Microwaves and Oxidative Damage - and NIDS

From "Would You Stick Your Head In A Microwave Oven" by Gerald Goldberg

Oxidative Damage

Increased oxidative damage or for that matter burn damage can result in a shorter life span. Consistently in the scientific literature has been noted that animals and humans subjected to microwave radiation show decreased levels of SOD, catalase, glutathione, CoQ10 along with evidence of increased byproducts of oxidative stress to cell membranes, MDA. Depletion of anti-oxidants has been shown to be an independent risk factor in the development of cancer and other illnesses associated with aging.

SOD, catalase, glutathione and CoQ10 are substances that the body
produces to protect itself. These substances are considered anti-oxidants. The body is continuously producing energy. Energy production produces heat and causes free electrons to be generated. The challenge that the cell had to overcome was how to cook within itself. Overcooking would cause the cell to literally cook itself. The difficulty issue for the cell is that is you burn down your own house, then you simply cannot continue to cook (produce energy).
In a simple manner anti-oxidants act much like insulation that one would have around the kitchen. It is desirable to have an oven or a furnace. However, it is not desirable to burn down the house. This is the equivalent role of anti-oxidants. If there is excessive damage to a cell, than this will be reflected in lower anti-oxidant levels. The anti-oxidants are getting used up faster than they can be produced or replaced. The level of anti-oxidants thus become a measure that the body or cell is overheating.

The body is continuously involved in a balancing act. The balance is the ability to generate energy and the ability to cope with burn damage. Anti-oxidants protect the structural parts of a cell from damage; these include cell membranes, structural proteins, and the genetic material of the cell. If the anti-oxidents are deficient than the cell will literally age or degrade at a very rapid rate. Sustaining adequate levels of anti-oxidants is a critical part of the diet. The level of anti-oxidants in the body play a critical role in determining the amount of work an individual can do. The levels of anti-oxidants in the body have been shown to be the most sensitive indicators in stress, aging, infections, and various other disease states. They are considered the most sensitive markers of aging used by investigatory science. Refer to the references at the end of the chapter for more complete references on this matter and the role of anti-oxidant substances in conferring protection to the cell.

Catalase is critical in reducing hydrogen peroxide to plain water. The prevents the buildup of too much H2O2 which can damage cell membranes. Notably this is critical in the perixosome, nucleus and the mitochondria. Decreased catalase levels have been found to be an independent marker of cell aging. Decreased levels of catalase in the mitochondria (cell furnace) have been found to be one of the most accurate predictive markers of accelerated aging and premature death in multiple animal models.

Microwave radiation has been shown to produce marked disruptions in energy production in cells. This has been noted as well as decreased ATP and creatinine phosphate production. ATP is considered to be the most important molecule that allows for the transfer of energy in the body. It is kind of like a miniature biological battery within the cell. If you do not have enough batteries than the cell stops working. Simple enough. The studies which are mentioned at the end of this section repeatedly found that microwave radiation decreased the ATP content of the brains of the animals that [they] studied. A brain that looses the ability to generate energy (ATP) ceases to work efficiently at all. The end result is that one can become neurologically or behaviorally impaired. This is what one finds in a child who is autistic, has ADD or other behavioral problems where the issue is impaired concentration. The same findings are also seen in individuals with psychiatric diseases, extremes of anxiety or depression as well as in dementia or Alzheimer's disease. These findings have been consistently found in all tissues examined. The scientific literature reflects that the damage can be attenuated or slowed down by the use of certain anti-oxidants (refer to the last section) and herbal products. Ultimately the body must rely on its diet to replace nutrients; it really has no other choice. Central to this point is that maintaining an adequate level of anti-oxidants in the diet, refer to the last section, will confer some degree of protection to the individual from continous exposure to microwave radiation as well as other factors.