WEEKLY ARTICLE
Combat "Fear Of Fallout" With Miso and Seaweed We wanted to write about this subject even though we are closed this week. Because of it's importance and relevance, we felt we must share the following with you, to give you plenty to think about and "arm" yourself with in our brief absence! The very sad series of events in Japan are so shockingly fresh, the uncertainty of the man-made nuclear disaster is clearly grave, and eerily like other recent man-made disasters, very shrouded in mystery. So, until we get the real facts about the amount and extent of the radioactive fallout involved, if we ever even get the real facts, we would like to take this opportunity to point out a few Wholly Macro facts about the power of the foods we use week after week in our Wholly Macro Menu's, and how they can help to protect you from nuclear fallout, radiation sickness, and so many other (much less serious in comparison) illnesses. In many of our lectures, consultations, and newsletters we refer to miso and seaweed as natural chelators in that they have the ability to chelate / remove heavy metals and radiation from our body. We sometimes get the feeling that many people who hear this statement think: What radiation?? As in: There is no radiation to be concerned with. I don't get radiation treatments. This doesn't apply to me. But it does. Maybe the recent series of events in Japan made the reality of the dangers of the insipidness of radiation poisoning / exposure more real to you? Okay. Generally we are not exposed to high levels of radioactive material. But we could be via an unexpected "accident" or natural disaster. And we are exposed to low levels of radiation pretty much every day of our lives via our cell phones and other electronic equipment, via x-ray procedures of all kinds, even via microwave ovens which we know none of YOU use!! 
So why not include miso and sea vegetables in your daily diet to immediately and effectively remove / block any radiation you may inadvertently be exposed to, because it is EVERYWHERE sadly!! Following the bombing of Nagasaki, a group of surviving macrobiotic doctors and their patients in a Nagasaki Hospital avoided radiation sickness by eating brown rice, miso and seaweed, while thousands of others perished from radiation sickness. They did not get leukemia, a common cancer occurring as a result of radiation exposure. Dr. Tan Koon Peng from Singapore writes: "Miso is effective for detoxifying your body of radiation. During World War II, two hospitals that were located side by side were hit with atomic radiation. In one hospital people consumed miso and all of them survived while many people in the other hospital that did not take miso died". Wide - scale, long - term population studies conducted in Japan in the 1960's of more than 250,000 men and women showed that those who ate miso soup everyday had fewer cases of certain types of cancer than those who didn't eat miso. In a similar study in Japan in 1989, Dr. Akihiro Ito of Hiroshima University's Atomic Radioactivity Medical Laboratory found that lab animals (sorry), exposed to radiation and not fed miso had 100 to 200 % higher incidents of liver cancer than the animals that were fed miso! Dr. Ito also found far less radiation induced organ inflammation in general in the animals that ate miso. And seaweed: Sea vegetables are the richest source of natural iodine known.  Iodine is the most important element in protecting against radiation damage. Radioactive iodine will plunge in to any and all iodine receptor cites that have no iodine in them due to iodine deficiencies. This is a serious problem because over 90 percent of people in North America are iodine deficient. This leaves them incredibly vulnerable to radioactive iodine, which is one of the principle forms of radiation given off in nuclear accidents and from nuclear weapons. Iodine supplementation is a vital defense against radiation contamination and damage. And natural forms of iodine such as those found in sea vegetables are the best way to insure properly balanced intake and assimilation of iodine into your body.
The mucilaginous (gooey slippery) fiber in seaweed helps to prevent the reabsorbing of radioactive strontium 90 in the intestines by up to 80% according to a 1964 McGill University study published by the Canadian Medical Association Journal, enabling it to pass through the body instead of sticking around. Seaweed also helps to break down fatty deposits where toxins  like to hang out, and they also combine with heavy metals to help prevent free radical damage." Bladder wrack sea vegetable is one of the highest sources of natural iodine in the sea vegetable family and is also a powerful heavy metal chelator. We like to make / use a "soup mix" of sea vegetables here at Wholly Macro for our personal use, and our soup mix contains bladder wrack. We may just have to add a little of it to your weekly miso soup now and then too! Would any of you mind after reading the above? Other helpful foods and tips for combating radiation poisoning and combating the effects of all kinds of pollution include: ~ Eating low on the food chain to minimize chemical and heavy metal intake. ~ Consuming whole grains. Their high fiber content binds with toxins and lessens large intestine transit / absorption time. The small intestine is where nutrient absorption takes place. We don't want fast transit there. The large intestine is where waste and toxins are eliminated. This is where we want fast transit and minimal absorption (i.e.: constipation is not a good thing)! The high vitamin E content in whole grains also helps the body to better utilize blood - cleansing oxygen. 
~ Buckwheat. It is high in rutin to help protect against radiation exposure and stimulate new bone marrow production! ~ High chlorophyll foods (think green, such as  parsley, watercress, wheat grass, barley powder, spirulina, etc.) strengthen cells, transport oxygen, alkalize the blood, detoxify the liver, neutralize polluting elements in the body, and stimulate RNA production. ~ Sulfur rich vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, and mustard greens combine with heavy metals and help prevent free radical damage. 
~ Dandelion greens and dandelion root: Traditional springtime liver cleansing / toxin eliminating tonics.
~ And one of our personal favorites: Aloe Vera, a  natural external remedy for radiation induced skin changes and burns. I (Gayle) used it during my breast cancer radiation treatment and it prevented radiation burns so effectively that it is now part of the standard skin care protocol in the radiation department of the cancer center where I received treatment, and at several other area hospitals as well. Make no mistake; nuclear and radioactive fallout are serious concerns. But, via our daily diet, we can eat all of the above and more to protect ourselves, be prepared, and keep our minds and bodies as strong and healthy as possible in the event of any type of unforeseen disaster, and more importantly, for prevention, general day to day enjoyment, and best possible quality of life!  Water has always been a powerful source of healing. But it seems of late that it has become an outlet for the earth's rebellion. Think oil spills and tsunamis. Water is a reflection of human consciousness. It is a mirror into our planets soul as well as our own. We need to rise above the flood of negativity encompassing our planet. The only way that water can become our healing friend once again instead of our enemy is to raise our collective thoughts and consciousness, and yes, embrace sea vegetables as our most valuable of friends! Our lives depend on it. In Health As Always. Gayle and Jaime / Wholly Macro
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