June 14,2023 Epoch Times Article: Your Cellphone and Other EMF Devices May Be Harming Your Heart. Susan Foster interview…….
Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2023 23:12:23 +0000
Your Cellphone and Other EMF Devices May Be Harming Your Heart
Jun 14 2023
Electrical equipment and high-tech devices are everywhere, and while they may make life easier, research finds they can harm your heart by creating electromagnetic fields (EMF) in the radio frequency range.
Many people don’t realize their cardiac symptoms could be the result of EMF. Still, research continues to find a correlation between the debilitating illnesses that some people suffer from and the mass amount of electromagnetic “smog” currently clogging the atmosphere.
What Is Electromagnetic Frequency Radiation?
“Electrical and magnetic fields, known as EMF, are invisible to the naked eye and are, in fact, the result of radiation,” Dr. Nathan Goodyear, a medical doctor and integrative cancer expert, told The Epoch Times. “This radiation spans the electromagnetic spectrum and increases from nonionizing to ionizing radiation.”
Ionizing Radiation
Ionizing radiation is known to cause damage to tissues and organs. Familiar sources of ionizing radiation include medical diagnostics such as X-rays and computed tomography (CT) scans. A natural source of ionizing radiation is radon gas, which can seep into the cracks of building foundations.
Exposure to ionizing radiation at high doses or for extended periods of time is known to cause many health problems.
Nonionizing Radiation
Nonionizing radiation, a low frequency, long wavelength form of radiation that’s not visible to the naked eye, has become very important to the day-to-day operation of the world around us. It’s found in power lines, computers, radio, TV, Wi-Fi, and cellphones.
The cumulative effects of nonionizing radiation in the environment around us aren’t clear, and additional studies are needed to determine how it can directly affect the heart.
EMF Effects on the Heart
“The problem with electromagnetic radiation and its effect on the heart is exposure and time,” Goodyear said. “Because of the lower nonionizing radiation, more time and exposure are required to accumulate impact than ionizing radiation, which can almost be immediate at higher doses.”
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) recently analyzed several animal and human studies that focused on EMF, considering how the body absorbs the radiation emitted and how it affects the heart. Both human and animal research studies show the heart is sensitive to EMF radiation and that it can affect heart rate variability, cause cardiac arrhythmias, affect blood pressure, and even increase low-density lipoprotein (LDL), leading to atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease.
“Human studies analyzed by the EWG should be concerning because heart rate variability may be a litmus test not only for the health of the heart but the health of the human being,” Susan Foster, an EMF consultant, told The Epoch Times. Foster provides outside counsel through the McCullough Law Firm to Children’s Health Defense (CHD) on wireless matters.
Goodyear said he believes that animal studies tend to be more informative because tissues can be evaluated both immediately and after death to provide more insight into the effects of EMF radiation. For example, a study of albino rats with long-term cellphone exposure showed changes in electrical activity resulting in heart arrhythmias and negative effects on blood pressure (hypertension) and heart rate.
Regarding EMF and its effect on LDL cholesterol, Goodyear said there is a correlation between EMF and the depletion of antioxidants in the blood. When there is an increase in LDL oxidation and depletion of antioxidants, there is an increase in atherosclerosis, cardiovascular risk, and cardiovascular disease.
EMF Exposure: Smart Meters and More
Foster has interviewed several people who started experiencing symptoms when close to heavily used smart meters.
“Smart meters communicate data to utility companies using several different radio frequency air interfaces, modulation schemes, and network architectures. They typically pulse strong signals to the collecting device hundreds to hundreds of thousands of times a day,” she said.
One woman with a smart meter on the side of her home had no previous cardiac history, according to Foster, although after the meter was installed, her health changed almost instantly. She went into cardiac arrhythmia, had severe chest pain, and her blood pressure was significantly elevated. Another person had acute onset chest pain near two potential wireless sources—a cell tower using higher frequencies in the 5G range and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI).
“This woman was driving at the time, thought she had a heart attack, was hospitalized, had no history of cardiovascular disease, and was diagnosed with a suspected coronary spasm, which can trigger a heart attack or even sudden death,” Foster said.
Some question the theory that smart meters and cell towers are causing these cardiac events. In Foster’s experience, the temporal element is often a key indicator that the recently built and activated cell tower or installed smart meter is causing cardiac symptoms.
“When someone is asymptomatic before the carrier activates a cell tower and experiences an acute cardiac event such as atrial fibrillation for the first time in his or her life two weeks later, the cell tower becomes suspect.”
Foster said she believes that the cell tower becomes the undeniable culprit when atrial fibrillation occurs during high telecommunication traffic times, then reoccurs repeatedly, even after cardioversion (a procedure to restore a normal heart rhythm), eventually resulting in surgical intervention to stop the atrial fibrillation.
