The Undiagnosed Mystery Illness

September 27, 2010
Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS

Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS

Award-winning nutritionist and New York Times bestselling author.

headacheDon’t wait to discover what’s causing unusual—and unwanted—symptoms.

Are you troubled by strange and seemingly unrelated symptoms? Don’t just dismiss them. You’re not alone, as these examples show, but you don’t need to suffer.

• While at work, an emergency room physician experiences blinding headaches, dizziness, and such overwhelming weakness that she’s unable to intubate a patient.

• A recent engineering school grad working for the Canadian Navy suddenly begins to experience such severe fatigue that he has to nap on his lunch hour, and he later develops a chronic respiratory infection, digestive distress, heart palpitations, and trouble focusing.

• A high-powered editor who’s been taking the train to work for years starts feeling nauseous during every morning and evening commute—debilitating enough to make her consider leaving a job she loves.

• Fresh out of college, a newlywed moves to what ought to be the healthiest place in the world—a farm in America’s heartland. Within six months, this bride suffers circulation problems, daily headaches, hot flashes, and can barely walk up the stairs.

These four individuals were diagnosed with everything from chronic fatigue syndrome to stress—and while both fatigue and stress are factors, these “diagnoses” overlook the cause of their mysterious symptoms—electromagnetic fields (EMFs) from electricity, cell towers, and WiFi. Once these people were able to limit their exposure, though, they enjoyed considerable improvement in their symptoms. Scientific research bears this out as well.

One review of the published literature on dirty electricity—high frequency EMFs from computers, electrical appliances, power lines, and wiring—links noticeable improvements in health—balanced blood sugar levels, lessening of multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms, reduction in asthma and other respiratory illnesses, and fewer reports of anxiety, depression, frustration, and insomnia—when individuals have lower exposure to electromagnetic radiation.

An Austrian investigation finds distinct physical differences—in enzymes that impact glucose metabolism—depending on how near cell phone towers the subjects lived. And an Israeli study shows that people living near cell phone towers had four times the risk of a variety of cancers—breast cancer, Hodgkin’s disease, and malignancies of the bone, kidney, and ovary—as the population as a whole.

Dr. Ann Louise’s Take:

I wrote my latest book, Zapped: Why Your Cell Phone Shouldn’t Be Your Alarm Clock and 1,268 Ways to Outsmart the Hazards of Electronic Pollution, to help the others understand the risks we all face from these undiagnosed mysterious symptoms, especially if their cause is not discovered and, as much as possible, removed. The good news is that Zapped offers lots of solutions—1,268 of ’em, to be exact—once we recognize the problem.

Take, for example, “Debbie Roberts” (who asked me not to use her real name when I interviewed her for Zapped). She was eventually diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, an incurable disease that can be managed like diabetes for many years. But it was several years later before Debbie realized that for over 20 years the bedroom where she and her husband slept—or tried to—had EMF readings two to three times higher than what’s considered safe. Electropollution levels in the bathroom and home office where she worked every day were also high.

“I was literally bathing in a known carcinogen day and night for two decades,” Debbie says. “No wonder I was ill.” Some of the EMFs emanated from power lines about six feet from her bedroom window; others came from her electrical and water systems. But the expert who did the testing and discovered electropollution didn’t do mitigation, and it took Debbie several tries to find “Mr. Right.”

Get a Ghostbuster
“You want to select an electrician who is a craftsman, who cares about the quality of his work, and is open to learning new things and solving problems,” says Charles Keen, principle of EMF Services in Florida, a mitigation firm with a nationwide clientele. But “you’re probably not going to find someone who knows anything about electromagnetic fields,” he adds.

You’re more likely to be successful with a local, independent electrical contractor—look for someone who’s been in the community for a long time and has a small shop. “You need someone who is scrupulous about code compliance,” Keen adds. Just bringing electrical wiring up to code—”fixing problems another electrician caused”—can eliminate many of your EMF problems. Zapped is jam-packed with additional tips on reducing dangerous electropollution in your home or workplace.

Recognize the Growing Risks
WiFi in public buildings—including schools—is another rapidly growing threat to public health. A recent German study shows that fatigue is the most common symptom of EMF exposure in children and adolescents. Other research finds that kids’ brains absorb twice as much radiation from cell phones as adults do. Not only do youngsters have thinner skulls and smaller heads than adults, but their brains also continue developing throughout childhood and adolescence—increasing their risks of harm. No wonder that research by Magda Havas, PhD, at Trent University in Canada, demonstrates that reducing electropollution in the schools reduces a number of behavior and health problems.

For a complete picture of the risks from EMFs and what you can do to protect yourself and your family—from using today’s technology wisely to zap-proof foods and supplements—pre-order Zapped, which will be released October 5th.

Sources:
Zapped: Why Your Cell Phone Shouldn’t Be Your Alarm Clock and 1,268 Ways to Outsmart the Hazards of Electronic Pollution
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20619895
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20442833
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20336048
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20297674
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20183535

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Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS, is an award-winning New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty books including The Fat Flush Plan series and her latest book, Radical Metabolism. She’s been rewriting the rules of nutrition for more than 40 years and is internationally recognized as a pioneer in the field of diet, detox and women’s health issues. 

For a FREE daily dose of tips and strategies for maintaining healthy weight, conquering insomnia, and much more…check out my Radical Health Tips.

I’d like to meet and greet you on my Facebook groups, so won’t you check us out at the Radical Metabolism RevolutionFat Flush Nation, or my Inner Circle!

3 Comments

  1. karen

    I keep hearing about all these dangers….could having our electric and phone circuit boxes outside the bedroom wall be a bad thing? Even if it’s all up to code? I have developed asthma-type symptoms in the last year or so, and figured it was allergies….now I’m wondering if it’s also something EMF related. We always turn our WiFi off at night.

    Reply
  2. RHONDA

    This is so interesting that I posted it on my facebook page.
    I have had a issue with my bedroom for years……nothing can be plugged in my bedroom at all and I sleep good!!!

    Reply
  3. Kim

    What about the “Q Link”? It’s suppose to protect one from the effects of EMF’s. It’s like a disk with copper and other wires embedded in it.

    Reply

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