Never Be Sick Again (33 page)

EMFs: Environmental Assault and Battery

Some forms of physical damage are obvious; others are invisible to the naked eye, such as electromagnetic radiation from sources such as medical X rays, microwaves, cell phones, TVs, power lines, broadcast antennae and other electrical items. Electromagnetic radiation can affect and damage our cells, leading to a variety of diseases including cancer.

The two kinds of electromagnetic radiation are ionizing and non-ionizing. Ionizing radiation (atom bombs, medical radiation, X rays) is the horrifying kind of radiation that we already know can injure and kill. Non-ionizing radiation (microwaves and electromagnetic fields) is easily overlooked and often labeled “benign.” Non-ionizing radiation has measurable effects on cells and is therefore important to consider. Some scientists have made ominous statements about the effects on human health. The introduction of man-made electromagnetic pollution may indeed be the single most important environmental change we have made. Whenever possible, avoid exposing yourself to anything unnatural and foreign to the body, including all types of man-made electromagnetic energy.

Any electrical device—a hair dryer, TV set, electric blanket or dishwasher—produces a non-ionizing electromagnetic field (EMF) that affects the way our cells function. Cell membranes (or receptor molecules in them) act as amplifiers for sending signals into cells. EMFs can interrupt and change these signals, affecting certain cell functions and cell-to-cell communications. For example, EMFs can alter the rate at which cells make hormones, enzymes and other proteins. EMFs can also induce changes in the rate at which genetic material (DNA) is made and in the rate of errors when RNA is copied from it.

Researchers believe that daytime exposure to EMFs limits the release of melatonin, a cancer-protective and sleep-regulating hormone. By limiting release of melatonin, EMFs can contribute to cancer. One prominent cancer theory is that cancer cell growth results from a breakdown in cell-to-cell communication, which is precisely what happens when melatonin production is limited. In fact, any process that reduces the average level of melatonin is likely to promote estrogen-dependent cancers, such as breast, skin and prostate cancers. Consider some examples of ominous EMF research: In 1998, a twenty-nine-member panel of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences concluded that there is a “possibility that electromagnetic fields are carcinogenic.” The committee found a statistically significant correlation between EMF exposure and leukemia in both children and adults whose exposure was significantly higher than average. Likewise, studies in
Epidemiology
and the
American Journal
of Epidemiology
have found statistically significant correlations between EMFs and breast cancer, brain cancer and Alzheimer's disease.

All of these health repercussions can occur simply from being near an electric appliance? Consider an experiment reported in scientist John Ott's 1976 book
Health and Light:
Two groups of mice were placed the same distance from a television set; one group was separated from the set by lead shielding, the other by black paper. The paper-shielded group became hyperactive, aggressive and wild, while the lead-shielded group remained normal. Autopsies of the paper-shielded group showed brain abnormalities. With studies like these, one wonders what may be happening to people who spend a lot of time in front of TV sets and computer monitors, particularly children whose brains are still developing and who are more sensitive to such damage. Is our children's behavior being affected not only by the messages on TV but also by radiation damage that we are not yet measuring? Less than a century ago, we did not sit in front of electronic screens at all; now we use them constantly, both at work and play.

The best policy for people concerned about health, especially cancer, is to minimize exposure to EMFs. Remember, EMFs are generated around electrical appliances, power lines and transformers; they can be found just about everywhere, including your home, office or school. EMFs become less dangerous as distance from the source increases, so choose to keep a safe distance between your body and electromagnetic fields.

How much exposure is too much? Scientists measure the power of these fields in miligauss (mG); experts around the world have proposed limiting chronic individual exposures to a level of 2 mG, with occasional peak exposures to about 10 mG. Unfortunately, we often experience much higher exposures. A hair dryer, which develops a powerful field next to your head, can dish out 20,000 mG. An electric razor (not a battery-powered razor) can generate 1,600 mG and is mere inches away from your pineal gland, which produces the cancer-protective hormone melatonin. A study done at Battel Memorial Institute's research center in Seattle found that men who used electric razors had twice the odds as nonusers of developing leukemia. The correlation between EMFs and cancer is positively alarming; we need to be careful!

A running dishwasher or clothes washer produces 30 to 50 mG at a distance of one foot, so be sure to keep a couple of feet away while it is running. A microwave oven can measure 80 mG at a distance of one foot, but quickly drops off to between 3 and 8 mG just thirty-nine inches away. A fluorescent lamp develops as much as 4,000 mG an inch away, but measures only 0.1 to 3 mG when thirty-nine inches away. A high voltage transmission line can measure up to 300 mG at the edge of the right-of-way; a regular distribution line can measure 80 mG right under the line. When buying a home or choosing an apartment, choose one that is not immediately adjacent to high-voltage distribution and transmission lines or transformers.

We need to be prudent in the use of appliances. When possible, use rechargeable battery-powered appliances rather than plug-in models. Do not stand immediately next to an electrical appliance when it is turned on, especially for an extended period of time. Follow these other recommendations also:

• Turn on the dishwasher when finished in the kitchen and you are ready to leave the room.

• Avoid electric blankets, or use them only to warm up the bed before you get in it.

• Keep telephone answering machines and electric clocks away from your head while you are sleeping.

• Increase distance from televisions (at least six feet away), computer monitors and appliances, especially those that come into close contact with your body, such as hair dryers and electric razors.

• Avoid using a cell phone. If you must use a cell phone, limit the number and length of your calls as much as possible.

• Avoid gazing into your microwave while your food warms up. Even better is to avoid the use of microwaves— for safety as well as nutritional and toxicological reasons— but at least stay a safe distance away if you do use one.

• Be careful of battery-powered wristwatches, a subtle but constant EMF exposure.

