Review – Impacts of 5G and Non-ionising Radiation with Dr Erica Mallory-Blythe

  Published to Latest News on Jun 25, 2020

Review – Impacts of 5G and Non-ionising Radiation with Dr Erica Mallory-Blythe
Nutrition Collective 21st May 2020

Dr Mallery-Blythe has been researching the effects of non-ionising radiation on health since 2008. She is the founder of the Physicians Health Initiative for Radiation and Environment (PHIRE), which is an independent association of medical doctors and associated specialists, assembled for the purposes of improving education regarding the health effects of non-ionising radiation. In this webinar she gave us a very comprehensive tour through the negative impacts that non-ionising radiation can have on health, how electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) can be triggered and how the current move towards 5G can further affect our health. We were also given a lot of information and tools to help identify clients whose symptoms may be EHS related.

She told us that all life is electrosensitive to some degree and thresholds for conscious perception vary depending on age, gender and an individual’s physiology. Exposure to unnatural electromagnetic fields accelerated at an increasing rate throughout the twentieth century, but since the introduction of mobile phones in 1996, the amount of exposure has exploded. Devices which emit radio frequencies and are known to cause symptoms in those with EHS include mobile phones and mobile phone masts, Wi-Fi routers, radio/TV broadcasting transmitters, smart meters, MRI scanners, DECT cordless landlines, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth enabled desktop computers and laptops, fluorescent lighting, baby monitors, security systems, RFID systems and wireless gaming consoles are all involved in predisposing more and more people to this issue. (Low Frequency fields from household electrical appliances can also cause symptoms in some individuals.)

Real-life complications that can increase the damage caused, include the individual characteristics of rooms,
hot-spots in the room and in the body, and multiple wave crossover where there are numerous sources affecting the same space - she told us that symptoms do seem to be dose related. As electro-magnetic radiation is invisible, it is very easy to forget about it or brush-off symptoms as being caused by other reasons, so she recommends that everyone buy a meter. A meter will instantly reveal the true levels of non-ionising radiation in your environment. 

This sensitivity can cause many symptoms including headaches, dizziness, sleep disturbance, palpitations, unusual pain in multiple sites, visual disturbance, auditory disturbance (especially tinnitus), membrane sensitivity, muscle twitching, skin complaints, hyperactivity or fatigue, restless leg syndrome, memory and/or concentration disturbance and anxiety. Interestingly, she said that with good avoidance, symptoms tend to disappear in the reverse order that they accumulated.

Up-regulation of all senses is commonly noted in persons with EHS, i.e. Photophobia and/or visual sensitivity, hearing sensitivity, heightened sense of smell, heightened taste sensitivity, heightened skin sensitivity and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. 

Dr Mallery-Blythe  told us numerous studies reveal that the general population (not known to be electro-sensitive) experience the same constellation of symptoms as in EHS. Thus, it is possible that with enough exposure EHS could manifest in all members of the population. The change from low grade sensitivity to hypersensitivity is usually triggered by an event. Triggers are usually electrical but can be chemical (or even any biological stress or shock).

It is now known that non-ionising radiation has many biological effects at low intensity exposure (many times lower than the current UK safety guidelines). Mechanisms of damage include upregulation of the NO/ONOO-cycle, which is a biochemical vicious-cycle mechanism, centred on elevated peroxynitrite and oxidative stress, but also involving additional inflammatory elements, also ion-channel gating, altered calcium handling, altered gene expression, DNA damage and inhibition of DNA repair.

She stressed the importance of picking it up early, because the longer a person has been suffering hypersensitivity, the harder it is to resolve, although complete reversal of symptoms is possible with no medical intervention in a natural environment even for those with severe EHS. However, the symptoms of chronic illness they have had previously can very often return as soon as they re-enter an electrically hostile environment. 

Dr Mallory-Blythe recommends having a detailed questionnaire to use when you suspect a client’s symptoms may be related to electro-sensitivity. She stressed the need for a clinical diagnosis, not provocation testing (especially not with children because they are really vulnerable) and Dr Mallory-Blythe gave a lot of helpful information about how to achieve this diagnosis. Much of this information can be found on the PHIRE website: 

5G is a new evolution from the existing bandwidths. There are many concerns with 5G including the high frequency ranges used that don’t penetrate buildings very easily (hence the new designs of the antenna and their need for distribution every few metres) but that do affect the surface of the body (eyes and skin) much more. Also, the phase modulation, the height at which the antenna will be installed and that 5G is in the process of being provided from space, so that nobody will be able to avoid it. PHIRE has a leaflet all about 5G, which has been endorsed by a large number of scientists and doctors worldwide, you can download it here: http://phiremedical.org/tag/5g/

Note: Powerwatch UK: https://www.powerwatch.org.uk  and ElectroSensitivity UK: http://www.es-uk.info are two websites that also contain a lot of information on safety levels etc.