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Fear of radiation poisoning, fueled by news of the full meltdown occurring at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan, has people around the world wondering what actions they might be able to take to protect themselves and their loved ones against the effects of radiation if they should find themselves in a similarly dire predicament.

And it’s no wonder. Radiation sickness is an Incredibly Scary Thing™. Exposure to high levels of radiation causes radiation sickness, which announces its presence via a plethora of ailments: nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, dizziness, headache, fatigue, fever, skin reddening, blistering, ulceration, potentially permanent hair loss, damaged sebaceous (oil) and sweat glands, possible necrosis (death) of any skin tissue that was exposed, low blood counts (anemia), infection, abnormal bleeding, cancer, tumors and genetic damage.

So wouldn’t it be fantastic if there were certain foods or dietary supplements out there that could mitigate or eliminate at least some of the radiation sickness symptoms listed above?

Well, ordinary ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) – either in prepared food dishes or in dietary supplements – may be one of them.

While it must be stressed that researchers are NOT suggesting that people should run right out and buy all the ginger and ginger-based products they can get their hands on in preparation for a hypothetical nuclear catastrophe, they ARE eager to share some important findings on the radiation-protective properties of this popular rhizome.

It is widely believed (and studies have corroborated it) that consumption of ginger can calm an upset stomach, aid digestion and alleviate nausea associated with motion sickness, morning sickness or chemotherapy. So, in cases of radiation sickness, ginger supplements, such as SuperCool™ Gingerol, could be used to quell ensuing nausea.

Studies conducted in 2003 and 2004¹ concluded that when mice were treated with a hydro-alcoholic extract of ginger before irradiation, the ginger in their bodies scavenged DNA-damaging, tumor- and cancer-causing free radicals caused by irradiation.²

In 2005 and 2006, teams of researchers learned that ginger extract has the ability to modulate radiation-induced Conditioned Taste Aversion (CTA).³ This study also indicated that ginger extract has tremendous potential for clinical applications in the mitigation of radiation-induced emesis (vomiting) in humans.⁴

Recent studies have also suggested that ginger can enhance the efficacy of conventional cancer treatments.

For instance, in 2006 a two-part series on "Natural Health Products That Inhibit Angiogenesis” ⁵ was published documenting how researchers screened and evaluated herbs and phytochemicals for anti-angiogenic activity.

Angiogenesis is the physiological process involving the growth of new blood vessels from pre-existing vessels. This a normal and vital process in growth and development, as well as in wound healing and in granulation tissue. However, when any cells in the body replicate repeatedly, unnecessarily and uncontrollably, it indicates the presence of cancer. So, in this case, inhibition of angiogenesis, or anti-angiogenic activity, is desirable.

In this study, 6-gingerol was listed as one of the bioactive substances of Zingiber officinalis (ginger).⁶ During active cancer therapy, the bioactive substances should generally be evaluated in combination with chemotherapy and radiation. In this role, they act as modifiers of biologic response or as adaptogens, potentially enhancing the efficacy of the conventional therapies.

Research conducted in 2009 indicated that dietary ginger offered radioprotection at the biochemical level to rats by protecting antioxidant enzymes, reducing lipid peroxidation (LPO) and inhibiting the synthesis of cholesterol.⁷ It also found that retreatment with ginger reduced the oxidative stress in the animals and protected the liver enzyme-cholesterol-7σ hydroxylase from being denatured.

In a study conducted in 2010, researchers found that “Zingiber officinale protects HaCaT cells and C57BL/6 mice from ultraviolet B-induced inflammation.”⁸ Treatment with ginger attenuated UVB-induced hyperplasia, infiltration of leukocytes, and dilation of blood vessels in the dermis of mice. The study concluded that Z. officinale, gingerol, and shogaol show potential as anti-inflammatory agents to protect skin against UV irradiation damage.

While miracle foods to ward off the multitude of ailments associated with radiation sickness do not currently exist, research over the past decade has shown that the humble ginger rhizome may yet become a superhero in the event of future nuclear crises.

