Cell Phone Use And The Risk Of Brain Cancer

The use of cell phones has taken the world by storm. From the old to the very young is using cell phones. Many households are without a home phone entirely because the cellular has taken its place. People use cell phones so much that the device has taken on a life of its own. Television networks, movie studios, music industry, and giant internet companies have all capitalized on the cellular telephone to further their objectives.

A few years ago, a mass of mobile program developers were hired by many companies to build the next generation of mobile phones that would interact with the internet. We are now seeing this come to pass with the high level of performance of today’s wireless mobile units. We can say then that the cell phone is here to stay or is it?

Most would argue that the mobile phone is here to stay but at what cost to our health. Yes, the cellular phone is suitable; that is why we use it. We use the cellular telephone so much that it is causing motor vehicle accidents left and right. That is one of the ways it is affecting our health, negatively of course. Anyone can attest to seeing someone driving while blabbing on the phone; most of the times these drivers are so involved with their conversations that they don’t even know what’s going on around them, in regards to the road and traffic.

It is not rare to see a near-miss and a cell phone talker being at the helm of one of the vehicles. A rule of thumb is to always lookout for drivers on their phones. Make sure the horn works on the vehicle being driven because it may be needed at moment’s notice. Accidents are common among people who talk on their phones and drive at the same time, but is this the only threat cell phone use pose on human health? No! Not according to a National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) study.

Some in the scientific community say cell phone use pose a great risk to human health because it emits energy in the form of radiofrequency (RF) energy, which has the potential of causing cancer. In fact, no one knows for sure how much energy is completely safe for the human body. The wireless variety is a fairly new technology, so radiation from cellular telephone’s effect on the human body has not yet been extensively studied, (NCI). There simply hasn’t been enough time to see long-term effects of cell phone use—not enough data available.

Why is all the fuss about cell phone use and brain cancer? Well, the answers are here. According to the NCI, cellular telephones emit radiofrequency (RF) energy, which is another name used for radio waves. Exposure to high levels of RF energy causes heating of body tissues, ever wondered why your cell phone becomes hot against the ear when talking for an extended period, enough said! According to the NCI study, the RF energy produced from cellular telephones is too low to cause significant tissue heating and tissue damage.

Studies are currently being conducted of tumors of the brain and central nervous system and other site of the head and neck because the side of the head is where people place their cell phones when speaking. Cell phones are held next to the head when being used. At the moment though, studies have not shown any regular link between cellular telephone use and cancer. Additional research is needed before firm confirmation can be made, (NCI).

A cellular telephone user is exposed to RF energy through the phone’s antenna. The fact that the antenna of a hand-held cellular telephone is in the handset, it will most likely affect the brain and consequently the nervous system because it is held against the head. So, the closer the antenna is to the head, the greater the danger of RF exposure. Therefore, a person will absorb less RF energy when the cellular unit’s antenna is at a significant distance away from the user, (NCI).
An important point is that the amount of RF energy increases the farther away the communication tower or base is from the cell phone and its user. In other words, the cell phone has to increase its RF energy output when the main tower is far away; thus, introducing a higher degree of radiofrequency radiation to the user. So, the closer the tower to the cellular phone, the less energy is generated by the phone, and therefore, the less energy the cell phone user will be exposed to. This raises an important question. How can a person avoid dealing with cell phone towers that are too far apart?

One should not be a penny wise and a pound foolish. In general, the cheaper the cell phone plans and services of a new and less establish cell phone company are the lower the overall quality of the service is going to be, in regards to drop calls and such. This means that the towers are going to be farther apart. When the towers are farther apart, the amount of RF energy that will be required to maintain a connection will be massively high. All this high degree of radiation will be transmitted directly into the user’s body, especially if the wireless device is held close to the body, such as the head.
It cost cell phone companies millions of dollars to put up communication towers. So, if a company is going to always offer half price of the going rates of cell phone services, this company will not have the revenue to build many communication towers; thus, the towers that such companies will have will be severely less than that of companies with habitually high levels of cellular telephone services and whom have been around for a long time.

