The Dangers of Cell Phones

The evidence is now clear that it is not prudent or healthy for you to carry a cell phone on your body, unless it is turned off.

Today’s Journal presents more evidence about the health dangers of cell phone usage, and features a one hour video of Dr. Devra Davis, Ph.D., a well regarded epidemiologist and researcher, who presents information on cell phone toxicities. You can view her biographical information here.

Here is Cell Phone Dangers by Dr. Devra Davis, who was presenting at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) in April, 2012.

One of the images she put in her lecture is from Albert Einstein,” The world is not dangerous because of those who do harm, but because of those who look at it without doing anything.” While Dr. Einstein’s quote is endearing, make no mistake about it…the world is also dangerous because of those who do harm.

Dr. Davis uses the very appropriate analogy that the current day negative health effects of cell phone usage is much like the former period in the 1950’s and 1960’s, when people were beginning to understand the dangers of tobacco smoking.

The tobacco industry was in a full court press marketing campaign in the post WWII days to promote their nefarious products. I have some old Life Magazine copies from the 1940’s and 1950’s showing celebrities (Bob Hope) and doctors (physicians) on the entire back cover page in aggressively worded advertisements which promote Camel cigarettes, and other brands. I used to show these images in slide show health lectures I presented around Boulder County.

Dr. Davis’ information is the tip of a new emerging field of research on electromagnetic field (EMF) effects from common devices in our everyday lives. The electronics industry, which develops and promotes these devices, will be the last group to admit that the products are unnatural and harmful to the human biological system. You may recall that it took several decades to get rid of cigarette advertising. The use of portable personal electronic devices is much more pervasive on a global scale than tobacco use ever was.

I obviously use a computer, another emitter of EMF. There are many other EMF effects in a home, such as wall electrical wiring, wireless router waves, portable telephones, television screens, kitchen microwave devices, as well as all of the other electrical appliances. We are awash in fields of electrosmog of all sorts of frequency wavelengths.

I think it is most important to consider the effects of EMF on children whose skull is thinner than adults, and whose brains are not fully myelinated until about age 12. Brain maturation is largely complete at about age 20.

In addition to prudent and reduced usage of cell phones, there are a number of other considerations of lifestyle practice which support brain and central nervous system health. A strong and resilient central nervous system will be more resistant to negative external influences. The most important lifestyle practices which assist nervous system health are exercise, sleep, diverse recreational engagements, work and home environments, and nutrition. Nutrition should be considered from the standpoints of healthy non processed food choices, as well as high quality nutritional supplement formulations.

There are excellent nutritional supplements from Designs for Health which are nourishing and protective for the central nervous system. These supplements will help mitigate downstream biochemical effects of EMF exposure, especially in those who carry certain common neurotransmitter enzyme mutations.

Note: The supplements listed below can be purchased from this new webstore link.

1.  NeuroMag…a threonate magnesium salt combination with interesting brain protective research. See a brief synopsis of some of the research findings in the text at the bottom of this link. Magnesium is a natural calcium channel blocker and is helpful in reducing cellular damage from voltage gated calcium channels (VGCC) which are stimulated in a deleterious fashion by EMF exposures. A very important reading on this particular subject is reading reference #25 below.
2. Lithium Synergy…very important support for brain regeneration, and especially in consideration of neurotransmitter mutation events such as BDNF, NTRK2, and DAOA, as well as in brain trauma and other neural degenerative problems.
3. Zinc Supreme and Iodine Synergy…both are critical minerals in central nervous system health, as well as in the health of multiple other organ system functions. Magnesium, zinc, lithium, and iodine are the most important minerals to consider for brain health and maintenance, as well as therapy.
4. CogniAid…for overall brain chemistry support and protection.
5. Brain Vitale…for enhancing acetylcholine production, the neurotransmitter which declines in Alzheimer’s disease.
6. Any of these other brain chemistry support products
7. Any of these antioxidants
8. Robust dosing of vitamin D, usually 7000 to 10,000 IU per day, or more, especially if one has Vitamin D Receptor (VDR) mutations which I see in about 50% of clients. It is important that vitamin D be complexed with adequate amounts of vitamin K2 in order to move the calcium which is mobilized by vitamin D into the bones.
9. Omega 3 fatty acids…multipurpose in prostaglandin E1 and E3 production (inter and intracellular signalling molecules), cell membrane production and function, as well as serving as a generalized anti-inflammatory modulator.
10. C-3 Curcumin Complex

Genetic testing to reveal very common neurotransmitter chemistry mutations as well as VDR mutations is easy and affordable through 23andMe.com for $199. This testing assays 195 gene sites in important biochemical categories. I wrote a comprehensive article about my approach to genetic testing here.

