ALIMENTARY MEANS OF PROTECTION AGAINST RADIATION

It is known that contamination of the environment with radioactive substances caused by an accident at nuclear power facilities or the use of nuclear weapons leads to exposure of the population, followed by a cascade of extremely negative pathological processes in the body. The consequence of elevated levels of radiation can be leukemia, oncology, infertility, cardiovascular disease, impaired immunity, and damage to the skeletal system. Radionuclides released into the atmosphere, migrating along the food chain, enter the human body and become long-term sources of radiation. The purpose of the work is to show the feasibility of creating alimentary means of protection against radiation based on dairy products in an unfavorable radiation environment. Reducing the radiation load can be achieved by modifying dairy products with substances – radioprotectors that have a protective effect when introduced into the body before or during exposure to ionizing radiation; substances – mitigators, administered after exposure to ionizing radiation, but before the appearance of clinical signs of radiation injury. Radionuclide antagonists can be considered as such ingredients of dairy products formulas: potassium, calcium and iodine, substances that help reduce the effect of radioactivity and eliminate radiation; antioxidants that weaken the effect of sources of radiation damage and stop oxidative processes. Among a large range of products, preference should be given to natural sources of radioprotectors, since their use can be less complicated by side effects and changes in the nutritional and biological value of dairy products.