Benefits for Radiation Poisoning

Exposure to radiation causes a cascade of free radicals that wreak havoc on the body. Radiation decimates the body’s supply of glutathione, which allows free radicals to run rampant through our body’s tissues and organs. Several antioxidant compounds have been used to treat radiation damage with varying degrees of effectivness.

Radiation Poisoning and Alpha Lipoic Acid

Researchers at the Russian Institute of Pediatric Hematology and the Vitamin Research Institute in Moscow have found that lipoic acid is one of the most effective anti-radiation treatments to date.

When mice are exposed to high levels of radiation, only 35% of them will survive. Lipoic acid is so powerful that if animals are treated with lipoic acid before exposure, survival rates rise to 90%. In the near meltdown of the nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine in 1986 radioactive fallout and massive soil contamination caused those who lived in Chernobyl to be exposed to constant low levels of radiation. Not surprisingly, the incidence of cancer is much higher than normal there, especially among children.

Researchers examined the effects of lipoic acid treatment on the level of oxidative damage in children living in the areas affected by the accident. After 28 days of lipoic acid supplements, they found that the children’s blood peroxidation levels had fallen to those seen in normal children. Even better, the children’s liver and kidney functions were normalized.