I also wrote a comprehensive article about vitamin D which you can review here. Vitamin D dosing on a daily basis should be enough to move blood levels into therapeutic range. Depending on one’s lab ranges, a therapeutic range for good maintenance of the vitamin’s health benefits are ranges of 50-80 ng/ml or 80-100 ng/ml.

The latter range is for optimal protective effect, and would be more important in those who have mutations of their Vitamin D Receptors, which will strongly impact how vitamin D is able to function in the body. A very important consideration in vitamin D formulations is that the vitamin D be complexed with adequate amounts of vitamin K2 in the product in order to activate the vitamin K2 proteins. Vitamin K2 moves calcium into bone for bone mineralization and thus prevents calcium deposition in peripheral tissues like blood vessels, joints, and kidneys.

You may also be interested in the earthing products available at www.earthing.com. These ingenious and simple products create a flow of earth electrons into the body via a variety of easy applications. The science is explained on the web site.

The European Environmental Agency has said  long term cell phone use “could be as big a public health risk  as smoking, asbestos, and leaded gasoline.” The World Health organization has taken a  stand by warning that enough evidence exists to link cell phone use with certain types of cancer. See this announcement.

In our home, we use telephones which are wired to the wall receptacle with a cord; a so-called ground line. We put the cordless portable 900 megahertz phones in a box in the attic. I also gave up on using microwave devices many years ago.

I own a cell phone, which is turned off all of the time until the rare times when I may need to use it. One does not have to become so dependent on such a device.

I turn it on only when I need to use it, and I only need to use it when I travel. I only travel in my truck, and I don’t travel in my truck too much. I only need to use it if I have to have some help with some question—like, what do I need to pick up at the grocery store.

All of my friends and family have learned that I do not communicate by cell phone, and so there are never any messages left on my phone. When I call my friends and family, I realize that they are using cell phones in most instances, and so I refer some to this Journal entry.

When you use a cell phone inside of a motor vehicle (a closed metal container), the phone works harder, emitting more energy, as it searches for a tower. Therefore, in such a circumstance, and really in all cell phone use circumstances, one should use an extension cord device plugged into the phone in order to keep the phone device as far away from your body as possible.

Please see reference #1 below to learn more about extension cord listening devices. There are a number of varieties and vendors of such devices. It is important that the device not be in continuous use near your head. Carrying a turned-on device on your person next to your body also imposes hazards. If the device is a few feet of distance away from your body, all risks are strongly mitigated.

For more helpful articles on EMF and EMF mitigation you can view my commentary and the links in an earlier Journal writing on this site entitled The Smorgasbord Mélange of EMF Delights, posted on April 1, 2011, just after the Fukushima event.

Here is more information about some additional cell phone related concerns, as expressed in an excerpt from an address given by Noam Chomsky on June 19, 2012, at the University of St. Andrews in Fife, Scotland, on the occasion of its 600th anniversary. This quote may stimulate your imagination to consider the bigger picture of global destruction which is related to the manufacturing of electronic devices. This is an uncomfortable issue of inconvenient truth which few electronics users ever pause to consider.

Says Chomsky, “This is only one example of struggles under way over much of the world, some with extreme violence, as in resource-rich eastern Congo, where millions have been killed in recent years to ensure an ample supply of minerals for cellphones and other uses, and of course ample profits.”

Chomsky was delivering an address entitled “The Magna Carta Shredded Before Our Eyes.” You can read the relatively short delivery on some of our Anglo American history, and its ongoing dismemberment.

As I stated in my opening line of this Journal entry, cell phones are safe when they are turned off. However, it seems like people have allowed themselves to become dependent on these devices, their multiple uses, and their various applications.

In addition to these considerations, one should be aware that there is a mechanism built into every cell phone and every computer which can be activated remotely by others who may have an interest in your private conversations and communications.

As you venture down these various rabbit holes of our new age post modern world, you will discover more of the unpleasantries of cell phones, and other portable devices.

Signing off from Crestone and Beyond

Because the issue of cell phones and other forms of EMF exposure is so ubiquitous and because more articles will be appearing which will expose the problems with exposure to EMF based technologies, the reading list below will be continually and frequently updated over future time. Please check back every month or so to see new article postings.

