January 13, 2012
Click here for the full written transcript of this podcast episode.
Are cell phones healthy?
In this interview about how cell phone companies gamble with your brain, I interview Dr. Devra Davis, author of the book “Disconnect: The Truth About Cell Phone Radiation, What the Industry Has Done to Hide It, and How to Protect Your Family”.
What you'll hear may upset you, and if you get the Disconnect book, the details that you read will absolutely shock you.
But there is something that you can do about cell phone radiation.
Below, you will find an excellent infographic from the Environmental Health Trust organization: I recommend you study it and print it.
I am personally now only using the speaker phone function on my phone, keeping it in airplane mode whenever I am not needing the phone function, and using an airtube headset to minimize cell phone radiation exposure.
Do you have questions? Comments?
Leave them below (but I would recommend you hold back any criticism of these cell phone concerns until after you've taken a look at the book – it took me 5 days to read, and it was well worth my time).
Related topic: What You Can Do About Your Computer Sabotaging Your Health.
Hey Ben
Is the wire that goes from the phone audio jack to the mic need to be “shielded”?
It seems counter intuitive if the brain is protected but the rest of the body that comes into contact with wires is not?
This is really great article and together with the new one you posted today on lebrun james and mouth cancer I don't know how people can keep on neglecting this problem. They spend money on the best and most pretty phone covers but not a dime on protecting themselves from cell phone radiation, just a few weeks ago I purchased a little card called matrix2 its so thin it fits between any cell phone cover without "pushing"out the phone – it cost me 90 bucks but its a one time investment i gladly paid. heres a link to a few clips on how they actually tested the matrix and how it works – I think its legit but if you have other infos please do share thanks a lot Val
Everything around us that are gadgets are deemed unhealthy with their signals and radiation. I recommend everything in moderation. For one thing, the iPad maybe too addicting to children and could affect their social interactions.
Thought I'd share a link that shows Cell phone radiation levels: http://reviews.cnet.com/2719-6602_7-291-2.html
What about radiation from wifi or bluetooth?
she talks about it in the book. A less powerful signal, so better than headset next to ear, but not as good, say, an airtube headset.
Nice interview, Ben. Do you have any specific recommendations for a wired headset?
Yes, early in the post I have a link to the Envi headset…
Ben,
please, my friend. Any book that raises fear about EMF, Carbs, or aliens will sound convincing. They will all quote what sound like reliable sources and some will even quote research published in the medical literature. How likely do you think it is that their is an unknown danger from EMF that is somehow unknown to scientists? Even for those rare book authors who quote published research, it is incredibly easy to cherry pick the data to come to a desired conclusion (you of all people know this Ben). If the evidence is there, then those scientists discovering the evidence would be promoting their results – in the form of publications in the scientific literature so as to further their careers and protect the public. You of all people Ben know that you can't even trust what gets published in the popular science press (a few sources such as NYT Science Section aside). Results from studies are misquoted to make for a more sensational hedline. I'm sorry, but I'm just not buying it yet, regardless of what the book says. Once the NSF or NIH start talking about it, I'll get excited.
Do you have the same attitude about pharmaceutical drugs, Ted?
If my cellphone would be the only thing exposing my body to EMF radiation, I probably wouldn't be so worried. But there are so many other devices inside my own home (that I more or less have control over) and outside my home, that are exposing me to EMF radiation whether I like it or not. I'm trying to reduce use of cellphone in total, I've switched from wireless to corded internet, when I sleep I don't keep my cellphone on a hand reach like I used to…I also used to carry cellphone in my pockets. And those were old cellphones, first ones I got, from what I read they were way more harmful than today's cellphones. Now I carry it in my bag, but I also got myself a EMF protection product (http://personalbioprotector.com/) and that should also help in reducing the EMF radiation I'm exposed to on everyday basis.
IMHO, we've switched to global use of cellphones and other EMF emitting devices too fast and to blindly, companies took over in a split of a second and now it's everywhere, in my home in your home…without even understanding what it does to our bodies and minds. But just like everything else, it will take a lots of dead people (just like it took few decades for tobacco) to influence a popular opinion and strengthen the science in order to penetrate the barriers big money has around it at this point.
I listened to this episode and checked out her website and links. I also checked the info on my cell phone documentation. It recommends keeping the phone 2 cm away from the body and not to use belt clips etc. If it's on my night table, it's more than 2 cm away, but it seems Devra is suggesting that we keep it further away. I'm wondering about my purse? How do you get it from place to place then?
Also – if it's the microwaves that are the problem, why does she recommend turning off wifi if you let a child play with it? Thanks.:)
I put my cell phone in my bag and keep it there. The bag is usually about 8-12 inches from my body. If you turn it into airplane mode when you let your kids play with it, it will disable the pulsing microwave cell signal.
What about IPad's or ITouch's that only use Wi-Fi? Any concern there?
not if a Wi-Fi signal…but that's assuming you've disabled any cellular function…
The lack of insurance cover makes me think twice. Those actuaries are very serious (and careful) about their work
I still think you should read the book, John. I was just as skeptical as you before I did.
Just read the book's reviews on Amazon. Obviously this all sounds like FUD (fear, uncertainty, & doubt). Then I see that they're comparing cell phone radiation to that used in the medical field, and that was the icing on the cake for me. The wife and I, as well as our 11 year old, carry our phones everywhere we go (obviously the kid's phone is off during school hours). Usually in our pocket, occasionally in a belt clip (or in my wife's case, her purse). We won't be changing our habits anytime soon. We did stop using the phones as an alarm a while back, and nowthe overnight charge is in another room, although I'm still not convinced there's any legitimate evidence to support that decision. It's already been proven that the FAA's ban on electronics is baseless, and that even if every person on board the plane was talking on their phones during takeoff and landing there would be no danger of interference with the planes electronics. A not insignificant number of people walk around all day as if their cell phone were attached to their ear, with no ill effects. At this point there's no smoking gun, only hearsay and speculation about the dangers, despite an overwhelming absense of evidence.
Interesting podcast. I was listening to it while training with my Garmin heart rate monitor, which is right on my skin. Any danger using HRM?
That really isn't as strong a pulsating microwave frequency close to your head, like the phone. That's what I'd be most concerned about.