• Replace your computer monitor and television with flat panel display units, so as to eliminate the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the cathode ray tubes in regular TVs and monitors.

Of course, some people are more susceptible to EMFs than others (biochemical individuality at work). For example, people who are under stress seem to be more susceptible to damage by EMFs. In general, do whatever is possible to reduce EMF exposure—starting with the simple knowledge that these fields exist, realizing where they are and why they should be avoided.

Microwaves Zap More Than Food

Mobile phones produce a special kind of radiation called microwaves. Millions of us expose ourselves to a stream of microwaves every time we use our mobile phone for however long we talk. Cell phone microwaves are capable of damaging cellular DNA, thus contributing to cancer and other diseases. This damage can even be passed on to future generations. Research clearly shows that the microwaves produced by cell phones alter cell chemistry and function.

A Swedish study completed in 2001 by Professors Lennart Hardell and Kjell Hansson found that people who used cell phones for up to ten years had a 26 percent higher risk of brain cancer than a control sample who did not use cell phones. Mobile phone frequencies can cause a dramatic reduction in certain brain cell proteins and permanently damage brain cells; the cell phone antenna is right next to your brain.

Mast cells (cells involved with inflammatory responses such as those in asthma) were shown to be irreversibly damaged by exposure to mobile phone frequencies, with just ten minutes of exposure per day for seven days. Many people use their cell phones far more than that! To make matters worse, digital phones emit a series of pulses, and pulsed microwaves are known to be more biologically active than the continuous-wave radiation (analog phones) used in the experiments above. Cell phones can also interfere with melatonin production, thus interfering with sleep patterns and possibly promoting cancer. Since little research on the long-term effects of low-level microwave exposure has been done, the best course of action is to avoid cell phone use. When use is necessary, at least limit the number and duration of your calls.

The Threat of Ionizing Radiation

Ionizing radiation, as I have mentioned, is a serious kind of radiation that is fairly well known. This type of radiation, which includes gamma rays and X rays, is known to have harmful effects on human tissue. We call this type of radiation “ionizing” because it results in the formation of chemically reactive elements or molecules called ions, which alter the electrical charge in atoms and molecules within our cells. Ionizing radiation causes damage to DNA, cells, tissues and also causes cancer. Therefore, no level of exposure to radiation can be considered safe.

Research on ionizing radiation has uncovered many problems, from both natural and man-made sources. In 1983, residents of Montclair, New Jersey, began complaining of headaches and allergies. Their homes had been constructed on a landfill from a U.S. radium plant that closed in the 1930s. Their homes were found to be contaminated by “dangerously high” levels of radiation, which seemed to be related to the reported health problems. Similarly, in Kerela, India, which experiences the highest levels of natural environmental radiation in the world, a high prevalence of Down's syndrome and other forms of mental retardation are found among residents. Radiation damage is also evident in Japan's Hiroshima and Nagasaki victims and in the health records of former employees of government atomic facilities.

We have no control over about half of the ionizing radiation we are exposed to in our lives, because it comes from natural sources such as radioactive elements in our soil, water and atmosphere. Research the level of radiation in the ground and water where you live. If your local ambient radiation is particularly high, you might want to consider a different home. At least avoid drinking contaminated water and use ventilation to remove radioactive gas from your basement.

We do have control over the other half of the ionizing radiation we are exposed to—that which comes from manmade sources, primarily medical X rays. Seemingly “benign” dental X rays, mammograms and other radiological procedures can subject the body to significant physical harm. Given that the overwhelming majority of diagnostic X rays are not medically necessary, we should consider them as a health risk and carefully evaluate their value (risks versus benefits). Whether or not to have an X ray is your choice, not your doctor's, and the decision should be made by you. As noted, this decision should not be taken lightly because ionizing radiation from medical X rays and radiation treatment can cause cancer, genetic defects and tissue injury.

In the medical and scientific communities, much disagreement exists about the health effects of low-level exposure to ionizing radiation in diagnostic procedures. Many have assumed that low-level exposure is not a health threat, but modern research is beginning to cast doubts. A study of the health records of thirty-five thousand workers at a government bomb plant in Washington state concluded that even small doses of ionizing radiation are four to eight times more likely to cause cancer than previously believed. This study, financed by the Three Mile Island Public Health Fund and carried out by Alice Stewart, M.D., concluded that
radiation delivered in
small doses over time (as we are exposed to today through
common medical X rays) may carry a higher risk of cancer
than the same total radiation delivered in a single dose.

Edward Radford, past chairman of the National Academy of Sciences committee on ionizing radiation, says the cancer risk of low-level radiation may be ten times worse than is generally accepted. Higher radiation doses may kill off damaged cells, thus preventing their proliferation, whereas weak exposures damage cellular DNA but still allow damaged cells to replicate; thus, cells are able to reproduce and proliferate cancerous mutations. This conclusion is the opposite of what our dentists and physicians teach us; the medical community has always maintained that X rays are safe because small doses over time give the body time to repair itself and are therefore less damaging. However, instead of repairing, the body's cells appear to suffer damage and then replicate that damage, enabling the problem to spread.

The bottom line: Avoid radiation whenever possible. Because some radiation exists in the natural world, we must focus on reducing our exposure to the radiation we create, especially from medical X rays.

Optimizing Your Physical Pathway

This chapter began with a comparison between your body and your car. Your car will provide better service and last longer if you take good care of it. Even an old, beat-up car can be restored to good function with tender loving care. The same is true of your body. To move yourself in the right direction on the physical pathway, maintain your body—with good nutrition, exercise, sleep, proper breathing and natural sunlight— and protect your body from physical harm, including loud noises, sunburn and radiation. Making even minor adjustments to your physical pathway can make a big difference. As always, the choice is yours.