The Harmful Effects of Electromagnetic Fields
Explained
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/09/03/electromagnetic-fields-harmful-effects.aspx
Story
at-a-glance
- Exposure to microwave EMFs, like
cellphones, causes massive mitochondrial dysfunction due to damage done by
free radicals from peroxynitrite that also cause single and double
stranded breaks in your DNA
- Excessive free radicals triggered
by low-frequency microwave exposure from cellphones and Wi-Fi networks
have been linked to chronic diseases such as cardiac arrhythmias, anxiety,
depression, autism, Alzheimer’s and infertility
- Excessive calcium signaling
produced by EMF exposures also has important roles in producing pathophysiological
effects of EMFs including each of the effects listed above
- Strategies that may help reduce
the harmful effects of EMFs include optimizing your magnesium level,
certain Nrf2-boosting foods, exercise, calorie restriction and strategies
that boost nitric oxide signaling (which acts, in turn, by raising Nrf2)
By Dr. Mercola
I've often noted that
electromagnetic fields (EMFs) are a pernicious,
hidden health risk. But exactly how does this kind of microwave radiation
damage your health? Martin Pall, Ph.D., has identified and published research
describing the likely molecular mechanisms of how EMFs from cellphones and wireless technologies damage
plants, animals and humans.1,2 ,3,4
Pall has a bachelor's
in physics from Johns Hopkins and a Ph.D. in biochemistry and genetics from
Caltech, and is uniquely qualified for this type of research. For the past 18
years, he's been scouring the medical literature, integrating and drawing
parallels between work done by others to answer this pressing question. Pall
explains:
"There is a huge
amount of information out here that nobody has the time to integrate, digest
and make connections [between]. That's what I've been doing … I was interested
in EMFs before I could understand how they worked. Then I stumbled onto two
papers that told me, 'Well, this looks like the way they work,' and then I dug
out more and more papers …
What the [initial
two] studies showed was that you could block or greatly lower the effects [of
EMF] by using calcium channel blockers … That was the key observation …
Now [I have found] 26
[papers] … They all show that EMFs work by activating what are called
voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs). These are channels in the outer
membrane of the cell, the plasma membrane that surrounds all our cells. When
they're activated, they open up and allow calcium to flow into the cell. It's
the excess calcium in the cell which is responsible for most if not all of the
[biological effects]."
EMFs
and Intracellular Calcium
When you expose cells
to EMFs, there's increased intercellular calcium. You also get increases in
calcium signaling, which is important as well, in terms of explaining the
damage EMFs cause. For the past 25 years, the industry has claimed that
non-ionizing radiation is harmless and that the only radiation worth worrying
about is ionizing radiation. Pall's research unequivocally proves that this assumption
is false.
"It's been very
clear, going back all the way to 1971 and even before that, that this wasn't
true. But we didn't know what the mechanism was. Now, we do. I think it's very
important, because the industry's been trying to hoodwink everybody for
decades. Now we know how it works. One of the other things that's very
important about this is that there is a wide variety of different health
impacts that have been reported. Now we can explain how [these problems
arise]."
How
EMFs Damage Your Health
When your VGCCs are
exposed to EMFs, they open up, allowing abnormally large
volumes of calcium ions into the cells — about 1 million ions per second per
channel. Each VGCC has a voltage sensor, a structure that detects electrical
changes across the plasma membrane and opens the channel. EMFs work through the
voltage sensor to activate the channel and radically increase intracellular
levels into dangerous ranges.
"Because of the
structure of the voltage sensor and its location in the plasma membrane, one
can predict from basic physics that it's extraordinarily sensitive to the
electrical forces from EMFs," Pall notes. On average, these forces are
approximately 7.2 million times stronger on the voltage sensor than they are on
singly charged electrical groups in the aqueous (watery) part of the cell. What
this means is that current safety standards are off by a factor of about 7
million.
That's how these very
weak EMFs, which industry claims can't possibly cause you any harm, are
actually taking you out prematurely. They work by activating VGCCs. This turns
out to be absolutely critical, because when there's excess calcium in the cell,
a number of things happen. Not only do you get excess calcium signaling, you
also get increased nitric oxide (NO). While NO has many beneficial health
effects, massively excessive NO reacts with superoxide.
