Most people look at me as if I had two heads when I tell them that I don’t own a cell phone. They insist that I must be joking because they simply can’t fathom living without one.
But now a new study that found that cell phones have a lot more effect on the brain than we once thought is reinforcing my “non-cell lifestyle” decision for me.
The small study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that a 50-minute cell-phone call produced significantly elevated brain glucose metabolism…a normal marker of brain activity…in the area of the brain located closest to the cell-phone antenna.
Now, just what this elevated brain metabolism actually means no one seems to know.
No one knows what the long term consequences will be
In fact, the researchers admit that they don’t know what the long-term consequence of these effects may be. And, according to neuroscientist and lead study author Dr. Nora Volkow, “We don’t know what repeated exposure and artificial activation of the glucose will have on the brain.”
Hm…not exactly what I would call a very comforting conclusion.
And if that doesn’t already make you a bit uncomfortable, this might. In an editorial that accompanies the study two docs speculate that these findings might just be the tip of an iceberg…leading to other, as of yet undetected, alterations in brain function caused by the cell-phone emissions.
Earlier studies that have looked at a possible connection between the radio-frequency-modulated electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) that cell phones emit and brain tumors. But, unfortunately, the findings of the studies were inconsistent, and this has left a huge gray area when it comes to accessing the potential carcinogenic effects of cell phone emissions.
There are almost 293 million cell phone users in the USA
There are almost 293 million cell phone users in the United States alone. This means that we’re exposing the brains of a lot of already unhealthy people and even children (my 6 year old niece has been asking for a cell phone for almost a year now) to radiation over and over again throughout the day. And frankly, there’s just no telling what kind of damage that may be doing.
Now I know that realistically, considering that about 91% of the United States population now owns a cell phone (hm…perhaps I AM a bit of a freak), most people aren’t going to give theirs up. But you can try to limit your exposure by making fewer and shorter calls. And try using the speakerphone or an earpiece to make calls instead of holding the phone up to your ear.
And if you’re a “freak” like me and don’t already own a cell phone, until we have more information you just might just want to stick with me want to keep it that way.
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