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Increasing Danger From Cell Phones

cell phone, mobile phoneMore and more Americans are eliminating their landlines in favor of wireless phones, and as such are having increasing exposures to cell phone dangers.

Nearly one in six households are now wireless-only, according to a new survey by the National Institutes of Health.

About 14.5 percent of adults, or 32 million Americans, live in wireless-only households, as do 10 million children. In 2006, less than one in eight adults lived in wireless-only households, and in 2004, only one in 18 adults did, so the trend is clearly increasing.

The greatest indicator of who is likely to live in a wireless-only household is age. Nearly a third of those aged 18-29 have no land lines, as opposed to people aged 30-44 (15.5 percent), 45-64 (8 percent), and 65 or older (only 2.2 percent).

Even among households that still have both landlines and mobile phones, over 22 percent received "all or almost all" calls on mobile phones. In all, over 13 percent of households are “wireless-mostly.”

Sources:

Dr. Mercola''s Comments Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Folks, this is a disaster in the making, especially for the next generation. It’s very telling that younger adults are the most likely age group to have only cell phones and no land lines at all. The situation is going to worsen as this progressively becomes the norm. Many children in the generation currently being born will be raised with no other type of phone except their cell phones. This puts them in grave danger.

New research has shown that children, because of their developing brains, are particularly vulnerable to the radiation emitted by cell phones. Current evidence suggests that if this trend continues, it will contribute to an epidemic of brain cancer, autism, Alzheimer’s disease, and other serious health problems.

A Wireless World

But even if you do not own a cell phone, or use it only for emergencies, you and your children are not entirely safe. Cell phones are simply one aspect of a much broader problem. Almost all wireless technology carries with it the same risks. If you use a wireless internet connection, a PDA, or a portable cordless home telephone, you are exposing you and your family to the exact same danger.

In fact, portable home phones are actually more dangerous than cell phones. With the exception of a few older models, portable phones broadcast constantly, even when you are not making a phone call (cell phones also broadcast when you are not making a call, but intermittently). If you sleep with a portable home phone next to your bed, you are being bathed in a constant stream of dangerous electromagnetic radiation.

For that matter, even if you avoid wireless devices entirely, you are being exposed to electromagnetic radiation right now, whether you are aware of it or not. The wireless infrastructure that enables cell phones to work -- as well as other wireless technologies -- is now so extensive that exposure for most people is almost unavoidable.

The world is already showing the early signs of an epidemic of brain cancer -- an epidemic that is expected by some scientists to grow to 500,000 cases in 2010 and over 1 million cases in the United States alone in 2015. Those who avoid brain cancer may find themselves battling other health problems both major and minor, such as headaches and dizziness, Alzheimer’s disease, autism and even impotence.

What Causes the Damage?

The part of the electromagnetic spectrum used by cell phones and other wireless devices to communicate does not occur naturally on the earth’s surface -- logically, it has to be, or there would be too much interference for cell phones to work. 

In particular, the extremely low-frequency waves used to actually carry your voice or other data, known as Information Carrying Radio Waves, are not frequencies that you would ever encounter in a natural form on earth. Because of this, your body has not made any biological adaptation to protect you from electromagnetic radiation in these frequencies.

More importantly, the very rarity of these frequencies on the earth’s surface made them ideal ones for your body to use as an internal communication system, for the same reason that cell phones use them -- a lack of interference. But now that man-made wireless communication is widespread, there is a great deal of interference.

Your cells have two types of receptors: chemical receptors and vibrational receptors. Chemical receptors respond to biochemical signals, but vibrational receptors are microscopic cilia, little hair-like sensors that respond to electromagnetic vibrations. When an Information Carrying Radio Wave hits a ciliary vibrational receptor, the receptor resonates. Since this form of radiation does not occur naturally, your cells do not recognize it, and treat it as a potential threat. They respond by sealing themselves off, effectively shutting down their ability to communicate with other cells.

This reaction evolved as a short-term response to immediate danger; it was never designed to protect against the persistent signals of wireless communication. Soon, these sealed off cells start starving for lack of nutrients. Toxins, heavy metals, and free radicals build up inside of them, because the cell can no longer excrete them. 

The intercellular communication breakdown can impair or destroy the function of whole tissue systems and organs. Soon, cells become damaged, and over the long term, this damage can have serious effects, especially in your complex and delicate brain -- which, unfortunately, is right next to where most people hold their cell phones.

There are other dangers, as well. Information Carrying Radio Waves piggyback on carrier waves, which operate at a much higher frequency. The effects of carrier waves are extremely subtle and hard to detect, but that does not make them any less dangerous.

The DNA in each of your cells contracts and extends like a coil several billion times per second, and these contractions create a timing system that regulates the activity of your metabolic enzymes. Carrier waves, however, operate on the exact same frequency as your DNA, and can cause interference that interrupts this fragile and crucial form of communication. The complex timing of your body’s biological processes are being disrupted by your cell phone.

