How to Create a Healthy Home
BY JEROMY JOHNSON
Many families throughout the Bay Area do their best to create healthy, environmentally sustainable homes. They buy organic, non-GMO foods; use a highquality water filter, and avoid chemicals, plastics, and pesticides.
Another very important aspect of a healthy home just beginning to get the attention it deserves is the electromagnetic component. Even if your family covers all the bases above, your health can still be compromised if you are constantly being exposed to high levels of electromagnetic field (EMF) pollution.
At the deepest levels of biology, your body is electric. Every cell in your body communicates using tiny electric signaling. This is how your nervous system operates. Small changes in the polarization of your cell walls can also lead to significant chemical changes within your body. If you are constantly exposed to high levels of EMF pollution, your health can eventually be compromised — even if you do everything else right.
I recently had the opportunity to present this information in a TED talk at TEDx Berkeley. In the talk, which was called “Wireless Wake-Up Call,” I showed why paying attention to EMF pollution is important for everyone, especially children. I also explained that there are many solutions, particularly when it comes to wireless technology.
In this article, I want to take this topic a step further and explain the four types of EMFs that you may encounter in your home. By determining if you have high electromagnetic fields in your home, you can then take a few steps to reduce or eliminate this form of pollution. You can measure each of these EMFs yourself with the proper meters or have a professional come to your home. Once the corrections are made, your home will be much healthier for you and your family.
Here are the four types of EMFs:
Microwave radiation: Emanating from our beloved wireless technology, small doses may be okay, but our exposure has grown exponentially in the past decade. This is unprecedented for humanity, and many people now experience poor quality sleep, tinnitus, and headaches when exposed to wireless technology. So turn off your Wi-Fi and wireless devices when not in use and opt out of “smart” meters and the “smart” home. Look to eliminate cordless phones and wireless baby monitors as well. Our best hope for a healthy future is in fiber optics and wired Internet. I encourage you to join many forward-thinking families who have already gone the wired route.
Magnetic fields: If your home has electrical wiring errors, older wiring, or is located near a major powerline, magnetic fields may be elevated. Most homes have two to three wiring errors that can be easily fixed by a qualified electrician. Magnetic fields that cannot be eliminated can often be shielded with special material. This type of EMF pollution is very important to reduce because high fields (over 2.0 milligauss) have been linked to illnesses such as childhood leukemia.
Electric fields: This type of EMF pollution comes from unshielded electrical wiring such as standard Romex. If your bedrooms have high electric fields, sleep quality can be diminished and overall health may decline over time. The primary solution is to turn off the circuit breakers to your bedroom while you sleep. If you are remodeling or building a new home, then you should install MC cable, which is metal-clad shielded wiring that will reduce the electric fields by approximately 90%.
Dirty electricity: Items such as solar inverters, CFL and LED lighting, dimmer switches, and smart meters will cause “dirty” electricity. These items put additional frequencies on your 60 Hz electrical wiring. These extra frequencies then radiate into your living environment and can cause headaches, fatigue, brain fog, and serious illnesses over time. There are ways to partially filter this type of EMF pollution, but the best solution is to limit the use of items that create dirty electricity in the first place.
With new research coming out every month about how electromagnetic fields affect our health, one of the wisest things you can do for your family is to have a home with low EMF pollution. Limiting EMF pollution is truly a leading edge of the health and sustainability movements and will only become more important in the coming years.
The good thing is that it is becoming much easier to make your home healthy from an EMF perspective, and it often takes just a few changes to accomplish. Valuable information is available online if you want to do it yourself, plus there are many qualified EMF consultants who can help. If you would like to have a professional measure your home, feel free to contact me, and I will recommend someone in your area.
My hope is that with a few small changes, you and your family will have a truly healthy home for decades to come.
Jeromy Johnson has an advanced degree in civil engineering; his website helps families reduce their exposure to EMF pollution. He is the author of How to Find a Healthy Home, and every parent should watch his recent TED talk, “Wireless Wake-Up Call.” EMFAnalysis.com