Written by Dr. Robert Kachko. Our health is a combination of our genetic susceptibility and our lifestyle choices, and our interaction with the environment takes center stage in determining how we feel. At this point, one of the most potent threats to our immediate environment is the impact of external electromagnetic frequencies (EMF). Since most people carry cell phones everywhere they go, they provide an opportunity to impact positive change in two ways:
1. Acknowledging that we lack the necessary long-term safety data on extensive cell phone use
2. Acknowledging how easy it is to make small changes which will go a long way in protecting our bodies
Every cellular phone has a documented Specific Absorption Rate (SAR), and if you read the Radio Frequency (RF) exposure information for your phone you will see legally mandated recommendations from the manufacturer to keep the phone away from your body. EMFs are impossible to completely avoid in this day and age of tech-everything, but some things are truly in our control. Here are a few guidelines to limit your exposure, specifically from cell phone use:
1.Avoid holding the phone to your head: Headsets (“airtube” headsets are best) and speaker phone options are useful. Another great idea is using call forwarding when you are at home, receiving calls to your cell phone on your landline. Wired telephones and devices are ALWAYS preferred to wireless devices. Bluetooth headsets are not currently a safe alternative.
2.If you cannot avoid using the phone directly in some instances, here’s a useful trick: when the phone rings, answer it and put it to your mouth and ask the caller to “hold on one second”, hold the phone as far from your body as possible while it experiences a frequency surge, then take the call as your normally would.
3.Do not keep your phone near your body whenever possible:
a. Keep it as far from your bed as possible when you sleep
b. Do not carry it in your pocket
c. Women should NEVER hold their phone in their bra, as there have been correlations to increased breast cancer rates
4.If you have an iPhone: When you are not using your phone consistently, turn on airplane mode (you won’t receive any calls or messages) or turn off “Cellular Data” under Settings – > Cellular (you can still receive calls and texts)
