EMF Blog Archive — 2016
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In search of a Mobile Phone App To Limit Radiation Exposure and Increase Battery Life — August 5, 2016
So much for saying EMF is only as carcinogenic as coffee... the IARC recently removed coffee from its Group 2B carcinogen list. — July 18, 2016
In search of a Mobile Phone App To Limit Radiation Exposure and Increase Battery Life — August 5, 2016
It's not easy to function in today's society without using wireless internet at all. In certain circles, you need to use a chat application, like Skype, Whatsapp, Line, Wechat, or Kakaotalk, to keep up with group activities. People may give up trying to reach you if you do not. What's worse, some chat applications are not designed for wired use on the computer, but are only available wirelessly on smart phones or tablets.
Fortunately, there are some ways to reduce this inconvenience without drastically increasing your radiation. For example, one option is to turn on Wi-Fi and/or autosync every now and then for half a minute or so to check a given chat application or sync other applications, and then turn it off shortly thereafter, once you've retrieved your messages. If it takes a while for you to think of a response, you can write a couple of messages offline and then turn on Wi-Fi briefly again when you're ready to send it. For extra precaution, you can also keep a distance from the device while it's downloading or uploading messages. In this way, you can have standby-like functionality for Wi-Fi on your device when you are not actively using it. After all, most cell phones' regular calling and texting features have standby modes, which limits the bulk of exposure to the actual phone call itself. In contrast, Wi-Fi and Mobile Data, under certain configurations can expose you to constant radiation. There may be APPs constantly performing background operations that transmit wirelessly non-stop, even when you are not using them.
Manually enabling and disabling Wi-Fi and auto-sync every now and then may be possible, but after a while, it might get tedious, so it would be nice to automate these brief intervals of wireless exposure. Searching the google play store for an APP to limit needless cell phone radiation exposure and save battery life, I found a scheduling tool (see image at left) that lets you schedule turning on/off Wi-Fi, Auto-Sync, etc., and that asks for minimal permissions. (The catch is that you have to live with an ad banner at the bottom.) You can use the APP to turn off auto-sync and wifi at night, or to specify exactly when to turn on and turn off Wi-Fi.
There are some feature requests for enhancing this and similar mobile phone applications:
- The ideal APP would allow you to turn on Airplane mode at night, and turn on/off Mobile Data at intervals, in addition to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Auto-Sync. (I've observed one smartphone that had very strong, constant radiation when Mobile Data was turned on, but used relatively weak radiation by comparison for Wi-Fi and cell phone calls.) Unfortunately, according to this APP, newer versions of Android OS may disallow APPs to modify Airplane mode and Mobile Data settings. Therefore, these settings still need to be changed manually.
- The APP above allows you to separately specify when to enable and disable Wi-Fi and auto-sync. Unfortunately, if you want to do this every 20 minutes, you'd have to make 3x4=12 on/off configurations per hour (3 per hour, one each for Wifi on, Wifi off, Autosync on and Autosync off), and that gets tedious. Ideally, each scheduling item would include start time, end time, task(s), an interval within that period at which to turn on/off Wi-Fi, and then the duration of that brief Wi-Fi exposure. For example, at times where frequent communication is nonessential, the interval could be once an hour (in this case, emergency contact would have to be by phone call rather than by Wi-Fi), but at times where instant communication is required, the interval could be every 5 min.
If you are a mobile phone APP developer, please consider making these or similar enhancements. You may save someone's life by reducing their chronic wireless exposure.
So much for saying EMF is only as carcinogenic as coffee... the IARC recently removed coffee from its Group 2B carcinogen list. — July 18, 2016
Although wireless radiation and AC magnetic fields are classified as a Group 2B possible carcinogen, in the same category as lead, DDT, and chloroform, many would like to assure us that this classification is no cause for concern. After all, they say that coffee is also a Group 2B carcinogen, and few people think twice about drinking coffee. Well, on June 15, 2016, in a rare reversal 25 years later, the IARC issued a press release downgrading the classification of coffee from Group 2B to Group 3. The press release did, however, upgrade the risk of drinking very hot beverages (i.e., exceeding 149 degrees Fahrenheit) to a Group 2A probable carcinogen. In any case, one can no longer say cell phones are "only" as carcinogenic as coffee.
That said, as the evidence continues to accumulate that wireless radiation is dangerous, there are forces pushing for wireless radiation to be classified as a Group 2A probable carcinogen. News broke out in 2016 that a $25 Million NIH Cell Phone Radiofrequency Radiation study found increased brain and heart tumors in rats after only 2 years of exposure at nonthermal levels. Given that latency times for some well-known carcinogens can take decades, how can we ignore EMF exposures that can increase the risk of cancer in only 2 years? Of course, not everyone is exposed to 9 hours a day of the level of radiation in the study, but if people are not prudent about where they place their Wi-Fi routers, DECT phones, or how they configure their smartphones, they could unwittingly receive 24 hours a day of radiation, without knowing it.
