In the last 20 years, cell phones have dramatically changed the way people communicate. Now you can stay in contact with your friends, family and colleagues 24/7, from virtually anywhere in the world. But unfortunately this convenience comes at a heavy cost, and one that could potentially end your life prematurely.Take a look at few of these alarming statistics : it took 20 years for the first 1 billion cell phones to be sold — a milestone reached in 2004. The next billion took just 18 months. The third billion was sold even faster — just nine months, and we will reach the fourth billion by the end of this year.
Why cell phones are unsafe?
Cell phones emit signals via radio waves, which are comprised of radio frequency (RF) energy, a form of electromagnetic radiation
The controversy lies over whether or not cell phones emit enough radiation to cause adverse health effects. The concern is that cell phones are often placed close to or against the head during use, which puts the radiation in direct contact with the tissue in the head or they wear it on their hip causing potential danger to the kidneys and liver.The added concern with non-ionizing radiation, the type of radiation associated with cell phones, is that it could have long-term effects. Although it may not immediately cause damage to tissue, scientists are still unsure about whether prolonged exposure could create problems. This is an especially sensitive issue today, because more people are using cell phones than ever before.
[ The rate at which radiation is absorbed by the human body is measured by the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR), and its maximum levels for modern handsets have been set by governmental regulating agencies in many countries. In the USA, the FCC has set a SAR limit of 1.6 W/kg, averaged over a volume of 1 gram of tissue, for the head. In Europe, the limit is 2 W/kg, averaged over a volume of 10 grams of tissue.Many scientists argue that the radio wave has been found to create damage NOT related to thermal heat damage, which the industry has long argued is the only possible cause of biological harm. Therefore, simply lowering the SAR rating on cell phones — which determines how much radiation your body absorbs — or making sure your phone is within legal SAR limits, will not guarantee safety by any means.
Scientists on the other hand claim that the biological danger from Wi-Fi routers, cell phones and land-based portable phones comes from two sources:
- The modulated signals that are carried ON the carrier microwave, and
- The carrier wave itself
The modulated information-carrying radio waves resonate in biological frequencies of a few to a few hundred cycles per second, and can stimulate your vibrational cellular receptors, causing a whole cascade of pathological consequences that can culminate in fatigue, anxiety and ultimately cancers.
Cells interpret even a minute amount of cell phone radiation as a threat, and shut down. This is a response intended to protect them, but when you talk on a cell phone, it lasts for far longer than your body can handle. A lot of the damage is caused by the disruption micro tubular connections that allow biophotons to communicate between cells, which decreases intracellular communication. Increased deposits of heavy metals also begin to accumulate in your cells, which increases intracellular production of free radicals, and can radically decrease cellular production of energy, thus making you incredibly fatigued.
Once your body’s communication system is damaged, it is very easy to develop all sorts of pathologies related to disrupted intracellular antioxidant systems and heavy metal toxicities.
Some substantial evidences that support potential health hazards associated with cell phone use.
Ever growing scientific research corroborates the suspicion that information-carrying radio waves transmitted by cell phones and other wireless device can cause:
Recent studies have found that cell phone users are 240 percent more prone to brain tumors.Children are more at risk compared to adults because of their thinner skull bones. Number of brain tumors is estimated to increase to 500,000 per YEAR in 2010 — and will double to 1 million every year by 2015 if the causes are not addressed.
Scientists have found that users who spend more than an hour a day talking on a mobile phone have a close to one-third higher risk of developing a rare form of brain tumor. Most frequently, the cancers were found on the side of the head that the user held the phone up to. In the current study, researchers looked at the medical records of 1,600 patients with tumors who had used mobile phones for up to 10 years before diagnosis. They found that the more mobile phones were used, and the more years they were used, the higher the risk of brain tumors.- Further, spending more than an hour on a mobile phone per day increased the risk of acoustic neuroma, a type of tumor, by some 30 percent. This type of tumor, usually curable by surgery, can occur in a nerve in the brain and lead to deafness in one ear.Incidences of this type of cancer, though rare, have increased from one tumor per 100,000 people in 1980 to one per 80,000 today.
Harm blood cells and cause cellular changes
A study has shown that radiation from mobile phones may cause a substantial increase in the forces that living cells exert on each other. This could provide clues on whether radiation from mobile phones is linked to cancer and other health problems.
Research has shown that water molecules have poles of positive and negative electric charges referred to as van der Waals forces, which are known to produce attractive forces between cells. In a study using a very simplified mathematical model of two red blood cells, the effect of electromagnetic fields with different frequencies of radiation was calculated. This study determined that the water molecules within the cells tried to reposition their negative and positive poles by altering the field created by the radiation.The results of this study didn’t prove negative effects from mobile phone radiation, however if the effect could be proven based on experimentation, it could provide the basis of an explanation for tissue damage.