She said that most people reaching out to CHD or McCollough Law firm about cardiac events related to wireless exposure are in their 40s or 50s. However, her greatest concern is the effect of EMF on children’s development from the early fetal stage throughout childhood.
“Children today are developing in utero and growing up in homes where cellphones are carried by parents, Wi-Fi is left on 24/7, and wireless baby monitors are inches from a baby’s thin skull and rapidly developing brain and nervous system. Children are inherently more vulnerable and will live with these exposures for a lifetime,” Foster said.
Goodyear cited a study by Debra L. Blackwell and colleagues that found a strong association between cumulative exposure to infectious diseases and environmental toxins as children and in utero, and the likelihood of experiencing chronic health conditions throughout life, including cancer, heart and lung issues, and arthritis.
“In the same light, the lifetime exposure of EMF to the cardiovascular system is likely the more significant connection point of impact,” he added.
FCC Ordered to Update EMF Guidelines
According to Foster, the effects of EMF radiation on children and the failure of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to update EMF guidelines for a quarter-century is the main reason CHD sued the FCC in 2020. Scott McCollough argued the case for consolidated lawsuits filed by CHD and Environmental Health Trust.
The Aug. 13, 2021, decision by the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit remanded the EMF radiation guidelines to the FCC with critical instructions to address the effects of EMF radiation on children, including the health implications of long-term exposure to EMF radiation, and consideration of newer wireless devices and the ubiquity of wireless devices. However, the FCC has yet to comply with this court order and was again petitioned by McCollough to “quit stalling” and explain how it deems the current guidelines for EMF to adequately protect humans and the environment against the harmful effects of EMF radiation exposure.
Electromagnetic Sensitivity
The effect of EMF on children may only be fully realized in adulthood, and some people may never feel the effects, Goodyear said. However, others seem to be highly sensitive. People who are depleted of antioxidants or have chronic inflammation or pre-existing cardiovascular disease are at greater risk for cardiac dysfunction and disease from EMF, he said.
Foster described the effects as electromagnetic sensitivity (EMS), which includes many symptoms, including cognitive impairment, headaches, lethargy, sleep disruption, tinnitus, vertigo, depression, anxiety, heart palpitations, chest pain, arrhythmia, and infertility.
The U.S. Access Board, an independent federal agency that advises the federal government on the accommodation of disabled people, held that EMS could cause severe symptoms that give rise to the level of disability.
Foster says EMS is a condition that demands wider recognition and accommodation because we live in an increasingly thick environment of what EMF biophysicist Dimitris Panagopoulos described as “electrosmog” (EMF pollution). Wireless service providers have quickly moved from using 2G to 5G and sub-6G, she said.
It’s estimated that 3.2 to 30 percent of the U.S. population (pdf) falls on the EMS spectrum, and most of them have some kind of adverse reaction to wireless radiation.
Unfortunately, the public remains uninformed about EMS, Foster said.
“This is because EMS is an invisible disability. Those who suffer from it have to remain secluded. Microwave radiation goes through walls and has few boundaries. Those with coronary spasms, tachycardia, or atrial fibrillation can’t advocate for themselves by going to city hall because the Wi-Fi threatens their lives.”
Limiting EMF Exposure
Whether you believe you are sensitive to EMF or want to protect your children, knowing how to limit your exposure is important. There are devices to block or shield EMF exposure, but both Foster and Goodyear suggest that an avoidance strategy may be safer and more effective than shielding.
“Devices and chips may have ‘some’ benefit, but people are lulled into a false sense of safety,” Foster said. “The so-called protective product may very well prove to be a scam.”
She suggested some simple ways to limit exposure:
- Women and girls should never keep their phones in their bras.
- Don’t carry your phone in a shirt or pants pocket unless it’s in airplane mode.
- Every home and office should have a landline phone as an alternative to using a cellphone.
- Avoid DECT cordless phones because the antennae act like mini cell towers 24/7.
- Opt out of an AMI smart meter, if possible.
- Recharge your cellphone as far from your bedroom as possible, and never sleep with your cellphone under your pillow.
- Question “smart” everything. Is it really necessary?
Goodyear suggested a different approach:
“Our culture is saturated with EMF and has passed the point of no return as our society has become addicted to and reliant on EMF devices. We must realize that the ongoing EMF exposure will only continue; likely, it and its impact will only accelerate. Our parents’ EMF exposure and its epigenetic impact on our legacy of pathology require a different approach to EMF exposure.”
He said that a pivot in approach requires supporting a healthy lifestyle, including a balanced organic diet with vegetables high in antioxidants, low-glycemic fruits, and evidenced-based vitamin supplementation under a physician’s guidance. He also advocates for exercise and good sleep hygiene to reduce the harmful effects of EMF.
“Take a walk outside in nature. It’s time to get outside, to the desert, the mountains, the forests, the woods, and to divest from EMF exposure. Don’t just do it once; schedule it as part of your daily or weekly healthy living.”