Trading Butter for Margarine?
In response to this, there are still many who would probably roll their eyes and say that the authorities constantly go back and forth about their health claims, so why bother to pay attention to warnings about foods or products that could later turn out to be dubious, and prevent us from the benefits of that product? After all, they say there was a time when butter was villified and margarine was promoted as a healthier substitute. Later, we learned that they were wrong, and that margarine could actually be worse than butter... This pattern doesn't just apply to the safety of coffee and butter/margarine, but also to many other foods or products as well like eggs, vitamins, and so forth. For example, with regards to vitamins, some concluded that vitamins were of no use, but the studies they based their claims on may have used inferior, artifical vitamin forms loaded with fillers that block absorption, or they may have studied one vitamin in isolation, ignoring the synergistic effect of natural vitamins working together. (Learn more about vitamins from How to Prevent and Treat Cancer with Natural Medicine.).
Perhaps we should take a different approach to controversies. Controversy doesn't have to mean we just throw up our hands and ignore both sides, because they are going to go back and forth on the verdict from year to year anyway. It means that educators have to put in more work to provide an ever more comprehensive analysis of the varied aspects of the situation, to help others who have little time for research to come to an informed conclusion more quickly. When the picture is more comprehensive, and all relevant factors are considered, then we can better assess what the studies really mean for us, personally. For example, in the case of margarine, we can learn from David Servan-Schreiber's Anticancer book that the sunflower oil used to make margarine may be its Achilles' heel, since sunflower oil has an extremely high omega-6:omega-3 ratio that could contribute to inflammatory disorders. The omega-6 factor was probably overlooked. In general, we also need to consider what potential conflicts of interests may be involved in those performing the research studies, if any.
When in doubt, at least in the case of EMF's, we can still take precautions that allow us to benefit from the technology while minimizing our risks. For example, we may not need to toss our cell phones and Wi-Fi completely, but we would be wise to take some precautions, like reducing our length of exposure, locating Wi-Fi routers away from commonly used areas, and choosing safer alternatives when available. However, when we choose alternatives, we need to make sure they are indeed safer, or we may just be trading butter for margarine. For example, that wired router you thought was safe, may actually be contaminated by pulsed intermediate frequencies, depending upon what router you use... That's the reason why this website seeks to educate readers about the many different types of EMF.
What's the Verdict for Coffee?
So, going back to coffee, what's the takeaway on coffee? Coffee contains antioxidants, and studies actually show that coffee may actually reduce the risk of certain types of cancer. Harvard resesarchers found that coffee can reduce the risk of a type of prostate cancer. Other cited benefits include reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and possibly even anti-Parkinson's effects. See Coffee: A disease-by-disease report card for more information on the pros and cons of coffee. The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) now lists coffee as a cancer-fighting food.
Why might coffee be thought of as a dangerous item? Well, there could be a number of factors, including how coffee is grown, produced, and prepared.
- Risk Factors in Planting of Coffee: Pesticides in the soil may be absorbed by the coffee plant.
- Risk Factors in Production of Coffee: The chemical process of decaffeination may be harmful. Additionally, there are supposedly some toxic byproducts of roasting coffee (although roasting, on the other hand, may also help neutralize a portion of the pesticides).
- Risk Factors in Preparation of Coffee: Scalding hot coffee could be a cancer risk factor, as noted by the IARC. Heating water in plastic coffee makers could result in leaching of chemicals from the plastic into the water. Filtering coffee could remove beneficial compounds like cafestol and kahweol that can provide liver benefits. Additionally, the use of sugar, fake sugar, and fake creamer and the quality of the water used for making coffee could also be risk factors.
- Other Risk Factors in Coffee: Caffeine content and acidity are also risk factors of coffee to note [edit: as well as possible bladder carcinogens polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, nitrosamines and heterocyclic amines]
To sum it up, coffee can be good or bad for you, depending upon how it is planted, produced, and prepared. In moderation, shade-grown, pesticide-free coffee without the added sugar and cream, AND cooled a little so that it is not scalding hot, may actually have benefits to your health...
What's the Verdict for EMF's?
In contrast to coffee, the evidence of harm from EMF exposures is mounting, and it is not limited to just a few anecdotes here and there. Research studies about its harmful effects have been verified, including DNA damage, sperm damage, and so forth. For a more detailed list of recent studies, see Powerwatch's Peer-reviewed scientific studies on EMF related subjects. Many government health organizations are taking note, and calling for precautions. Although some studies made little of the risks, it must be noted that such studies may not have been comprehensive enough. For example, a research study assessing the risk of cell phones may not have factored in DECT cordless phone use, which is also a source of RadioFrequency Radiation. Such a study will result in underestimating the risk of RadioFrequency Radiation from cell phones. Precautions should be taken to make the technology safer, and to accommodate those who are sensitive to EMF's.