Daniel Debaun talks to Dr. Ben Weitz about the dangers of EMF radiation, given off by cell phones, computers, ipads, wifi, microwaves, electric toasters, alarm clocks, etc.  As evidence has been accumulating that there is potential harm and negative health effects from these forms of radiation, the industry has its head in the sand, telling us that there is no problem.  Meanwhile the cell phone companies are having you sign wavers that they will not be responsible if you get brain cancer or some other health condition from cell phone radiation.  At the present time, we do not have the highest level of proof in double blind, placebo controlled studies on large groups of people and meta-analyses of studies that demonstrate that cell phone and other forms of EMF radiation cause brain tumors and other injuries.  

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Podcast Details

2:35  Daniel Debaun is an expert on EMF radiation, EMF shielding, and EMF related health issues. Daniel has over 30 years of engineering experience in the telecom industry.  He co-authored Radiation Nation, which available from Barnes and Noble and Amazon https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/radiation-nation-daniel-t-debaun/1126406601   

4:00  I asked Daniel to explain what EMF radiation is and what are the mains sources of EMFs in our environment? Daniel explained that in nature there are no EMFs. They are what we produce from electronic products or electric products. They are produced from your hair dryer, stove, microwave, toaster, and your alarm clock. They produce EMF radiation on the low end of the spectrum. On the higher end is the signal from and to your cell phone, your wifi signal to your laptop, the bluetooth connection to your car speaker system. EMF radiation is an omnidirectional form of radiation and it penetrates your walls and has a potential to create harm.

6:58 I asked Daniel about air travel, which I have heard exposes us to a high level of radiation? When you are in a jet, you are surrounded by aluminum and every 6-10 feet they have wifi transmitters and so you are getting exposed to lots of EMF radiation.

7:50  I asked what is the state of the research as to the definitive proof that EMFs create harm to humans?   Daniel explained that we just don’t have that much data yet, since it has really only been the last ten years that our exposure to cell phone radiation has been as extensive as it is now.  He compared the cell phone industry to the cigarette industry in the 70s, when they were still trying to tell people that cigarettes were not harmful.  Daniel pointed out that the independent science shows that EMF radiation is harmful but all the scientific information that is supported by the industry shows that it is not harmful.  Last year the National Toxicity program, which is a division of the Federal Government, spent 25 million on a study in which they took transmitters of cell phones and they radiated two populations–one a little and one a lot. What they found is that there is a 2% increased likelihood of tumors that converted to cancers in the frontal lobe of the brain and in the heart.  The evidence that EMFs are harmful is really starting to accumulate.

13:10 I commented that it is also the case that wherever you carry your cell phone, that part of the body is more likely to experience harm. since it gets a higher dosage. I also commented that there was the study from UCLA where four women carried their cell phones in their shirts next to one of their breasts for an average of ten years, and all four of the women ended up with a tumor in that breast. Daniel pointed out that when a man takes a cell phone and puts it in their front pants pocket, within a few hours, 25% of the sperm is immobile.

Dr. Karlis Ullis discusses Men’s Sexual Health with Dr. Ben Weitz. I mentioned that male testosterone levels have been dropping for the last 20 years about 17%. I asked Dr. Ullis why he thinks this is and he answered that there are a number of reasons, including obesity. Men with obesity, esp. visceral adiposity, fat around the middle, about 40% have low testosterone. Poor diet and lifestyle and exposure to endocrine disrupting substances are other important reasons for low testosterone.  Dr. Ullis described primary, secondary, and functional low testosterone. Primary caused by a failure of the testes to produce testosterone either due to damage to the testes from injury or infection or cancer or genetics. Secondary are due to disruptions in the hypothalamic/pituitary/gonadal axis. Lack of sleep or opiate use can shut down testosterone production. 

Endocrine disruptors are affecting testosterone levels. Most of these endocrine disruptors are estrogenic and virtually none of these are androgenic.  You need to avoid plastic water bottles and cans lined with BPA and conventional cleaning products with endocrine disruptors.  Liver detoxification programs can be beneficial in getting rid of some of these toxins.

Dr. Ullis discussed aromatization of testosterone and certain nutritional products that can reduce aromatization, including vitamin D, zinc, curcumin, resveratrol, magnesium, and inositol.

Dr. Ullis can be reached through his website  drkarlisullis.com

Dr. Al Danenberg, Wholistic Periodontist and Functional Medicine Doctor, discusses periodontal disease and the health of the mouth with Dr. Ben Weitz. Periodontitis is caused by microorganisms adhering to the teeth and an overly aggressive immune response. This occurs in over 50% of the US population. 92% have gingivitis, which is an infection of the gum tissue that has not progressed into the bone like periodontitis.  Dr. Danenberg has recently written Crazy Good Living: Healthy Gums, Healthy Gut, Healthy Life. Dr. Danenberg discusses our primal ancestory and our evolution and that it was rare for our primal ancestors to have had gum disease or tooth decay.  This has resulted from our modern diet and lifestyle and toxins that result in chronic diseases, like periodontal disease. And they don’t have toothbrushes or mouth wash or dental visits. The starting point for periodontal disease is the gut.

