Radiation-induced depression looms on the horizon

by Katy O'Marron
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(NaturalNews) As radiation seeps from Fukushima, people will need to be on the defense for radiation-induced depression.

Long distance radiation harms the physical body primarily through free radical damage. Free radicals are molecules which have unpaired electrons, and when the body is exposed to radiation, huge amounts of free radicals are produced in the system. "In fact," Dr. Barry Sears writes, "the best example of a rapid overproduction of free radicals occurs in victims exposed to atomic radiation."

Radiation directly affects the brain through free radical attack. Free radicals cause massive damage in the body, disrupting chemical processes by robbing electrons from other molecules throughout the organism. Free radical damage has a long list of symptoms, and one of those side effects is fat oxidation. Dr. Barry Sears notes: "the brain is exceptionally vulnerable to free radical attack. Fifty per cent of the dry weight of the brain is lipid, and about one-third of the lipid is composed of polyunsaturated essential fatty acids making it the most likely target for free radical attack." When oxidization alters essential fatty acids, it affects the very composition of the brain itself.

Radiation induces depression, not only by attacking the brain directly, but by promoting undesirable hormonal imbalances in the brain. Oxidation produced by free radicals ruins the essential fatty acids as raw materials that the body needs for hormone production. If hormones, such as serotonin and endorphins required for maintaining mental health are disrupted, depression will result.

A recent article in the Los Angeles Times talked about the high level of depression and suicides among those living within the dark shadow of Chernobyl. The Japanese, who already suffer from high rates of suicide, will need to take aggressive precautionary measures against radiation-induced depression as it permeates into the environment. Radiation levels will also be slowly rising in the United States as plumes drift across the pacific from Fukushima to America.

Depression levels will also rise then, as the radiation poisons the air and worms its way into the food chain. A comprehensive anti-oxidant supplement regime is more important now than ever before. Diet can also play a big role in maintaining healthy hormone levels. Hormone manipulation through diet can directly affect mood and depression. Manipulating hormones is the key to the Zone Diet, discussed at length in the Zone books by Dr. Barry Sears. A fascinating amount of chemical and hormonal processes can be controlled via the hormone insulin. Perhaps those principles may prove to be a guideline in the prevention of radiation damage within the body as well.

References:
In the Chernobyl disaster zone, life--and death--is still bleak
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationw...
http://www.naturalnews.com/z031987_...
The Anti-Aging Zone by Dr. Barry Sears, Ph.D. p.p. 41, 110