Future studies will be conducted to check the dielectric properties of various types of biological tissue during exposure to radiation across the range of frequencies normally used by mobile phones.
According to a four-year research project focused on studying the effect of radiation on human and animal cells, researchers found that the radio waves emitted from a cellular phone may harm body cells and damage DNA . The study indicated that cells exposed to electromagnetic fields, similar to those of mobile phones, showed a significant increase in single and double-strand DNA breaks.This damage could be permanent, not to mention that remaining damage could set the stage for future degeneration of cells.
Another example is the 2003 study published in Environmental Health Perspectives (the journal of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences). They found that rats exhibited serious neuronal brain damage following exposure to radiation from a cell phone, at levels comparable to what you would experience during normal use.The nerve cell damage was observed in several places within the rats’ brains, including the cortex, hippocampus and basal ganglia.
The authors concluded, that this kind of neuronal damage may not have immediate, demonstrable consequences but in the long run, it may result in reduced brain reserve capacity that might be unveiled by other later neuronal disease or even the wear and tear of aging.
Accelerate and contribute to the onset of autism
The cause of autism is unknown, although theories include such potential causes as:
- Genetic predisposition
- Inability to clear heavy metals
- Increased vulnerability to oxidative stress
- Environmental exposures including mercury preservatives in vaccines
- Trans-generational accumulation of toxic heavy metals
Now a groundbreaking new theory published in the Journal of the Australasian College of Nutritional & Environmental Medicine suggests EMR from cell phones could be an accelerating factor in autism.The study, which involved over five years of research on children with autism and other membrane sensitivity disorders, found that EMR negatively affects cell membranes, and allows heavy metal toxins, which are associated with autism, to build up in your body. EMR, the researchers say, could impact autism by facilitating early onset of symptoms or by trapping heavy metals inside of nerve cells, which could accelerate the onset of symptoms of heavy metal toxicity and hinder therapeutic clearance of the toxins .
Meanwhile, the researchers pointed out that autism rates have increased concurrently along with the proliferation of cell phones and wireless use.
Radiation from mobile phone handsets damages areas of the brain associated with learning, memory and movement and may trigger Alzheimer’s disease. The study, which was carried out on rats, adds to the long-time controversy over mobile phone safety. Rats aged between 12 and 26 weeks, whose brains are thought to be in the same developmental stage as teenagers, were exposed to two hours of radiation equal to that emitted by mobile phones. Upon examination 50 days later, researchers found an abundance of dead brain cells in rats that had been exposed to medium and high levels of radiation.A rat’s brain is similar to a human brain–they have the same blood-brain barrier and neurons–leading researchers to suggest that similar effects would also occur in humans. They also hypothesized that in people whose neurons are prone to Alzheimer’s disease, radiation from mobile phones may trigger the disease earlier in life. However, evidence of this has not yet been found. The results indicate that long-term mobile phone use may have negative health consequences, however repeated studies are needed to verify these findings
A recent scientific study identified a link between microwave radiation of the kind emitted by cellular phones and two different kinds of damage to the eye. At least one type of damage apparently never heals.When the eye is exposed for a prolonged time to microwave radiation, there is large-scale damage to the optical quality of the lens. But there seemed to be a maximum level to this kind of damage, and when the exposure stops, the damage begins to heal.However, at the same time, a different kind of damage occurs at the microscopic level. Tiny “bubbles” appear on the surface of the lens. This kind of damage reaches no maximum level, but instead accumulates progressively, and it did not heal even after the experiment stopped. It was theorized that the bubbles were caused by friction between cells that were exposed to the radiation
Cause sleep disruptions, fatigue and headaches
A study suggests that using a cell phone before going to bed could cause insomnia, headaches and confusion. It can also cut your amount of deep sleep, interfering with your body‘s ability to refresh itself. 35 men and 36 women were exposed either to radiation equivalent to that received when using a cell phone, or given “sham” exposure as an experimental control. The ones who were actually exposed to radiation took longer to enter the deeper stages of sleep, and spent less time in the deepest one. Researcher Professor Bengt Arnetz said that, “The study strongly suggests that mobile phone use is associated with specific changes in the areas of the brain responsible for activating and coordinating the stress system.” The radiation may also disrupt production of the hormone melatonin, which controls your body‘s internal rhythms.
Apart from these major health hazards cell phone radiations are also found to be associated with:
- eye cancer
- salivary gland tumors
- testicular cancer
- non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- leukemia.
Ways to Protect Yourself
There are some simple steps that cell phone users can take to reduce any remaining risk:
- Use a headset or speakerphone mode. That moves the phone (and it’s antenna) away from your head.
- Consider reserving the use of mobile phones for shorter conversations or when a conventional phone is not available.
- The effects of cellular damage are greatest on growing, developing organisms (i.e., the young), so limit children’s use of cell phones!
- In a car, use an external antenna mounted outside the vehicle to move the source of the radiation farther from you!
- 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.