Zapped: Your Brain on
Electromagnetic Fields (Infographic)
By Deane Alban
You’ve
certainly heard the controversy about cell phones. Some experts think they
cause brain cancer, while others don’t. But there is an even bigger issue here
— how all your electronics affect your brain health, beyond just cell phone
use.
Electromagnetic
Fields (EMFs) and the Brain
Whenever
an electric current flows through a wire, an electromagnetic field (EMF) is created. EMFs are
produced by electricity flowing through power lines, home wiring, appliances,
cell phones, and other electrical devices. You would expect your microwave,
cell phone, and WiFi to be high EMF
producers, but so are your fridge, hair dryer, vacuum cleaner, and blender.
Radio
frequency (RF) is one specific range of frequency of
electromagnetic energy used in many types of wireless technologies — including
cordless phones, radar, GPS devices, cell phones, and radio and TV broadcasts.
And
your brain is exposed to it all.
Here
are some of the known ways EMFs harm your brain:
–
EMFs create ree radicals — unattached oxygen molecules that attack your cells much in the same way that rust
attacks metal. Your brain uses a lot of oxygen which is why it’s very
susceptible to free radical damage. Free radicals can kill cells and even
cause DNA damage.
–
Low-level EMFs have been found to rupture delicate
brain cell membranes causing them to leak calcium ions. Calcium ions are used
by your brain cells to communicate with each other.
–
EMFs have been shown to break the brain-blood barrier, allowing toxins and chemicals to enter the brain and
seriously affect brain function.
–
Over 100 proteins in the brain are negatively impacted by EMF.
Proteins are integral in brain cell structure and neurotransmitter formation.
–
EMF exposure affects the structure and function of
the thyroid. Low thyroid hormone levels can lead to concentration problems,
forgetfulness, and difficulty making decisions, as well as muscle aches,
fatigue, and weight gain.
–
Dr. Ann Louise Gittleman, author of Zapped,
reports that patients with a wide range of symptoms, such as dizziness and
anxiety, memory loss, ringing in the ears, unrelenting fatigue, and weight
gain, can attribute them to high levels of EMFs.
EMFs
and Alzheimer’s Disease
In
2008, researchers claimed to have found a direct link between the
electromagnetic fields created by power lines and all types of dementia. People
living within 150 feet of a high voltage power lines are more likely to die of
Alzheimer’s.
Occupational
exposure to electromagnetic fields can lead to an increased risk of
Alzheimer’s. One of the weirdest findings showed that sewing machine operators
have four times the risk of Alzheimer’s caused by strong, continuous exposure
to EMFs over long periods of time.
Some
people are more sensitive to the effects of EMFs than
others — in particular, children, seniors, and those suffering from ill health.
Even when there is no reason to believe EMFs caused
Alzheimer’s, they can make the symptoms worse.
EMFs
and Sleep
Dozens
of studies have found that even low levels of EMFs
can disrupt your body’s production of melatonin. This naturally occurring hormone
regulates your sleep cycle and is a potent antioxidant — 5x
more potent that vitamin C.
By
suppressing melatonin, EMFs deal a double whammy.
This disrupts sleep, when memory consolidation and new brain cell
generation occurs. And it is no longer available to prevent free radical
damage.
Cell
Phones and the Brain
Cell
phones are a particular worry since they are used so often and so close to the
head. You can just as readily find studies to prove they cause
cancer as that they don’t.
But
there is more than cancer to be worried about. EMFs
can penetrate as much as 1-1/2 inches into the brain and lead to headaches,
dizziness, sleep disorders, benign tumors, and Alzheimer’s.
The
World Health Organization has come down on the side of caution, putting cell
phones in the same cancer-causing category as lead, engine exhaust, and
chloroform.
The Journal
of the American Medical Association (JAMA)
reports that simply holding an activated cell phone next to your head for less
than an hour changes brain metabolism.
Clinical
Neurophysiology reports that mobile phone emissions
affect the brain’s “cross talk,” slowing down the brain’s reaction time.
I
don’t expect you will give up your cell phone. The trend is for people to
spend more time on their smartphone and less on their PC, and
this is expected to continue. But there are a few common-sense precautions you
can take.
You can see from the infographic below (see the source article) that most people keep their cell phone on their nightstand and use it as an alarm clock. This is a pet peeve of mine. You are exposing your head to unnecessary radiation for 1/3 of your life just to wake up in the morning. This doesn’t make sense. Get an alarm clock, people!
Steps to Protect Your Brain
No one really knows what living in
this ocean of EMFs is doing to our health, but there
is much evidence that it is detrimental to our brains. Here are some
common-sense guidelines to reduce your risk.
1. Minimize
your EMF exposure at night. Keep computers
and TVs out of the bedroom or shut off the power to them before
sleeping. Place your alarm clock three feet from
your head, don’t sleep
with your cell phone by your head, and don’t use an electric blanket.
2. Protect
your brain from cell phone radiation and optimize your signal with a Pong Soft Touch Radiation-Redirecting
Casee or
similiar. A
patented antenna redirects the
potentially harmful electromagnetic
radiation away from your head, reducing your radiation exposure. This
allows more radiation to communicate with the cell tower,
which optimizes
your signal. Your cell phone’s battery life is also optimized,
because your phone doesn’t have to work as hard to communicate with the
cell tower.
A win-win-win situation!
3.
A great place to learn more about the effects of
EMFs is Zapped: Why Your Cell Phone Shouldn’t
Be Your Alarm Clock and 1,268 Ways to Outsmart the Hazards of
Electronic
Pollution (http://astore.amazon.com/be_brain_fit-20/detail/B005HRQ7PS)
by New York Times
best-selling author, nutritionist, and First for Women magazine
columnist Ann Louise Gittleman. This is an
eye-opening read for anyone who is concerned about what electromagnetic
radiation is doing to their health. While most of
the news is not good,
this book claims to share over 1,200 ways to avoid the hazards of
electronic pollution. (But who’s counting?) This book brings what could be
a
complex topic down to earth and gives you plenty of actionable advice.
Deane Alban
holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and has written about natural health for
over 20 years. She is the author of
Brain Gold: Brain Fitness Guide for Boomers and
co-founder of BeBrainFit.com.
Source: http://wakeup-world.com/2014/05/06/zapped-your-brain-on-electromagnetic-fields-infographic/