This article is to inform you about radiation and free radicals what you have never been told...

It is silent, invisible and cumulative…

Some of you will remember the nuclear accident 'Chernobyl' in the former Soviet Union, and the nuclear holocaust at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These events are the grim reminders of the effects of ionizing, high dose radiation. Most of us are aware of cell and DNA damaging high dose radiation but much less familiar with the effects of low dose radiation, which is in a multitude more harmful than we have ever been told. Nuclear workers are permitted 5,ooo millirems (5,ooo mr =5 rem (1) of radiation per year; we on the other hand have a much lower permissible dose, which is in the range of 500 millirems by the DOE (Department of Energy) and the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission). http://www.epa.gov/radiation/docs/ionize/ionize.htm
"Permissible" does not mean safe; there is no such thing as a "safe dose of radiation".
Radiation can have stochastic (1) or non-stochastic effects on our health.
http://www.epa.gov/radiation/understand/health_effects.htm

We are exposed to a combination of manmade and natural radiation.

• Manmade radiation:
  
  Microwave ovens, cell phones, TVs, VDTs (computer screens w/ the tube principle), video poker machines in gambling locations, sunlamps, tanning lights, high intensity Mercury Vapor Discharge lamps, medical and non-medical laser products, and many types of electronic equipment.
  A 21" Color TV tube emits an average of 10 -25 mr at a distance of 3ft (1m) of non-ionizing radiation per hour, depending on the 'contrast' adjustment of your TV. The lower the contrast adjustment, so lower will be the emission of radiation (the new plasma TV screens have an almost zero emission).
  Let's say that we watch more then 300 hrs of the "old fashioned " color TV (tube principle) and or sit in front of a VDT at a close range, which represents the majority of people in the western world. Now we add a number of visits to the radiologist and dentist, where several X-ray images will be taken.
  
  
• Natural radiation:
  
  The last not least we are all exposed to natural radiation.
  For Radon gas and cosmic radiation exposure it depends on where and which altitude you live, and how many miles or kilometers you travel annually by air.
  Radon is a radioactive, colorless, odorless and highly toxic gas, which is heavier than air and found in living spaces close to ground level.
  Cosmic radiation exposure occurs, when living in higher altitudes, like the Colorado Plateau, where the annual cosmic radiation level is 90-100mR.
  Flying at very high altitudes of 30,000 ft (10,000 m) or higher will add 1.5 mr of cosmic radiation for each 1,000 miles (1,600 km) air travel to our annually allowance of 500mr.
  The majority of us will exceed the permissible amount of radiation per year.
  When we are exposed to higher levels of radiation in an instant of time, such as an X-ray, it makes the cell destruction by free radicals less efficient than the identical dose over a long period of time.
  
  
• Why?
  
  In 1972 Dr. A. Petkau's research showed that severe cell damage by free radicals occurs more efficiently at low protracted doses. The most important factor is the length of time over which the radiation exposure occurred! His research showed unexpectedly that low dose radiation over prolonged period produces highly efficient free radical cell damage compared to short exposure of medical x-rays or even direct radiation.
  In the case of low dose radiation there are fewer free radicals formed and they are statistically more capable of 'finding a target' like our cells or DNA, without colliding into each other and neutralizing themselves.
  
  Every cell in our body harbors an identical DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) blueprint. Exposure to free radicals can cause damage to some of these DNA blueprints.
  Our immune system recognizes the different characteristics just reproduced by the damaged DNA and either repairs or destroys the cell before it can pose a major threat to our health. When the DNA of a cell becomes damaged or mutates from continued exposure to free radicals, repair mechanisms can become overwhelmed and altered cells may escape destruction and continue to multiply to form mutant daughter cells. These in turn can pass that alteration onto further daughter cells - and on it goes down the line...
  The altered cells become predominant; our body becomes less able to keep up the daily struggle to control them and begins to deteriorate. Thus, free radicals are ascribed as one of the reasons why we age. Over time, this process can ultimately lead to a degree of cell damage where general overall health problems or even different cancers begin to form.
  This might explain why people, especially the young, when they spend hours in front of TVs, VDTs (computer screens, not the new flat screens w/ TFT) receive low level radiation and have a much higher rate than average of cell damage to their eyesight.
  When your children are watching TV or playing different video games, make sure that their distance to the TV is at least 5 times the diameter of the screen. Adults experience free radical damages by developing different forms of cancer and birth defects in pregnant women.
  
  There are many things that we can do to counter the effects of free radicals and curb their formation and effects. Our body naturally does this in the first instance by utilizing processes that are enzyme-based, together with antioxidant activity derived primarily from our diet. In fact, our body is designed to mop up free radicals as they form, but if we get loaded with too many through our lifestyle and environment, then it is essential that our diet provide us with sufficient antioxidants to either block their formation or mop them up as they form and here the BioZama™ come into play.