Superoxide levels
also rise in response to increased intercellular calcium. Together, they form
peroxynitrite, which is an extremely potent oxidant stressor. While not a free
radical, peroxynitrites break down to form reactive free radicals, both
reactive nitrogen species and reactive oxygen species (ROS) including hydroxyl
free radicals.
"You get both,
because you get hydroxyl radicals and carbonate radicals and NO2
radicals," Pall explains. All three do damage. According to Pall, most of
the damage is likely done by excessive free radicals, but some damage is caused
directly by the peroxynitrites. The end result is rather massive harm, as
excessive oxidative stress and nitrosative stress are
involved in nearly all chronic disease. Much of the pathophysiology also has to
do with the excessive calcium signaling, independently of peroxynitrite.
NO
Signaling Pathway Versus Peroxynitrite Pathway
It's important to
realize that not all oxidative stress is harmful. There's a certain baseline of
free radicals that's biologically useful and necessary. NO, for example, is a
free radical, yet it has many very beneficial effects. The problem is excessive
oxidative stress. Interestingly, Pall notes that the NO signaling pathway and
the peroxynitrite pathways inhibit each other, which I never previously knew.
Why
You Cannot Depend on Industry Claims
Many are unaware that
the telecommunications industry is perhaps more well-funded than the
pharmaceutical industry, and just as powerful politically. Their lobbyists are
very effective in disseminating and protecting the industry's version of the
truth. Needless to say, the industry will also actively discredit research that
demonstrates harm and/or defund research projects that start to reveal
problems.
In fact, the current
head of the Federal Communications Commission was formerly the chief lobbyist
for the telecommunications industry — one of the worst cases of the disgusting
revolving door between industry and government and the fox guarding the hen
house that I have seen in sometime.
"I know how
they've attacked various people," Pall
says. "In the U.S. … the funding for the EMF research [by the
Environmental Protection Agency] was cut off starting in 1986 … The U.S. Office
of Naval Research had been funding a fair amount of research in this area [in
the '70s]. They [also] … stopped funding new grants in 1986 … And then
the National Institutes of Health (NIH) a few years later followed the same
path …
[I]t's actually
shocking to say there are only two countries in the world that are doing a lot
of research in this, well beyond their normal scope … Turkey and Iran … they're
doing quite a bit of good research in both of those countries on EMFs … What
I've been doing is I've been doing it on my own. I've been contributing my time
to it and my efforts and, at least to a small extent, some money to it. But it
doesn't cost that much, so I can do it.
So, we have the fact
that the money was cut off. One strongly suspects the industry had a role on
that. The industry, with the 1996 Telecommunications Act, gave the regulation
to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which has done nothing in terms
of protecting the public.
In addition, they
prevented the public from protecting their health with regard to their
exposures from the cellphone towers. We cannot sue to prevent cellphone towers
from being put near our workplace or homes. Basically, what the Congress did
was to say our health makes no difference … So, we're in extremely deep
trouble," Pall says.
Neuropsychiatric
Effects of EMF Exposure
And this brings us to
the crux of the problem, namely the physical locations where VGCCs are the
densest, and the subsequent diseases you can expect from chronic excessive
exposure to EMFs. The highest density of VGCCs are found in your nervous system
and, indeed, studies dating back to the 1950s and '60s show the nervous system
is the organ that is most sensitive to EMFs.
Some of these studies
show massive changes in the structure of neurons, including cell death and
synaptic dysfunction. When the VGCCs are activated in the brain they release
neurotransmitters and neuroendocrine hormones. Hence, consequences of chronic
EMF exposure to the brain include the following, which Pall details in a 2016
paper:5
In animals exposed to
EMFs, there are massive, cumulative effects in the brain. Genetic polymorphism
studies also show that elevated VGCC activity in certain parts of the brain
produces a variety of neuropsychiatric effects.
"I reviewed a
[large number] of studies on various kinds of EMF exposures, each of them
showing neuropsychiatric effects. What you find is that these effects have been
repeated many times in these epidemiological studies. It's the same thing that
everybody's complaining about, 'I'm tired all the time,' 'I can't sleep,' 'I
can't concentrate,' 'I'm depressed,' 'I'm anxious all the time,' 'My memory
doesn't work well anymore.' All the things everybody's complaining about.
