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'Zapped: Why Your Cell Phone Shouldn't Be Your Alarm Clock'

Ann Louise Gittleman offers '1,268 Ways to Outsmart the Hazards of Electronic Pollution.'

By John PlattTue, Jan 04 2011 at 7:11 AM EST
 5

Two young boys on orange couch talk on cell phones Photo: sean dreilinger/Flickr
 
Conventional wisdom, and years of scientific research, tell us that it isn't safe to build your house directly under a high-voltage power line. But how much further should we go to avoid the constant barrage of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) that surround us every day? Should we avoid talking on cell phones, place our beds far away from electric outlets, or stop using CFL light bulbs?
 
Those are just a few of the recommendations Ann Louise Gittleman outlines in her new book, “Zapped: Why Your Cell Phone Shouldn't Be Your Alarm Clock and 1,268 Ways to Outsmart the Hazards of Electronic Pollution” (HarperOne, $25.99).
 
Gittleman, author of more than two dozen diet and nutrition books — mostly in the "Fat Flush" series — found herself becoming concerned with EMFs after seeing what appeared to be its effect on many of her clients and the development of a benign tumor below her earlobe, which she attributes to spending too much time talking on cell phones.
 
As Gittleman sees it, we are surrounded by electronic devices, electricity, transmission signals and wireless devices. "We are affected 24/7 by an unprecedented number of frequencies and wavelengths," she writes. "By some estimates, we're exposed daily to as much as 100 million times more electromagnetic radiation than our grandparents were." She asks two important questions: What are the health hazards of this constant exposure, and what can we do to minimize the risks? 
 
Unfortunately, Gittleman doesn't do her case any good when, as early as page 3, she brings up nonscientific concepts like chi and prana and claims, on page 9, that medicines heal us of illness because of the frequencies they emit, not due to their physical or chemical properties. Her adherence to the unproven concepts of traditional Chinese medicine puts the science she presents later in the book on uncertain footing.
 
And there is some science in this book. Of most value are the charts displaying the EPA's magnetic field measurements for all kinds of home, kitchen and office devices, such as hair dryers, electric shavers, air conditioners, ceiling fans, refrigerators, copiers and fluorescent lights. Knowing that some electric pencil sharpeners emit more EMFs than most copy machines is enough to help you change some of your office habits.
 
But Gittleman also presents many alternatives that are less than "green," and in fact may be more dangerous than what you are already doing. For example, she says we should throw out our electric alarm clocks or turn off that feature on our cell phones in favor of battery-powered clocks. Never mind that disposable batteries can leach chemicals into the Earth when they are thrown out, or that you can buy a perfectly good wind-up alarm clock for as little as $8 on the Internet. She also tells readers to use old-style incandescent light bulbs rather than CFLs because they emit "elevated magnetic and electric fields" and "dirty electricity" and contain hazardous amounts of mercury. But eating a tuna sandwich will likely expose you directly to more mercury than breaking a CFL bulb, and older bulbs use significantly more electricity, which is what she's trying to avoid in the first place.
 
True to her earlier books, Gittleman rounds out “Zapped” with 40-plus pages on "zap-proof superfoods" and recipes that will supposedly protect you from the dangers of EMFs. Her recipe for hearty beef stew is mouth-watering, but too much of the rest of this book left a bad taste in my mouth. If you're worried about the dangers of EMFs, wait for a more credible source than this one.
 
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anonymous
jim 09/22/2011 10:55 AM

Why is there just NOW a big concern on cell phones causing CANCER...?? How did this EVER really get "out" of the News??

There were people getting Brain Cancer over 15 years ago (actually the same size and shape of their cell phone), and that was swept under the rug. Is AMAZING what we can be MADE to forget ;-) The phones now days are on a higher frequency...and many of the "smart" phones are way to powerful in their transmissions to be safe now. Wake up.... More

anonymous
KT 06/05/2011 02:20 AM

Dear John,

NEWSFLASH: The World Health Organization, whose has an International Agency for Research on Cancer, announced just this week the results of its year-long cell phone study stating that cell phones may cause cancer.

Hopefully this will open your mind to the possibility that you may a little premature in dissing Ann Louise Gittleman's opinion on cell phones.

You probably would have been one who would have said there was no scientific proof cigarettes cause.... More

anonymous
Michael 01/10/2011 08:10 AM

I hate to break it to you but chi and prana have been studied scientifically. Even those most ignorant of human physiology know that the body runs off of energy. Another thing is there is significantly more mercury in a CFL than there is in a tuna sandwich and you do not have to use disposable batteries there are these things called nickel metal hydride batteries. Maybe you have heard of them. In layman terms rechargeable. Objectivity is a wonderful thing, you should try it sometime.

anonymous
Bernie 01/08/2011 09:49 AM

I'm not sure where to start and don't want to go on for pages. First off, I'm not really sure if the reviewer read the book or if he did, if he understands what the author is presenting to us. His own review loses all credibility to me when he dishes prana and chi. The basic science which you can find in any medical textbook concurs that a major part of how our body functions is energy. What are nerve signals? Energy! While the ancient Indian and Chinese cultures did not have the scientific.... More

anonymous
Annie 01/04/2011 17:16 PM

Microwave News just reported a sharp increase in parotid gland tumors (the kind the author of Zapped experienced) in Israel over the past 30 years. Like us, Israelis are inveterate cell phone (and even have WiFi at the Wailing Wall). But that doesn't mean they ignore the risks from electropollution. The new "green" takes electromagnetic fields into account, and Zapped has lots of ways to help us all protect ourselves.

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