A person will therefore be exposed to more RF radiation with phones from less well-known companies rather than phones with more well known companies because less well-known companies will not have the capital to build many towers as does the more establish and major companies. Yes, the company may be able to offer great cell phone plans and deals; however, the rate of energy exposure will be much higher. One doesn’t need to be a rocket scientist to see the idea! Therefore, the more popular a less well-known cellular telephone company becomes, the more communication towers it will have and the higher its cellular phone plans will become!

There are more factors that determine how much RF energy a cellular telephone user experiences. Some of these are: number of calls; duration of calls; amount of cell phone traffic; the size of the cell phone unit itself; and the extended distance of the unit’s antenna, (NCI). In fact, many people speak on the cell phone for very long periods and this definitely is not a good practice. It is best to keep cell phone calls to a minimum. A cell phone should only be used carefully.

How about the long term effect of cell phone use on children and teens? Researchers at the NCI conducted a study to see if children would be more at risk for brain cancers by using cell phones. Persons 18 years and older were used in the study. The study found that there were no possible risks among children who used cell phones. In fact, very few children used cell phone prior to the date of the study. Therefore, there are no data concerning possible risk. Nevertheless, there was concern that certain agents such as ionizing radiation and other chemicals pose great risks in children because they can affect the developing brain and nervous system. However, the study found that the radiation emitted by cell phones has not been demonstrated to cause brain cancers in humans of any age at this present time. More studies are still needed to fully rule out the possibility of cell phone induced cancers.

The bottom line is that cell phones should be used sparingly because no one knows for sure if they cause cancers in humans. A rule of thumb is to always use a head set or put the cell phone on speaker when speaking, and keep it away from the body at all times when it is turned on. It is always better to be safe than sorry!

In summary, cellular telephone is a great tool for communication. However, it poses great risks to our health—accidents and brain cancers. Accidents have increased dramatically as a result of people talking on their cellular phones and driving. Although, there is no solid sustain to support the claim that cell phones cause cancers, one should still be cautious when using this mode of communication. After all, cellular telephones do emit radiofrequency (RF) energy, a form of energy that heats up body tissues, which can be harmful at very high levels. Children could also be at great risks for brain cancers from exposure to the radiation emitted by cell phones because certain radiations do cause cancers of the brain and nervous system in children. However, at the present time, there is no evidence to support that cellular telephones cause cancers in children of any age. One should proceed with caution though because although there isn’t any evidence as yet, there could be some in the future. Therefore, to completely rule out such idea more research is needed. The cellular phone technology is very new at this time; therefore, there isn’t enough data available to conduct a definite study! The rule of thumb is to use cell phones with extreme caution by limiting the length of time one spends speaking on them. One should use speaker or a hands free device when speaking on cellular phones to limit the amount of (RF) energy being introduced to the body.

Eating Together As A Family Creates Better Eating Habits Later In Life

ScienceDaily (Sep. 4, 2007) — Eating together as a family during adolescence is associated with lasting positive effects on dietary quality in young adulthood, according to researchers at the University of Minnesota.More than 1,500 students were surveyed once during high school and again when they were 20 years old to determine the long-term effects of family meals on diet quality, social eating, meal structure and meal frequency. Participants were asked questions such as how often they ate family meals, how much they enjoyed sitting down to a meal with family or friends, if they had a tendency to eat on the run and how often they ate breakfast, lunch and dinner.The researchers found eating family meals together during adolescence resulted in adults who ate more fruit, dark-green and orange vegetables and key nutrients, and drank less soft drinks. Frequency of family meals predicted females would eat breakfast as adults. For both sexes, frequency of family meals as adolescents predicted eating dinner more frequently as adults, placing a higher priority on structured meals and a higher priority on social eating.For women, eating together as a family more often during adolescence meant significantly higher daily intakes as adults of calcium, magnesium, potassium, vitamin B6 and fiber. Among males, eating as a family more during adolescence predicted higher intakes of calcium, magnesium, potassium and fiber as adults."Results of this study suggest that having more family meals during adolescence is associated with improved diet quality during young adulthood," the researchers say. "Food and nutrition professionals should encourage families to share meals as often as practically possible."

A Guide To Better Bone Health For Women

Bone health is one of the most important aspects of a women’s health. This is due to the fact that ignoring bone health may result in a lot of diseases and injuries, the most dreaded of which is osteoporosis. Although a lot has been said about the weakening effects of osteoporosis, it may not be entirely too late to protect one from it.