We know all those
things are caused by EMF exposures. There's no doubt about that. Because we
know their effects on the brain, we know that the VGCCs' excessive activity can
produce various neuropsychiatric problems.
Here we've got all of
these epidemiological data that confirms this is happening in humans who live
near cellphone towers, who were exposed to Wi-Fi, who were exposed to
broadcasting radiation, who use cellphones, tablets and so on. That's very
important. I think we should care about this."
Cardiac
Effects
Your heart is also
very sensitive to EMFs, particularly the pacemaker cells of your heart, as they
have the highest density of VGCCs. As a consequence of this, we find that EMFs
tend to trigger the following conditions. If you have any of these conditions
(or any of the ones discussed above and below), you need to know that EMF
exposure is a major contributing factor and take immediate and aggressive steps
to remediate your exposure.
- Cardiac arrhythmias (associated
with sudden cardiac death)
- Atrial fibrillation / atrial
flutter
- Premature atrial contractions
(PACs) and premature ventricular contractions (PVCs), also known as heart
palpitations
- Tachycardia (fast heartbeat) and
brachycardia (slow heartbeat)
Reproductive
Effects
A third area with densely
populated VGCCs is the reproductive system, particularly the male testes. A
consequence here is impaired or reduced fertility. There is evidence showing
EMFs can cause both male and female infertility, but male infertility has been
more studied. Pall describes a classic reproduction experiment published 19
years ago by Ioannis Magras and Thomas Xenos in Greece:
"They took young
pairs of mice, one male and female. They put them in a little cage on the
ground outside in an antenna park … The [radiation] levels at the ground were
well within our current safety guidelines … They put them in two different
locations, one with a higher level of exposure and one with a lower level of
exposure.
What they found was
that at the higher-level exposure, each pair produced one litter that was
approximately normal sized, then a second litter that was clearly down in
numbers and then complete infertility — not a single mouse born …
At lower level
exposure, it was basically the same story, except it took twice as long. They
produced four litters with decreasing numbers, and then complete infertility.
We have now, in humans in many countries around the world, decreased male sperm
count — down by over 50 percent in Western countries, and about half of that
amount in other countries around the world.
6,7
The senior author in
that paper is saying, 'If this keeps going, we're going to become extinct,'
just from the drop in male sperm count. We know that that occurs in humans — in
people who carry their cellphones in their front pockets, men who use their
laptops with the Wi-Fi on sitting on their lap. We know that occurs. But of
course, industry denies everything."
Indeed, studies have
linked low-level electromagnetic radiation (EMR) exposure from cellphones to an
8 percent reduction in sperm motility and a 9 percent reduction in sperm
viability.8,9 Wi-Fi equipped laptop computers have also been linked to
decreased sperm motility and an increase in sperm DNA fragmentation after just
four hours of use.10
EMFs
and Cancer
Studies on cancer
have also been blocked by the industry in a number of ways, including
preventing researchers from obtaining real-world data on cellphone usage.
Obviously, people who use their cellphones the most are at greatest risk. While
not at the top of the list of concerns associated with EMF exposure, cancer is
yet another potential consequence of mitochondrial damage.
Women who carry their
cellphones in their bra, for example, risk cancer
in the upper inner quadrant of the breast, which is very atypical and not the
usual upper outer quadrant.
Brain cancer is another possibility from extended
cellphone use if you keep the phone to your ear. That said, emphasizing the
cancer risk is likely counterproductive, as most people use cellphones and
those who develop brain cancer are few and far in between. The problem is brain
cancer has a latency period of a decade or more. Arrhythmias, autism, anxiety
and Alzheimer's, on the other hand, are extremely prevalent these days, and we
now have a mechanism that explains how EMF contributes to all of them.
So, even though two
U.S. senators likely got brain cancer from cell phones (Ted Kennedy and John
McCain), it's important to understand that cellphone dangers are not just about
brain cancer. It's all these other problems as well, including infertility.
"In my judgment, cancer is down around No. 4 or No. 5 on the list of my
concerns. It's not that cancer is not important. It's very important. We're
just looking right now at the early stages because of long latencies,"
Pall says.
