Dr. Weil, We Love You, But Are You Exaggerating the Cell Phone Health Threat?

Who is Dr. Weil and why should we listen to him?

The career of the popular Andrew Weil, M.D., has been described in Wikipedia:

Andrew Thomas Weil (/waɪl/; born June 8, 1942) is an American who is a medi, teacher, and best-selling author on holistic health.[1] He is founder, professor, and director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona. He received a B.S. in Biology and a M.D. from Harvard University in 1968.[2] Weil is widely known for establishing the field of integrative medicine, which aims to combine alternative and conventional medicine. Weil suggests that patients take the Western medicine prescribed to them by doctors and then incorporate alternative therapies, such as omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, herbal remedies, meditation, and other “spiritual” strategies, into their treatment plans.[3] Some mainstream medical professionals, however, have criticized Weil for rejecting aspects of evidence-based medicine and promoting unverified beliefs.

Weil appeared on the cover of Time Magazine in 1997 and again in 2005. He has written many books and has sold over 10 million copies. Some titles of such books include Spontaneous Healing, 8 Weeks to Optimum Health, and Healthy Aging. Weil has been a frequent guest on Larry King Live, Oprah, and the Today Show.[4]

Dr. Weil’s views on cell phone safety are expounded in his article, The Cell Phone Poisoning of America. Being fair-minded skeptics, and having just read the CBS article, we’ll give Dr. Weil the same consideration.

Like the CBS News article, but in greater volume, Dr. Weil’s the article is very carefully footnoted. You can search for the numbers in parenthesis to see a footnote, and then jump to its footnote.

What types of injuries have been correlated with cell phone use?

Facts About Cell Phone Use

Talking on a cell phone as little as 500 minutes a month can increase the probability of brain cancer by 140% to 300% (1)

Cell phone radiation has been shown to damage and break living DNA (2)

Cell phone radiation causes leakage of the blood-brain barrier allowing toxins to damage sensitive brain tissue (3)

Cell phones worn by men on a belt clip can reduce sperm count by 30% (4) (5)

After using a cell phone for six years the risk of developing an acoustic neuroma (tumor of the auditory nerve) increases by 50% (6)

Cell phone radiation increases estrogen and adrenaline levels in the body disrupting hormonal balance (7)

A two-minute cell phone call alters a child’s brain function for an hour (8) (9)

Cordless phones have even higher cancer risks than cell phones (10)

Our comment: Check the article at the link provided below to see the footnotes 1-10 from which these facts are derived.

How do we receive radiation from a cell phone?

After a thorough description of the workings of a cell phone, Dr. Weil describes the workings of the antenna, which is located at the portion of the phone where the charger is plugged in.

The function of the antenna is to propel these radio waves out into space so that a receiver in a nearby cell tower will pick them up.

This makes the antenna the most dangerous part of the phone.

[Our comment: In this article, as in the CBS News “no danger” article referenced previously, the cell phone frequency is described as being at the “low end” of the electromagnetic spectrum.

In actuality, cellular frequencies are in the “high” (800 Megahertz) range of the electromagnetic spectrum which is non-ionizing (loosely, non-radioactive).

Therefore, when referred to as “low frequency,” “low” is only a relative term to differentiate cellular frequencies from the higher, ionizing (i.e., radioactive) frequencies. See the chart at the beginning of this article.]

Radiation at the low end of the spectrum is known as “non-ionizing” radiation and radiation of this kind is generated by such devices as cell phones, cell phone towers, wireless routers, WiFi, etc. This form of radiation is too weak to break chemical bonds and is one reason why many falsely believe that cell phone radiation is harmless.

Dr. Weil then notes that the human body cannot detect the non-ionizing, low-frequency radiation from the cell phone, so it cannot react to protect itself. This is Dr. Weil’s concern in his thesis statement at the beginning of the article:

Electromagnetic pollution may be the most significant form of pollution human activity has produced this century, all the more dangerous because it is invisible and insensible.

If you take time to read each section of Dr. Weil’s article, you will find clear explanations of scientific concepts that respectfully educate, so that you can appreciate the science behind Dr. Weil’s conclusions. His article covers:

• What, exactly is cell phone radiation?
• How is electricity delivered and measured by Hertz units?
• How is magnetic intensity measured in Gauss units?
• How does cell phone radiation level increase when power is boosted to compensate for weaker signal?
• Exactly how does cell phone radiation cause damage to a human being?

Dr. Weil then lists, with footnotes, medical conditions of which the incidence may be correlated statistically with cell phone use. These include:

Here are a few:

Alzheimer’s disease (15)
Autism (16)
Parkinson’s disease (17)
Heart disease (18)
Miscarriage (19)
Brain tumors (20)
Leukemia (21)
Fatigue (22)
Depression (23)
Immune system disorders (24)
Learning disabilities (25)
Memory loss (26)
Sleep disorders and insomnia (27)
Headaches and migraines (28)
Loss of concentration (29)
Lowered sperm counts (30)
Increased blood pressure (31)
DNA damage (32)
Blood-brain barrier damage (33)
Hormonal imbalance (34)

In the next page, we summarize more highlights of Dr. Weil’s worthwhile article, the original of which appears here.