The effects of both the carrier waves and the Information Carrying Radio Waves can lead to serious, serious medical and health problems, up to and including degenerative brain disease and damaged, and potentially cancer-causing, DNA in your cells.

Protect Yourself

While you cannot completely avoid wireless radiation, there are certainly some steps you can take to minimize your exposure and reduce your risks.

Children Should Never Use Cell Phones: Barring a life-threatening emergency, children should not use a cell phone, or a wireless device of any type. Children are far more vulnerable to cell phone radiation than adults, because of their thinner skull bones.

Reduce Your Cell Phone Use: Turn your cell phone off more often. Reserve it for emergencies or important matters. In the case of the iPhone you should actually take the battery out as even when the phone is turned off it is actually acting as a transmitter for other iPhones and you essentially have a mini cell phone tower in your home even if the phone is turned off.

Use A Land Line At Home And At Work: Although more and more people are switching to using cell phones as their exclusive phone contact, it is a dangerous trend and you can choose to opt out of the madness.

Reduce or Eliminate Your Use of Other Wireless Devices: You would be wise to cut down your use of these devices. Just as with cell phones, it is important to ask yourself whether or not you really need to use them every single time. If you must use a portable home phone, use the older kind that operates at 900 MHz. They are no safer during calls, but at least they do not broadcast constantly even when no call is being made.
 
Use Your Cell Phone Only Where Reception Is Good: The weaker the reception, the more power your phone must use to transmit, and the more power it uses, the more radiation it emits, and the deeper the dangerous radio waves penetrate into your body. Ideally, you should only use your phone with full bars and good reception.

Turn Your Cell Phone Off When Not In Use: As long as your cell phone is on, it emits radiation intermittently, even when you are not actually making a call.

Keep Your Cell Phone Away From Your Body When It Is On: The most dangerous place to be, in terms of radiation exposure, is within about six inches of the emitting antenna. You do not want any part of your body within that area.

Use Safer Headset Technology: Wired headsets will certainly allow you to keep the cell phone further away from your body. However, if a wired headset is not well-shielded -- and most of them are not -- the wire itself acts as an antenna attracting ambient information carrying radio waves and transmitting radiation directly to your brain.

Make sure that the wire used to transmit the signal to your ear is shielded. The best kind of headset to use is a combination shielded wire and air-tube headset. These operate like a stethoscope, transmitting the information to your head as an actual sound wave; although there are wires that still must be shielded, there is no wire that goes all the way up to your head.


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Comment on This Article Community Comments (44)
 
 
Posted On May 19, 2008
When I worked at Pepsi, they provided me with a cell phone that I could use indiscriminately.  Therefore, I felt that having a landline in my home was superfluous.   "Why spend the extra $75.00 per month (have you checked out all the ridiculous taxes on your phone bills?????) for a phone, when I already have one for free?"  I thought. 

The only free cheese is found in a mousetrap.

 
samurai
Savvy User Savvy User, Joined On 4/2007
samurai  
 
 
 
Posted On Jun 07, 2008

I posted my comments on recent posts like the recent cell phone-brain tumor epidemic article where I shared my clinical findings about wireless EMF combined with underlying heavy metal toxicity in the body or what I like to call 'The Antenna Effect' (currently working on a book about this).  I strongly feel that those with EHS (highly sensitive to EMF) ALL have significant levels of heavy metals in their body acting like an antenna source drawing in the EMF around them and that combo is what makes them very sick.  This is what I find in my clinical practice.  Here is part of my post from the previous cell phone-brain tumor article as it seems to fit:

This is a tradegy waiting to happen of course but my view is slightly different.  A great deal of my work is focused on heavy metal and chemical toxicity as it relates to illness and dis-ease in the body.  My clinical findings suggest that those with the highest level of metals in their body have the most difficulty with EMF (their cell, pda, microwave oven at home, and even the electronics in their car can occasionally cause rather bizarre symptoms in these patients but not always as most of the time people are completely unaware that they have metals as this truely is a silent epidemic).  The metals in your body simply acts like an antenna drawing in EMF.  That is why it is my mission to educate everyone to get screened for metal and chemical toxicity and God willing our healthcare system will catch on to environmental causes.  It is a tradegy that we all have to tolerate the increase in unavoidable EMF from wireless emissions among other sources.  The jury is out as far as what effects the radiation alone will do to our delicate brains but eliminating 'The Antenna Effect' by cleaning the metals out of the brain and nerve tissue may very well be one of the best forms of prevention within our control.

Great job Dr. Mercola bringing greater awareness and hope in regards to this very important issue!!!


 
NutritionalHealingCenters
Apprentice User Apprentice User, Joined On 10/2007
NutritionalHealingCenters  
Replied

Natural Health Leader
Novice User Novice User Joined On 6/2007
Natural Health Leader  
 
Posted On Jun 09, 2008

I also find this to be true. There is also the issue of metal in the body that is put there for correctional purposes like braces, joint transplants, etc. At the very least these through off the normal energy conduction processes in the body and at the worst attract harmful energy to the body.