What
Is More Dangerous, Cellphones or X-Rays?
If you are like most,
the answer is obvious: X-rays. That is because you have been convinced by the
deceptive lies of the telecommunications industry that have lobbied the
government to reinforce this delusional myth. The reality is that there is
compelling evidence showing cellphones are more dangerous than X-rays — by
several orders of magnitude.
Some of the best
evidence comes from a German study (headed by professor Franz Adlkofer), in
which the effects of ionizing radiation equivalent to 1,600 chest X-rays were
compared to 24 hours on a cellphone. Surprisingly, they found both produced
roughly equivalent amounts of DNA breaks in in-vitro assays. According to Pall,
this actually vastly underestimates the effects of cellphones, because they
used a continuous wave EMF, not pulsed.
There's extensive
evidence showing pulsed EMFs are far more damaging than continuous wave EMFs.
That's important for a number of reasons, including the fact that all wireless
communication devices communicate by pulsations. In another paper, the group
showed that when you use pulsations designed to be similar to the pulsation
from a real cellphone, damage occurred at far lower intensities.
"This raises the
question, 'How can this possibly happen?' I think the answer comes from the
kind of diagram I've published, which is how EMFs produce free radicals," Pall says. "Both ionizing radiation and the
microwave frequency EMFs produce DNA damage through free radicals. They're
similar in that way. Where you get the free radicals is through the
peroxynitriate pathway.
It turns out that
when you go from EMFs to the free radicals on that pathway, there are three
steps that involve high levels of amplification. One of them is when you open
up the channels, you get about a million calcium ions flowing in per second.
The second is that you get increases in NO and superoxide.
Those, in effect,
will be the calcium acting catalytically, because once it's in the cell, as
long as it's elevated, you keep getting more and more [NO and superoxide]. And
then those two react with each other to form peroxynitrite. The reaction rates
are the product of the two concentrations. So you have three levels of
amplification. If you have three levels of amplification, you get a hell of a
response to a very small stressor."
Ionizing
Radiation and DNA Breaks
The industry says
there's not enough energy in microwave radiation to cause direct damage to
covalent bonds in DNA. This is true. There isn't. It's the biological
amplification resulting in excessive oxidative stress that causes the damage.
Interestingly, even most of the damage caused by ionizing radiation is actually
due to secondary free radical formation that breaks DNA. It's not directly from
the energy within the radiation. Pall explains:
"That was
published by Arthur Compton. He got the Nobel Prize for it in 1927. The way in
which ionizing radiation works, it basically gets molecules and atoms and
knocks electrons out, and then you get pairs of free radicals generated. That's
called Compton scattering.
There is
amplification from ionizing radiation, but it's only at one level. One
energetic photon can produce a chain of free radicals. You've got three levels
of amplification with the microwave frequency EMFs. The amount of damage you get
based on those studies is truly extraordinary. Of course, Adlkofer and [Pilger]
Rudinger were severely attacked by the industry."
Practical
Strategies to Limit Your Exposure
Naturally, to reduce
your risk of harm, you need to reduce your exposure to EMFs. Cellphone towers
should be a major concern if you work or go to school within 300 meters (about
1,000 feet) of one. Even just driving around can expose you to substantial
cellphone tower radiation.
Your cellphone is a
major source of exposure, as are cordless phones, Wi-Fi routers, Bluetooth
headsets and other Bluetooth-equipped items, wireless mice, keyboards, smart
thermostats, baby monitors, smart meters and the microwave in your kitchen.
Ideally, address each source and determine how you can best limit their use.
A simple remedy is to
turn off your Wi-Fi each night. That's just unnecessary exposure. Not carrying
your cellphone on your body, and not using your laptop directly on your lap are
other simple measures.
You can get cellphone
pouches that are shielded on one side, so putting that side toward your body
gives you some protection. Use your cellphone with a headset or on speaker
phone. Work toward hardwiring your devices so you don't have to be in a Wi-Fi
field and don't get unnecessary radiation from cordless mice, keyboards and
printers. It is also possible to put up shielding in your house or apartment to
lower exposures.
