According to leading experts [1] our increased use of computers and other electronics is leading to higher levels of EMF pollution in our homes , which, in turn, is believed to be contributing to higher rates of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
Recently the Center for Disease Control (CDC) revised the rates of autism for the United States and reported that the rates of Autism Spectrum Disorder have skyrocketed to 1 in 100. According to the latest figures the odds that your baby developing some form of are now one in 63. If you have a boy, the chances are one in 38. That's 2.6% of all male children in the United States.
More and more researchers are looking at environmental causes as possible triggers for the huge up-tick in new autism cases. One area that has been overlooked in the past that is now garnering more attention is our increasingly polluted electromagnetic environment.
Although we can’t see, smell or taste them electromagnetic fields (EMFs) constantly surround us. They are emitted from the plethora of electrical and electronic devices we have in our homes, from wireless devices, from our home’s electrical wiring and outside power lines. They emanate from our lamps, computers and electronics. If it uses electricity it emits some kind of EMF.
Over the last 20 years we’ve significantly increased our exposure to a variety of man-made electromagnetic fields. Our electrical supply has become contaminated with dangerous, high frequency noise called “dirty” electricity. We’re now exposed to high-powered radio frequency transmitters such those used in as wi-fi routers and DECT cordless phones and baby monitors. We expose ourselves to EMF when we use laptops and cell phones.
Today you’ll find the majority of homes in North American now contain a computer or two, a DECT cordless phone, a wi-fi router, a handful of CFL lights as well as other EMF polluters. It’s now coming to light that many of these “cool” technologies may be working in concert with other environmental contaminates to slowly poison our children.
According to natural health expert Dr Joe Mercola, “Many researchers are now advocating for a shift in autism research to focus on environmental factors rather than genetics. Although genetics play a role in an estimated one percent of cases, the other 99 percent are still a mystery to conventional scientists. Likewise, to suggest this massive increase could be due to relaxed diagnosis criteria seems to be grasping at straws.” Mercola added.
In an interview with Dr Joe Mercola (www.mercola.com) in the Fall of 2008 Dr Dietrich Klinghartd, a pioneer in natural medicine, discussed the toxic origins of autism. He says his research has led him to what he believes are the three interconnected and fundamental causes of autism.
One topic discussed in the interview is the fact that in most people with autism, their pathways of detoxification have become overwhelmed by both man-made and microbial toxins.
The toxins that are at the top of this list are:
- Mercury and other metals, such as aluminum.
- Viruses and microbes, such as mold.
- Electromagnetic Fields (EMF)
Dr. Klinghardt considers EMF “synergistically causal," partly because it potentiates the production of toxic microbes and endotoxins. EMF exposure increases the toxicity of many already hazardous substances.
For example, in a small study performed by Dr. Klinghardt, he showed that autism can actually be predicted based on the EMF levels of your sleeping quarters while you are pregnant. As part of the program, Dr. Klinghardt recommends you lower EMF burden in your child’s home and bedroom.
Top 10 ways to lower your EMF exposure in your bedroom:
- Use a battery operated clock radio as opposed to an AC version. Although AC powered clocks don’t draw a lot of current these little devices can emit a significant EMF.
- Remove all AC powered devices and electrical cords away from the bed.
- Avoid using an AC heating pad or electric blanket. These devices expose both baby and mom to high EMF — both magnetic (mG.) and electric ( V/m) levels — even when the blanket to turned off.
- Remove your DECT portable phone from your bedroom or consider swaping it for a landline phone. A recent study found DECT phones cause heart irregularities.
- Check to see if your baby monitor uses DECT technology — if it does get rid of it immediately. If the product does not state that it is DECT technology, consider contacting the manufacturer to confirm.
- Don't install a wireless network. In 2007 the German Gov’t issued a warning on the potential health dangers wi-fi. If you choose to use one locate it away from bedrooms and turn it off at night.
- Move baby cribs and beds a few feet away from walls containing electrical wires and don’t locate cribs or beds on walls opposite electronic equipment like computers, wi-fi networks, DECT phones, clothes dryers and microwaves. Walls do not block the magnetic (mG.) field or the radio frequency fields (W/cm2) emitted by electrical and wireless devices.
- If you are pregnant or have small children limit the time you spend talking on a cordless phone and cell phone, and only let children under 14 use cell phones for short periods of time when absolutely necessary. The EMF emitted by wireless devices can travel great distances but is most powerful closest to the source or transmission.
- Minimize the use of your microwave oven* or discard of it completely. The metal case only blocks a fraction of the radiation a microwaveoven uses to cook your food.
- Install Graham/Stetzer filters in your home to reduce the harmful, high frequency radiation being emitted by your home’s electrical wiring.
References
1) Dr. Mercola & Dr. Klinghartd
2) Wireless Radiation in the Etiology and Treatment of Autism: Clinical Observations and Mechanisms. J. Aust. Coll. Nutr. & Env. Med. Vol 26 No. 2 (August 2007) pages 3-7.
*At Naturally Savvy, we discarded of our microwave oven a long time ago and now use a toaster oven instead. Although this may sound tedious, you get used to it and you feel better knowing it is benefiting the health of your family. To warm up heat bags (for aches and pains) use a slow cooker.
