Scientific rationale
The first alarming news pointing to the harm of mobile phones was a report by the WHO (World Health Organization), published back in May 2011. Together with the International Agency for Research on Cancer, WHO specialists conducted studies during which they came to disappointing conclusions: radio emission, which allows cellular communications to work, is one of the possible carcinogenic factors, in other words, the cause of cancer. However, the results of the scientific work were later called into question, since the working group did not assess the quantitative risks and did not conduct studies on the long-term use of modern mobile phones.
In foreign media, there were reports of older studies of 2008-2009, conducted in a number of European countries. In them, scientists came to the conclusion that non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation emitted by mobile phones helps to increase the levels of certain hormones, which can lead to their imbalance, and also provokes the development and growth of cancer cells already existing in the body.
However, a more recent study, conducted in Australia in 2016 and published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, gives completely different data. So, scientists managed to collect information about the health of 20 men and 000 women of different ages who regularly use mobile phones from 15 to 000. According to the conclusions of the working group, the growth of cancer cells during this period was observed in those patients who were diagnosed with oncology even before the moment of active use of cellular communications.
On the other hand, activists of the theory of the harm of radio emission for several years have found evidence of interference by corporations manufacturing wireless cellular devices in scientific research. That is, the data on the harmlessness of radio emission were thus called into question, just as not a single evidence was found confirming the opposite. However, many modern people refuse at least the use of an auditory speaker during a conversation – that is, they do not put the phone directly to their ear, but make do with a speakerphone or a wired / wireless headset.
Be that as it may, we at VEGETARIAN decided to look into ways to reduce exposure to radiation from a mobile phone, because forewarned is forearmed, right?
First Person
What is the risk of phone radiation?
At the moment, you can rely on information from foreign scientific sources that some people have the so-called EHS syndrome (Electromagnetic hypersensitivity) – electromagnetic hypersensitivity. So far, this feature is not considered a diagnosis and is not considered in medical research. But you can get acquainted with an approximate list of symptoms characteristic of EHS:
frequent headaches and increased fatigue during days of long conversations on a mobile phone
Sleep disturbances and lack of alertness after waking up
The appearance of “ringing in the ears” in the evening
the occurrence of muscle spasms, tremors, joint pain in the absence of other factors provoking these symptoms
To date, there is no more accurate data on the EHS syndrome, but now you can try to protect yourself from the possible harmful effects of radio emission.
How to use a mobile phone safely?
Whether you are experiencing symptoms of electromagnetic hypersensitivity or not, there are several ways to make using your mobile phone safer for your health:
1. In the case of long audio conversations, it is better to turn the call into speakerphone mode or connect a wired headset.
2. In order not to suffer from fragile joints of the hands, do not type text on your smartphone for more than 20 minutes a day – use the voice typing or audio messaging function.
3. To exclude the occurrence of cervical osteochondrosis, it is better to keep the phone screen directly in front of your eyes, at a distance of 15-20 cm from them, and not bow your head down.
4. At night, turn off your smartphone or at least keep it away from the pillow, do not put it directly next to the bed you sleep on.
5. Don’t keep your mobile phone too close to your body – in your breast pocket or trouser pockets.
6. It is better to completely exclude the use of the phone during training and other physical activities. If you are used to listening to music on headphones at this time, purchase a separate mp3 player.
Focusing on these simple recommendations, you can not worry about the possible harm of a mobile phone until scientists from around the world come to a consensus on this issue.