Special Readings:

1. Electromagnetic Radiation Specialist Reveals the Hidden Dangers of Electromagnetic Fields…expert Oram Miller explains the hazards of a variety of electromagnetic field toxicities…posted here on May 19, 2018.
2. How to Break Up with Your Cell Phone: The 30 Day Plan to Take Back Your Life…this book can rearrange your relationship with a toxic addiction, and give you back to you, as well as others.

Other Helpful References:

1. LessEMF.com…cell phone shielding products are here.
2. Brain Health, a writing on this website about how to nourish a healthy brain.
3. Your Personal Genetic Analysis, a writing on this website about the value of genetic analysis.
4. Minding your Mitochondria…a writing on this website about the importance of mitochondrial function which is damaged by EMF emitters.
5. EMF Radiation–the Invisible Foe
6. EMF, Mast Cells, Histamine, and the Immune System
7. Report on Health Risks of Cell Phones Released by Judge
8. Nomophobia–5 Steps to Ending Your Smartphone Addiction
9. 9 Ways to Protect Yourself from Cell Phone Radiation
10. Reconnecting with the Earth…some of the science and benefits of earthing is presented here.
11. Histamine Inflammation Links Electromagnetic (EMF) and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
12. Why You should Not Sleep With Your Cell Phone At Night
13. Eliminating the Human…the seeming inexorable take-over by artificial intelligence. Our apps and devices are “quietly reducing the amount of meaningful interaction we have with each other.” We have traded genuine connection with nature and each other for being plugged in to some electronic device.
14. Digital Dementia…an important article about a growing toxicity. Note the comment about doctors and nurses spending more time looking at digital devices than interacting with patients, posted here on 10-13-2017.
15. Grounded…a definitive documentary about the importance and benefits of connecting with the electromagnetic field of the earth.
16. Why You Need a ‘Digital Detox’ (and How to Do It Right)…Chris Kresser explains the importance of leaving your digital devices behind from time to time.
17. Health Effects of Isolation…the health effects of loneliness are explained. Also, the illusion of connectedness via electronic devices is alluded too, and this is just one more toxic aspect of EMF devices.
18. Dropping Distraction…more ideas about how to take control of your life.
19. What’s life like for kids mining cobalt for our gadgets?…another problem with the electronic gadget craze.
20. The Tech Industry’s War on Kids…a must read article about how our children, and adults, are being purposefully psychologically altered and harmed by tech devices.
21. Is your child’s use of electronics an addiction or a bad habit?…another portrayal of this worrisome trend.
22. Smartphones can prevent parents from cultivating feelings of connection with their children…yet another portrayal of this worrisome trend.
23. Introducing the Light Phone 2…reduce your EMF exposure by using a dumber phone.
24. Internet Addiction–Yes, It’s Really a “Thing”…internet addiction disorder (IAD) is a true addiction and a growing problem which further separates us from one another. 
25. EMF Radiation–The Invisible Foe…a timely and important brief summary article of concern from the people at Designs for Health, posted here on 10-20-18.
26. Smartphones distract parents from cultivating feelings of connection when spending time with their children…an obvious negative result of frequent (addictive) cell phone use.
27. Analysis: Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg under fire as scandals mount…Facebook’s company policies and lack of oversight are being exposed.
28. Groundbreaking Study Discovers an Association Between Screen Time and Actual Brain Changes…NIH researchers studied 4,500 nine- and ten-year-olds and found premature thinning of the cerebral cortex in those that used screens more than seven hours a day.
29. Devices Divide…a podcast by a teenager who struggled with her usage and relationship with electronic devices and wanted to create a space to explore such impacts. The podcast interviews a number of healthcare thought leaders.
30. Do Bright Lights Promote Diabetes?…this article, from the Alliance for Natural Health on 2-28-19, investigates a new study about the effects of blue light on our health.
31. Microwave frequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs) produce widespread neuropsychiatric effects including depression…a science abstract from PubMed on this problem. This article appeared in September, 2016.
32. Do You Need to Protect Yourself against EMF Dangers?…a very good summary article by Chris Kresser, posted here on 5-2-19.
33. Video…the truth about mobile phone and wireless radiation, Dr. Devra Davis…epidemiologist and electromagnetic radiation expert, Dr Devra Davis, explains the evolution of the mobile phone and smartphone, and provides a background to the current 19 year old radiation safety standards (SAR), policy developments and international legislation. New global studies on the health consequences of mobile/wireless radiation are presented, including children’s exposure and risks.
34. We Have No Reason to Believe 5G is Safe…an article in the October 17, 2019 edition of Scientific American explores the health concerns related to 5G EMF exposure.