Once you know the
mechanism of harm, you have a better idea of how to remediate the problem. In
this case, since we now know the effects of EMFs are reduced by calcium-channel
blockers, a natural solution would be to make sure you're getting enough
magnesium. Most people are deficient in magnesium, which will worsen the impact
of EMFs. As noted by Pall:
"It is clear
that when you're deficient in magnesium, you get excessive activity of the
VGCCs. You also get excessive calcium influx through the N-methyl-D-aspartate
receptor, caused by magnesium deficiency, which is also problematic, so it's
important to allay that deficiency.
Now, I always tell
people I'm a Ph.D. and not an M.D. None of these [suggestions] should be viewed
as medical advice. But I think one approach to dealing with these things is to
raise the level of nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), which I
published [a paper11] on."
How
to Activate Nrf2 to Reduce EMF Impact
I am in the process
of writing a very comprehensive paper on Nrf2, which is a vitally important
biological hormetic that upregulates superoxide dismutase, catalase and all the
other beneficial intercellular antioxidants. It also:
- Lowers inflammation
- Improves mitochondrial function
- Stimulates mitochondrial
biogenesis
- Helps detoxify the body from
xenobiotics, carbon-containing toxicants and toxic metals
- Activates the transcription of
over 500 genes in the human genome, most of which have cytoprotective
functions. This includes the three genes that encode enzymes required for
synthesis of reduced glutathione, which is one of the most important
antioxidants produced in your body
One simple way to
activate Nrf2 is to consume Nrf2-boosting food compounds, such as sulforaphane
from cruciferous vegetables, foods high in phenolic antioxidants, the
long-chained omega-3 fats DHA and EPA, carotenoids (especially
lycopene), sulfur compounds from allum vegetables, isothiocyanates from the
cabbage group and terpenoid-rich foods.
Exercise, calorie
restriction (such as intermittent fasting) and activating the NO signaling
pathway (one way of doing that is the NO dump exercise) will also raise Nrf2.
In his paper, Pall notes:
"The important
detoxification roles of Nrf2 mean that raising Nrf2 activity is likely to be of
particular importance to the hundreds of millions of people around the globe
who are regularly exposed to toxic chemicals that cause diseases characterized
by oxidative stress, inflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction, diseases which
include most of the chronic diseases of 21st century life."
"One of the
things I argued in that paper is that the two most helpful diets known — the
traditional Mediterranean diet and the traditional Okinawan
diet — are both high in nutrients that raise Nrf2," Pall adds.
Take-Home
Message
I personally believe
EMF exposure may be one of the most significant factors for the observed
decrease in male sperm count, and the increased prevalence of anxiety,
depression, autism and Alzheimer's. It is also highly likely a contributing
factor to cancer.
While not widely
publicized, in May 2011, the cancer research arm of the World Health
Organization, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, classified
radiofrequency EMF — such as the radiation from cellphones — a class 2B
carcinogen, meaning it is possibly carcinogenic to humans.12
Pall has made a
significant contribution to public welfare with his discovery of how EMFs cause
biological harm, and it would be wise to take notice. I personally believe he
deserves a Nobel Prize for his contribution to the science.
Again, the damage is
not done through heat or ionizing radiation; it's done by activating your
VGCCs, thereby triggering a chain-reaction that produces excessive amounts of
ROS, peroxynitrites and hydroxyl free radicals — the most destructive free
radicals known to man, as well as through excessive calcium signaling.
Hydroxyl free
radicals decimate mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, their membranes and proteins.
Too much calcium in the mitochondria can also impact their function. The end
result is mitochondrial dysfunction, which we now know is at the heart of most
chronic disease. Since your brain, the pacemaker in your heart and male testes
have the highest densities of VGCCs, these areas are the most prone to damage
when exposed to EMFs.
What this research
tells us is that excessive microwave exposure can be a direct contributor to
conditions such as Alzheimer's, anxiety, depression, autism, cardiac
arrhythmias and infertility.13 So, if you care about your heart, brain and reproductive
health, avoid carrying your cellphone in your pocket or on your hip, avoid
using portable computers and tablets on your lap and take measures to limit or
eliminate as many unnecessary EMF sources as you can, in your home and at work.
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/09/03/electromagnetic-fields-harmful-effects.aspx
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