 
 
 
Posted On Jun 07, 2008

No-one HAS to use a cell-phone, just as no-one HAS to watch TV.  If you think something is dangerous, stop using it! It's a free country (or is it?).  Worried about losing your job if you don't use the cell-phone? The economy was a lot healthier before everybody had a cell-phone, and the populace was healthier too, so maybe we need to learn how to say no to a bad thing.  

I sent a comment regarding the last featured article "What's More Important: Your Cell-Phone or Your Brain?" in which I mentioned the use of cell-phones in "developing" countries for people to set up home-based businesses, and make market-based decisions, and I was amazed by the minimal response.  Cell-phones are evidently bad for people in fast-track jobs with phones for free (who seem to think they MUSTuse them), but nobody cared to comment about how so many hip micro-loans are financing cell-phone ownership by (mostly) women, and what the health impact might be there.

I don't have a cell-phone, a cordless phone, or a TV, or air-conditioning, and I function just fine.  I've even travelled by air, without a credit card or a cell-phone, within the last couple of years, at the height of the security screening phase. I manage an important segment of a multi-million dollar business. I do NOT need a cell-phone to do it.  If people are so scared of technology, why don't they just opt out?


 
Produce Maven
Novice User Novice User, Joined On 5/2008
Produce Maven  
Replied

StrangerHereMyself
Novice User Novice User Joined On 4/2008
StrangerHereMyself  
 
Posted On Jun 09, 2008

Sometimes you don't have a choice. The office I work in has APs--wireless access points--dotted all over the building. One is about 30 feet from my head, and I have to sit there under it for at least 40 hours a week. At home I only have a cell phone, but I hardly ever use it and it is kept in a room I'm hardly ever in. But if I look outside, just down the street is a giant radio tower. What kind, I'm not sure, but I know it's not good for me. But it's very hard to escape these days.



Rochelle_Woodward
Novice User Novice User Joined On 2/2007
Rochelle_Woodward  
 
Posted On Jun 09, 2008

What happened here? Was it all a hoax?



OS
Novice User Novice User Joined On 1/2007
OS  
 
Posted On Jun 10, 2008

Tell us how you do all these things without a credit card?  Ever been in South Florida without AC?  I think not.


 
 
 
Posted On Jun 07, 2008

My ex-husband had a brain tumor removed last year. He was a heavy cell phone user.

Before that, my mother died of a brain tumor.

I have Lyme Disease and multiple coinfections - an infection in my nervous system (which would include my brain). I used to use a cordless phone heavily.

Two brain tumors and a brain infection. Do you see any commonalities here?


 
CEM
Users with negative points NoviceUser, Joined On 2/2008
CEM  
Replied

HeatherM
Novice User Novice User Joined On 6/2006
HeatherM  
 
Posted On Jun 07, 2008

Were your ex-husband's & mother's tumours near the ear where the phones were usually held? If the tumours are caused by c/phones, I've heard that's where they grow.


 
 
 
Posted On May 20, 2008
The technology of cell phones have become so prevalent in our society it will take massive amounts of deaths to remove or limit its use.  At work I was issued one...don't you just love that electronic leash? 

Can you RF proof your house?  When I was living in Kansas my cell phone wouldn't work in the basement.  I always left the cell upstairs (the electronic work leash).  If we can RF proof our houses then we can remove/limit what our bodies are subjected to everyday. 

I remember an article about not sleeping with your cell phone near by to help your body recouperate.  Since avoiding cells can be impossible with some jobs, what are the best preventative practices to reduce the amount of RF your body is subjected too?

 
Think4Freedom
Novice User Novice User, Joined On 1/2008
Think4Freedom  
Replied

Nice Nice
Novice User Novice User Joined On 10/2007
Nice Nice  
 
Posted On Jun 07, 2008

Check out Q-Link jewelry.  It makes your bodys electromagnetic field stronger to protect you from EMR from day to day.  I have a necklace that I wear 24-7.  Their wesite is www.qlinkzone.com.



Dr Rik
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 11/2006
Dr Rik  
 
Posted On Jun 07, 2008

massive amounts of deaths hasn't reduced drug useage



Maverick8901
Novice User Novice User Joined On 6/2006
Maverick8901  
 
Posted On Jun 07, 2008

Explain "RF"ing your house please. Do you have any specifics or links explaining how to do this?  Thanks in advance for your info and time....:0)



aemit
Novice User Novice User Joined On 8/2007
aemit  
 
Posted On Jun 08, 2008

Yes I also have a q-link that I wear all the time and even bought it for my family and cats. I wish someone would actually check how/if the q-link protects us from EMF. I still get cold feet and hands and become irritated if I sit in front of my pc for a while so I try to limit my pc use to the minimum.


 
 
 
 
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