Tips for Reducing Your Cumulative Radiation Load While Flying

As in so many other instances, our legal and civil rights system is being willfully manipulated and trampled, and our health is put at risk, all for the sake of private and corporate profits. In this case, the former homeland security chief and co-author of the PATRIOT act, Michael Chertoff, is a primary promoter of full-body scanners, and is a paid consultant for the companies that sell them!

The mandate to use these scanners is yet another blatant conflict of interest that erodes personal freedom in the name of "security" and places corporate profits ahead of public health.Europe has already taken a strong stance against the use of these scanners, and in the United States if we have enough people objecting to this new technology we can get them to stop using it altogether. It is far too man-power intensive for agents to manually inspect everyone with the enhanced pat down. In 2010, when massive numbers of people were planning on opting out in protest, they shut all the X-ray scanners off that day and ran people through the older ones. If 10 percent of us choose to opt out regularly, my guess is that they will shut the machines off permanently.

Dr. Mercola states: Personally, as a very frequent air traveler, I ALWAYS opt-out of the x-ray scanner. Even if the radiation dose is minute (and that's a big IF), I'm not willing to risk my health by exposing my entire body to any avoidable dose on a regular basis. Fortunately, I fly frequently enough that in Chicago I am TSA PRE, which means I get to use a special security line and do not have to take off my shoes or belt, or take the computer out of my bag, and there is no total body scan or pat down done.

As for my experience flying to San Francisco from Portland and back In July this yr, when I told the TSA agent I opt out, he states "M'am you are not only using the wrong language but you have to proceed through the scanner, they won's hurt you, it only goes skin deep."

An interesting point you will want to consider is that in order to use the body scanner you must be able to raise your arms above your head. If you can't, then TSA has to send you through the FAR safer magnetic scanner and they typically do NOT pat you down. 

If you're exposed to other forms of radiation through CT scans, mammograms and other medical procedures, your exposure could easily reach dangerous levels, and this is why it makes sense to avoid unnecessary radiation exposures as much as possible. One of the strategies I use is to take 8-10 mg of astaxanthin regularly as it has been shown to lessen ionizing radiation damage.

If you opt out of the scanner and go for the pat-down, I also suggest you keep hygiene in mind. Make certain that TSA agents put on a fresh pair of gloves before touching you and your child.

As for the humiliation factor that these enhanced TSA security checks present, I would encourage you to contact your local government officials and state representatives, or join the "We Won't Fly" campaign, which also lists 24 additional ways you can make your voice heard on this issue.