Apple pectin used for radiation protection after Chernobyl

Wednesday, April 06, 2011 by: Donna Rae
Tags: apple pectin, radiation, health news

(NewsTarget) Apple pectin is a dietary fiber supplement that is often used to maintain powerful digestive health. It is also known as fruit pectin. Purchased in powder form, apple pectin becomes a gelatinous, or jelly-like, substance when wet. Many people are familiar with apple pectin in the making of jams and jellies. However, natural healers, herbalists, and fitness experts use apple pectin when preparing colon cleanse products because it is a soluble fiber. Apple pectin has the ability to sweep out radioactive dust particles from the intestinal tract, and it was used extensively after the Chernobyl nuclear plant meltdown.

How Apple Pectin Works

Apple pectin is a soluble dietary fiber source. The fibers in apple pectin help to balance the colon. In the digestive tract, apple pectin swells, forming a gel which acts like a broom to sweep the entire intestinal tract of waste material and body fat. In the large intestines, apple pectin breaks down into short chain fatty acids, which have positive pre-biotic benefits. Apple pectin is considered safe by the FAO/WHO Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives.

Apple Pectin and Radioactive Protection After Chernobyl

Both master herbalist Dr. Richard Schulze and nutriceutical researcher Jon Barron have recently mentioned that apple pectin was used after the Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster in 1986. Jon Barron states that "apple pectin was used in the aftermath of Chernobyl to reduce the load of radioactive cesium in children." Dr. Schulze says that apple pectin was used "extensively" after the Chernobyl disaster. He mentions that apple pectin has been proven to remove heavy metals, and even radioactive Strontium 90. Dr. Schulze says that taking apple pectin proved to significantly prevent damage from radiation exposure.

Apple Pectin Reduces the 137Cs Radioactive Cesium Load in Chernobyl Children

The Swiss Medical Weekly published a report in 2004 confirming that apple pectin was seen to reduce the 137Cs cesium uptake in Ukrainian children after the Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster. A study led by V.B. Nesterenko at the Belrad Institute of Radiation Safety was performed to see if orally administered apple pectin was effective in binding 137Cs in the gut for food contaminated by radiation, or if eating "clean," non-contaminated food was enough. The study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving children from contaminated villages near the disaster area.

Radiation levels were measured at the beginning of the study and one month later. At the end of the trial, 137Cs cesium levels in children who were given apple pectin were reduced by 62%. Children who had received "clean" food and a placebo had reduced radiation levels by only 13.9%. The results were determined to be statistically significant.

Sources:

Journal of Physiology and Biochemistry 1998 Jun;54(2):99-104. Effects of orange and apple pectin on cholesterol concentration in serum, liver and faeces. Gonzales M, et al. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9858130

International Programme on Chemical Safety; FAO/WHO Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives, "Dietary Intake of Fruit and Vegetables and Management of Body Weight," by Dr. Beth Carlton Tohill http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/publ...

Jon Barron.org, "Preparing For Nuclear Fallout" http://www.jonbarron.org/detox/preparing-nuc...

Herb Doc Blog.com, "Alert: Radiation Exposure" https://herbdocblog.com/#home_container

Pub Med.gov, "Reducing the 137Cs-Load in the Organism of 'Chernobyl' Children With Apple Pectin" Swiss Med Wkly. 2004 Jan 10;134(1-2):24-7. Nesterenko, VB et al. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14745664

About the author

Donna Rae is a freelance writer, blogger, and herbalist. She owns Donna Rae Online Writing Services (ANCHOR TEXT) , niche writing regularly in the alternative health care and education industries. Donna also owns Donna Rae At Home.com, a college prep home education website, and Bluebonnet Natural Healing Therapies.com ANCHOR TEXT, a blog site dedicated to educating people new to using herbs and natural methods to improve health.