Ways to Make Women’s Bones Healthier

The onset of menopause can truly aggravate bone loss in women. If untreated, it will lead in time to stooping posture, injuries, as well as possible damages to the spinal cord. However, there are ways by which a woman can prevent the onset of bone loss or at least minimize the damage. Here are some of them:

* Nutrition. This is the most important factor to consider for better bone health for women. Where nutrition is concerned, the diet should include calcium, iron, and potassium. These three nutrients are very vital for a woman to have good bone health. In their absence, the bones become prone to fracture and being weak in structure. Although these nutrients can be obtained from food supplements, doctors recommend that one obtain the fresh variety in the form of fish, vegetables, and fruits.

* Vitamin D. Vitamin D is obtainable from nature through fresh sunshine. However, there are other sources for them such as eggs, milk, and dairy products. When the body has enough vitamin D, calcium absorption becomes faster. In its absence, the body’s daily intake of vitamin C is rendered useless as this is not properly engaged by the body.

* Regular Exercise. Exercising regularly helps build up bones. For best results, it is recommended that one exercise under fresh sunshine early in the morning. Because women are at greater risk to bone diseases, it is a must that they exercise regularly.

* Watching One’s Posture. This is one of the most neglected aspects of bone health. When people are still young, they seldom pay attention to their posture, reasoning that any wrong posture will do no damage to their young bodies. This belief should be eliminated because wrong posture can bring serious complications later. Moreover, when proper posture is not observed, the bones become prone to fracture that may cause internal infections and other grave consequences.

* Avoid Lifting Heavy Weights. While lifting weights make for good exercise, one should make sure that the weight is something that one can easily handle. In any case, it is often not the weight itself that counts but the repetitions made. For household chores, one should avoid lifting heavy loads that can cause a burden on the bones.

* Avoid Smoking and Drinking. These vices are known to weaken the bones by introducing toxins to the body. Moreover, they may deprive the body of certain nutrients that are very vital to bone health. Instead of drinking alcoholic beverages, one should consume fresh fruit juices.

How Global Warming Affects Your Health

Most of the time, people hear about how global warming is hurting the planet. What most people don't realize, though, is that global warming affects them too, in a very bad way. Global warming does not affect us directly so much as it affects us indirectly. It does this mainly by changing the climate in which we live.

perhaps the most publicized way that global warming will hurt us is flooding. This will result from the melting of the polar ice caps. Mass flooding will be responsible for a multitude of hazards. First and foremost will be the millions of dollars of damage caused by the floodwaters. many people will starve from lack of food.

The lesser-known health hazard form floods is the mold. For people who suffer from affected by reactions, this mold could be deadly. Most people, when they come in contact with the mold, are mildly turned off from the odor. When someone with allergies encounters the mod, there throat closes up and they have trouble breathing. In addition to the scarcity of food, a scarcity of medicine supplements could also result.

An evident result of global warming will be the heat waves. Heat waves can be fatal for everyone, especially the children and the elderly. Unlike a flood, you cannot escape a heat wave simply by moving to higher ground or a few miles inland. The best thing you can do in the event of a heat wave is go to a commercial building, such as a fishing organization or a store. The reason being is that their air conditioning systems are much more robust than your home system, which could easily fail in the event of a expanded heat wave.

Here's another hazard for those with allergies: pollen. How does global warming affect pollen? Well, the increase in average temperature causes a striking increase in weeds that produce a high volume of pollen. I cannot emphasize enough to be stocked up on your medical supplies in case of a distaste, especially if you are dependent on them.

What about other countries? Many people in third-world countries that rely on developed nations will be severely affected if these nations are hit hard by natural disasters. The most dire situation for these countries will be starvation because they rely heavily on developed nations and their own small network to provide for themselves. If these two factors are hurt by the warming planet, theses already stressed nations will experience the repercussions much more than us.

In spite of this depressing forecast, all is far from lost! Global warming is still in its youth, but it is quickly increasing in its rate. This does not warrant panic, but it is a call for action. By doing some simple things such as conserving energy, recycling, and dropping our dependence on vestige fuels, we can ensure ourselves a bright future.