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Podcast Details

Eating grains has created a chemical–gliadin–that we cannot digest completely. This protein, gliadin irritates the gut lining, which is only one cell thick. This causes openings in the gut lining, resulting in leaky gut. If this insult just happened once, the gut would heal. But because of our modern diet, we are continuously eating foods that irritate the lining of the gut, creating a chronic inflammation. This may result in the immune system attacking other organs, such as the thyroid. When you have dysbiosis in the gut, the bacteria in the saliva in the mouth change, resulting in a dysbiosis in the mouth.  Thus, the gut is the initiator of many chronic diseases, like periodontal disease. Once there is dysbiosis in the bacteria in the mouth, then the foods that we eat, esp. sugar, that feed these bacteria, make this dysbiosis more pathogenic and unhealthy.  That’s where gum disease and tooth decay cause bigger problems. Now you have a leaky gut creating systemic problems through the blood stream and a leaky type situation in the vascular under the gums. Effective care should involve treating both the infection under the gums and also treating the leaky gut.

Dr. Danenberg explained that the three food groups that are the most damaging to the lining of the gut are grains, added sugars, and processed liquid seed oils. He believes in eating nutrient dense foods. I mentioned the recent paper from the American Heart Association that recommends substituting soybean and other vegetable oils in place of saturated fats like butter. http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/early/2017/06/15/CIR.0000000000000510 Dr. Danenberg pointed out that the American Heart Association failed to mention at least two of those four studies from the 1950s while they demonstrated decreases in heart disease from substituting vegetable oils like soybean, corn and canola oil for saturated fats like butter, red meat, and cheese, there was actually no decreases in death rates since there was an increase in cancer death rates.

Dr. Danenberg explained what he means by eating a nutrient dense diet. He said that such a diet includes eating animals that are wild caught and pasture raised. This includes wild Alaskan salmon. It includes grass fed and grass finished cattle and chickens that are eating bugs on the ground rather than processed corn and soy products. These foods are higher in omega 3 fats and are anti-inflammatory. This also includes vegetables and fruits and nuts and seeds. We are talking about organic and not conventionally raised with chemical, such as glyphosate, which is sprayed on a number of genetically modified crops. Dr. Danenberg explained that organic fruits and vegetables will contain more phytonutrients since their immune systems will have to work harder t...

David Foreman, the Herbal Pharmacist, discusses strategies to prevent heart disease with Dr. Ben Weitz.  

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Podcast Highlights

I started the discussion by laying out the American Heart Association position that the cause of heart disease is the consumption of saturated fats like red meat, butter, and cheese. In the last ten years, this theory has been challenged and we have learned that sugar and processed carbohydrates are bigger players as the cause of coronary artery disease than saturated fats, though trans fats are also recognized to be a factor as well. Recently, the American Heart Association published a paper reasserting its position that saturated fat is the true cause of heart disesase, though rather than recommending substituting whole grains, they are now focusing on substituting vegetable oils, like soybean and corn oil. http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/early/2017/06/15/CIR.0000000000000510

But a closer look at the four core studies cited by the American Heart Association paper from the 1950s shows that while substituting vegetable oils like soybean oil for saturated fats did lead to a lower rate of death from heart disease, there was an increased risk from cancer so that there was really no decreased risk of death. This shows us that such easily oxidized, vegetable oils can create inflammation that is a factor in virtually every chronic disease, including heart disease. They also stated that coconut oil, being primarily a saturated fat, is bad for your heart.

David explained how he transformed himself from a traditional pharmacist to an Herbal Pharmacist. First he explained that 30% of traditional medicines actually originated from plants. He spent some time with his ex-brother-in-law, who was a professional athlete and he ate really well and he looked and felt great and recovered from sports injuries really quickly, which highlighted the benefits of eating right. He also knew that the majority of the medicines he was prescribing don’t address the root cause of disease but rather just mask the symptoms.

I then asked David what causes heart disease? I mentioned that I had recently been to a health conference where they were serving Dave Asprey’s Bulletproof Coffee with butter and coconut oil.  Should we be putting butter and coconut oil in our coffee or should we avoid eating red meat, butter, and coconut oil, like the American Heart Association says and should we be substituting vegetable oils like soybean and corn oil?  David said that he’s not a big fan of corn oil and soybean oil and when the American Heart Association came out with their big endorsement of corn oil again he wanted to bang his head into the sharp corner of the wall. David said that in his household, they eat butter and olive oil and coconut oil and they eat meat, chicken, and fish.  When it comes to coconut oil in your coffee, David doesn’t particularly like it but doesn’t think it will harm you, unless you have a very unhealthy lifestyle, such as smoking cigarettes and leading a sedentary lifestyle. Those vegetable oils trigger more inflammation and we know that inflammation is a causative factor in so many chronic diseases.

David talked about how in the 70’s when everybody became fat phobic and we started eating low fat diets and levels of obesity and diabesity started to rise. When you take the fat out of your diet, most people think that what they should substitute for the fat are carbohydrate foods like bread and pasta and rice and potatoes, not realizing that your body makes cholesterol from these carbohydrate foods. This is what you should be worried about, not the cholesterol found in eggs or the saturated fat found in butter. You have far more to fear from inflammation and oxidation.