References:

1. Jagetia, G. C., Baliga, M. S., Venkatesh, P., Ulloor, J. N. (2003). “Influence of ginger rhizome (Zingiber officinale Rosc) on survival, glutathione and lipid peroxidation in mice after whole-body exposure to gamma radiation.” Radiat Res 160(5): 584-92.
2. Jagetia, G., Baliga, M., Venkatesh, P (2004). “Ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.), a dietary supplement, protects mice against radiation-induced lethality: mechanism of action.” Cancer Biother Radiopharm 19(4): 422-35.
3. Sharma, A., Haksar, A., Chawla, R., Kumar, R., Arora, R., Singh, S., Prasad, J., Islam, F., Arora, M. P., Kumar Sharma, R. (2005). “Zingiber officinale Rosc. modulates gamma radiation-induced conditioned taste aversion.” Pharmacol Biochem Behav 81(4): 864-70.
4. Haksar, A., Sharma, A., Chawla, R., Kumar, R., Arora, R., Singh, S., Prasad, J., Gupta, M., Tripathi, R. P., Arora, M. P., Islam, F., Sharma, R. K. (2006). “Zingiber officinale exhibits behavioral radio-protection against radiation-induced CTA in a gender-specific manner.” Pharmacol Biochem Behav 84(2): 179-88.
5. Sagar, S. M., Yance, D., & Wong, R. K. (2006). “Natural health products that inhibit angiogenesis: a potential source for investigational new agents to treat cancer-Part 1.” Curr Oncol 13(1): 14-26.
6. Sagar, S. M., Yance, D., Wong, R. K. (2006). “Natural health products that inhibit angiogenesis: a potential source for investigational new agents to treat cancer-Part 2.” Curr Oncol 13(3): 99-107.
7. Nabil, G.H, Atef, M.M, Elhag, A., Elhag, M. A. (2009). “Radioprotective effects of Dietary Ginger (Zingiber Officinale Rosc.) Against Fast Neutron-induced Oxidative Stress in Rats.” World Applied Sciences Journal 6(4): 494-498.
8. Guahk, G. H., Ha, S.K., Jung, H. S., Kang, C., Kim, C. H., Kim, Y. B., Kim, S. Y. (2010). “Zingiber officinale protects HaCaT cells and C57BL/6 mice from ultraviolet B-induced inflammation.” J Med Food 13(3): 673-80

Ginger is believed to be the only botanical that drastically diminish the symptoms of motion sickness as demonstrated in studies dating back to 1982 (Mowrey, 1982; Kirchdorfer, 1983; Careddu, 1986) with some positive results.

More recent research efforts, which include seven clinical trials examining the effects of ginger for motion sickness, have demonstrated less effectiveness with only three (Grontved, 1988; Schmid, 1991 Lien & Sun et al. 2003).

In two randomized control studies that compared standard of care drugs for prevention of motion sickness, ginger proved to be as effective as the other frequently prescribed medications (Riebenfeld, 1986 & Schmid, 1994). In a simulated motion sickness study, Stewart, et al (1991) determined that ginger did not possess any anti-motion function.

Holtman’s work, (1989) suggests that ginger has no influence on the experimentally induced nystagmus but its effectiveness may be derived from the influence of the ginger root agents on the gastric system.

References

Grontved, A., Brask, T., Kambskard, J., Hentzer, E. (1988) Ginger root against seasick-ness. A controlled trial on the open sea. Acta Otolaryngol 105(1-2): p. 45-9.

Holtmann, S., Clarke, A. H., Scherer, H., Hohn, M (1989) The anti-motion sickness mechanism of ginger. A comparative study with placebo and dimenhydrinate. Acta Otolaryngol 108(3-4): p. 168-74.

Lien, H. C., Sun, W. M., Chen, Y H, Kim H., Hasler, W., Owyang C. (2003) Effects of ginger on motion sickness and gastric slow-wave dysrhythmias induced by circular vection. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 284(3): G481-9.

Mowrey, D.B., Clayson,D.E. (1982) Motion sickness, Ginger, and Psychophysics. Lancet 1 (8273): p. 655-7.

Wood, C.D., Manno, J. E., Wood, M. J., Manno, B. R., Mims, M. E (1988) Comparison of Efficacy of Ginger with Various Antimotion Sickness Drugs. Clinical Research and Regulatory Affairs 6(2): p. 129-136.