Cell Phone Radiation Could Affect Fertility

By: Cate Stevenson, BA

This health e-letter is about a very popular modern device: the cell phone. Unfortunately, cell phones do emit electromagnetic radiation. There has been much debate recently in health news circles about the effects of this radiation on human health.

The problem with radiation is that it is made up of subatomic particles. These particles move at very high speeds, sometimes as much as 100,000 miles per second! Because of these tremendous speeds, radiation can penetrate deep inside your body, damaging your cells.

When a radiation particle collides violently with atoms or molecules in your cells, these cells may die. If the cells survive the impact, they may begin to grow in a mutated form.

And in fact, this is just what a recent study has found when it comes to sperm cells. Researchers conducted an animal trial involving rats exposed to cell phone radiation. The rats were exposed to mobile phone frequencies for two hours a day for 35 days.

The research team found there was a significant decrease in protein kinase C (an enzyme involved in controlling the function of other proteins) and total sperm count after exposure to the mobile phone radiation. They also found that there was an increase in sperm cell death. They concluded that the study results suggest a reduction in protein kinase activity may be related to overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) under microwave field exposure. A decrease in sperm count and an increase in cell death due to mobile radiation exposure may lead to infertility.

So what can you do? Cell phones are clearly here to stay and most of us enjoy the incredible convenience these mobile devices offer. Here are five tips to reduce your exposure to electromagnetic waves from your cell phone:

-Don’t talk; text. Phones emit higher amounts of radiation when a call is being made. Keep calls short when speaking on the phone.

-Keep cell phones away from your body: Even keeping a cell phone an inch away from your head can significantly reduce the amount of radiation you will absorb.

-Check your phone: Cell phones are unique and emit varying levels of electromagnetic radiation, some higher than others.

-Go hands-free: Using a headset or talking on speaker phone can drastically reduce the amount of radiation you absorb.

-Avoid using cell phones in weak-signal areas: Cell phones emit the most radiation when they have a weak signal, because the phone is working harder to get a signal to the tower.

-Protect children: Many experts say children should have very limited use of cell phones because their brains are still developing and can absorb more radiation or be susceptible to risks.

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