin’.

So I was a bit surprised by the lack of people requesting a pat-down.  I was the only one!  The airport (LAX) was particularly packed that afternoon, and everyone was walking through the radiation machines.  Hmmm…

I’ve heard lots of talk amongst my chiropractic clients and on news shows that people were going to refuse the scanner…but not that afternoon.  And I was again the only one to opt-out on my return from Houston’s Bush International airport.  Now the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reports that most Americans prefer the scanners to a pat-down.  What the heck???

Are people really that trusting of the government?  I’m no conspiracy theorist, but why would anybody want more radiation than they already get from the dentist and doctors?  Duh!  Perhaps people don’t understand that x-ray can lead to cancer.  Did you ever wonder why they place lead shields on you when you get an x-ray?  Frickin’ duh!  And we don’t know if cumulative exposure increases risk.  If it does, then every time you travel by air should put you at greater risk.  Even worse is that studies have shown that men exposed to x-rays close to fertilization fathered children with heightened risk of developing leukemia.  Still OK with it?  Hey, it’s your life.

With the pat-down, it was no different than a typical police search (not that I know anything about that!!!)  Once my down-patter finally showed up (apologetic, of course), it was quick and painless.  He asked if I was worried about the excess radiation.  I said yes.  He said he understood–he was worried about his children getting brain cancer from cellphones.  I told him he could probably stop worrying.

So, overall, I found the pat-down pretty simple.  In a way I’m glad there weren’t many people waiting to get pat-down–it would have made my wait that much longer.  But do I get it?  Not really–but like I said…it’s your life.

Exercise Reverses Brain Damage

By On · Add Comment · In brain, cancer, exercise, nerve, neuons, neurological, pediatric, physical fitness, radiation, regenerate, rehabilitation, stem cells, training
How’s this for plugging physical fitness: Research shows that exercise may reverse the damage done to the brain of cancer patients from radiation, particularly in kids. That’s the latest out of the Institute for Neuroscience and Physiology at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. How’s that? Exercise for the brain!?!? Duh, yeah! According to the research, exercise causes new stem cells to develop, which in turn can form new neurons, the brain’s cellular workhorses.

Here’s how they found out. The researchers irradiated the brains of baby mice; the dose was comparable to doses given to cancer patients with brain tumors. They then let half the mice exercise on running wheels, while the other half simply hung out in cages. After a few months, all the mice were killed and their brains examined. What they found was that the mice which were allowed to run “had more precursor cells and more new neurons, and these neurons took up their places better in the brains than mice simply kept in cages.” The exercising mice had a 275% increase in the number of newborn cells that developed into neurons.

The conclusions of the study are that pediatric cancer patients can benefit from exercise. Ah, yes. And the brain damage seen to their undeveloped brains can be reversed. Yes, yes! And that physical rehabilitation should be an integral part of post-cancer radiation treatment. Bravo!

But let’s take it a step further. Physical rehabilitation should be on every post-treatment protocol, whether chemical, radiation, or surgical. Think about it: The human body was meant to move. Physical activity has neurological implications. The nervous system controls and coordinates every function of the body. It’s the master control of the system (have you read my book yet?), and it’s the structure we know the least about. But we’re learning–and studies like this extend our knowledge into this vast and fascinating territory. What might be more important is what we learn about development and regeneration in general. Not only reptiles have that ability.

Remember: The human body is an amazing self-healing, self-regulating organism. It can repair itself, and it can regenerate. We have the power to heal ourselves if we do the right things. A few of those things are regular movement, physical challenge and balance training–all of which help our bodies create new nerve pathways that allow us to adapt to our environment. So if you are not moving your body regularly, better get started–your life depends on it.

Copyright © 2013 Dr. Nick Campos - All Rights Reserved.