Menu
Note: This article was originally published on December 2, 2016: http://www.prohealth.com/library/showarticle.cfm?libid=29722
We are all awash in a sea of electromagnetic fields (EMFs), which come from a variety of sources, including power lines, cell phones, smart meters, Wi-Fi, microwave towers, appliances and other places. Hundreds, if not thousands of studies have proven the detrimental effects of manmade electromagnetic fields upon the body, yet the amount of electromagnetic fields in the environment increases exponentially every year.
What’s more, studies have shown that pathogenic microbes multiply more quickly and act more virulently in the presence of EMFs and that healthy, beneficial bacteria that the body needs to fight disease multiply more slowly. If you have Lyme disease this is important to understand as it means that your recovery can become compromised if you are living in a high-EMF environment.
Thomas Rau, MD of the renowned Swiss Paracelsus Clinic stated in an interview on ElectromagneticHealth.org: “Cultures of normal human endogenous bacterial cultures grow much less when exposed to EMR. They grow less when they are around a mobile phone, a tower or cordless phone. Growing less good bacteria in your body means you will have an overgrowth of bad bacteria that can result in things like Lyme disease. Especially from the east coast of the USA, we have many patients with Lyme.”
And in my just-released book, New Paradigms in Lyme Disease Treatment, renowned Lyme-literate doctor Dietrich Klinghardt, MD contends that the same happens with mold. He says, “A Swiss mold researcher once conducted some simple experiments to measure the virulence and presence of mold and mold toxins in high EMF environments. He exposed molds to a Wi-Fi router and found that the production of mycotoxins was dramatically increased by the energetic frequencies. The virulence of the mold toxins also increased 600-fold.”
EMFs are also immunosuppressive. In New Paradigms in Lyme Disease Treatment, Dr. Klinghardt states, “The negative effects that EMFs have upon the body are cumulative and twofold. First, EMFs—particularly the microwave radiation from cell phones and cell phone towers—are highly immunosuppressive. Secondly, (and as I just mentioned) electromagnetic pollution drives the growth of microbes within the body…”
Many studies that show the detrimental effects of EMFs upon the body can be found here. Electromagnetic pollution has been found to cause or exacerbate a multitude of disorders, including cancer, autism, chronic fatigue, and insomnia—among others. Dr. Klinghardt shared with me in his interview for my book that he has even seen people relapse from conditions such as Lyme and Parkinson’s just as a result of having smart meters installed onto their homes!
I don’t mean to sound alarmist, but I find that EMF remediation is one of those things that people don’t tend to take as seriously in their recovery process; perhaps because EMFs are invisible and their effects upon the body are not always obvious. Yet I believe that EMFs are one of the foremost causes of disease today (especially cancer), and one of the factors that can hinder recovery from Lyme and other chronic illnesses.
The good news is, there are things that you can do to lower the amount of EMFs that you are exposed to in your home environment. It is especially important to create a sleep sanctuary and ensure that the EMFs in your bedroom are low, as nighttime (or whenever you sleep) is when the body regenerates itself.
Many of you who are reading this will already know about the obvious things to do to lower EMFs in your bedroom. These include:
· Unplugging your Wi-Fi and all appliances
· Turning off your circuit breakers (if possible)
· Turning off your cell phone and unplugging or getting rid of any cordless phones. (Many cordless phones emit more EMFs than cell phones).
· Using an EMF-blocking sleep canopy over your bed to create a Faraday cage, which will block out EMFs from radio frequencies that come from sources such as cell phone towers and Wi-Fi.
As a side note, the shielding material that is used to create EMF canopies varies in its effectiveness, depending on the type of material used. Given that we are continually being exposed to higher frequencies and concentrations of EMFs, I would recommend purchasing a shielding material with a high level of protection; up to 60 db or 10 Ghz. (LessEMF.com sells one with this level of shielding). They are pricey, but a one-time investment and well worth it.
· Sleeping with a grounding sheet, which connects your body to the earth and helps to normalize its energy field. For more information, see: www.Earthing.net.
Electromagnetic remediation can be a bit complex, because there are different types of electromagnetic pollution, each affecting the body in a different way, and each requiring its own solution. And the shielding needs to be used in the proper way or it can make things worse.
For instance, bed canopies will filter out RF frequencies from microwave towers and cell phones, but not magnetic fields from wall wiring, power lines and other sources. So you’ll want to find a solution for both the RF frequencies and magnetic fields, if you find that you are being exposed to both. Online stores such as LessEMF.com sell shielding material and other solutions for every type of EMF exposure, and can often provide good guidance about what you’ll need (Note: I am not affiliated with LessEMF.com nor do I receive any kind of compensation from them for mentioning their products).
But the first thing you’ll want to do is purchase a high quality EMF meter that measures magnetic fields, as well as high and low RF and electrical fields. The least expensive, best all-inclusive option that I have found is the Tri-Mode High + Low Frequency Meter. This one may not be as sensitive as some of the more expensive models but according to the folks at LessEMF.com, it will give you a pretty good idea about the fields that you are being exposed to, and it is very reasonably priced at just under $200.
Guidance and being able to measure the fields is important as electromagnetic pollution can come from a variety of sources from inside and outside the home (many of which I mentioned earlier in this article, although this list isn’t all inclusive). When determining what type of meter and shielding you need, I encourage you to ask lots of questions. Many companies that sell EMF shielding products can usually provide helpful information about what you’ll need as can Building Biologists.
I have wasted a lot of time, money and energy on poor shielding products and often ended up living in the wrong places because I did not understand EMF pollution well, so I encourage you to take the time to really learn about it. It can be a bit overwhelming at first, but the rewards that you’ll reap as a result of understanding and doing EMF remediation; better sleep, less fatigue, and a faster recovery—among others, are well worth it.