UNPLUG: A Radiologist Explores the Damage Caused by Electropollution and How You Can Prevent It

Author Book by Rob Brown, MD | Reviewed by Patricia S. Lemer, MEd. LPC, author of Total Load Theory: Transforming Lives in Autism, ADHD, LD, SPD, and Mental Health

This article was first published in the Townsend Letter.

Dr. Rob Brown is a diagnostic radiologist practicing in Port Townsend, Washington.  Every day for the past many years he has stared at MRIs, CT scans, and X-rays of patients’ bodies to determine the health of their organs. The invisible energy that allows technologists to image and document abnormalities in breasts, prostates, hearts, lungs, and other vital parts can be life-saving in determining whether there are tumors or other abnormalities. 

But what if similar invisible energies, known as electromagnetic radiation or EMR, are harming us daily? Thousands of peer-reviewed scientific articles detail the surreptitious damage they can do to our bodies as we unknowingly live our lives. That is the premise that Brown learned at an anti-aging medical conference more than 10 years ago, and underlies his second, just-published, comprehensive and important book. This important addition to your library strikes the right balance between being overly scientific and understandable for the lay reader. In it, Dr. Brown, gives us the scary details of how modern technological conveniences like mobile phones, microwave ovens, and computers, are causing oxidative stress in our cells, and what we can do to protect ourselves. 

Rob starts with basic biology, physics, medicine, and engineering, and expands these fields well beyond what we learned in high school. He explains that energy quality and content within matter determines how living beings interact with their environment. Plant, animal, and human biology use electromagnetic radiation as light to survive, through photosynthesis, circadian rhythms, and the production of life-sustaining substances such as melatonin and Vitamin D. An over-abundance of ionizing radiation from higher frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum causes well-known changes to skin. Brown argues that nonionizing radiation also interferes, causing mild reactions such as rashes, as well as cellular stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and DNA damage. These symptoms of oxidative stress take time to become clinically apparent, but are often the root of many diseases down the road. 

Then there is dirty electricity. Not a great name for the unpredictable stray currents contaminating our electrical wiring and possibly our plumbing, but these low frequency outputs from smart meters and faulty wiring have been shown to cause potentially detrimental health effects, as well. Neurodegenerative disease, such as dementia, and neuromuscular conditions, such as multiple sclerosis, can be triggered by them, argues Dr. Brown. Less well-understood diagnoses, such as chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia can be exacerbated by electro-radiation.

Fortunately, all of this electromagnetic noise is measurable, and remediable. Brown offers dozens of precautionary solutions throughout the book. Start with surveying your environment for potential electric field hazards, using his graphic appendix. Follow the directive of the book’s title: UNPLUG! Target the three largest sources of radiation emission first: the base station of portable phones, the microwave oven, and your Wi-fi  router.  Essential to good health is removing all sources of radiation from your bedroom, which should be a “sleep sanctuary.” Turn off all electronics at night, and put them in airplane mode for a portion of your waking hours. Consider sleeping with an EMF-shielding canopy paired with a grounding cloth. Avoid exposure to screens of all kinds for at least 30 minutes before bedtime. Place the bed against a wall without an electrical outlet, if possible.

Hardwire your home office: no wireless mouse, keyboard, or printer. Avoid and opt out of smart meters, if possible. If your state does not allow that possibility, shield them with a Faraday cage or move them away from the house. Distance is your friend. 

Choose light bulbs that simulate the most natural conditions possible. UNPLUG appliances when not in use. Consider having your environment evaluated by a certified building biologist. Find someone near you at BuildingBiologyInstitute.org who can identify your EMF hotspots and suggest methods of remediation.

Concerned that this book may be too technical for some readers? No worries! A comprehensive glossary defining hard-to-understand terms is included. Want to delve deeper? Follow the author at RobBrownMD.com. Sign up to receive the newsletter of the Environmental Health Trust, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded by Devra Davis, PhD.  Dr. Brown is the Vice President of Scientific Research and Clinical Affairs for them. Join a global network of scientific, business, and legal advisors who are on top of the deleterious health effects of electropollution and will keep you up-to-date on how to protect yourself, your family, and loved ones. UNPLUG is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in improving their health: a “must read” for doctors and their patients alike. Buy it, share it, ask your library to order it.

By Patricia S. Lemer, M.Ed., LPC

Patricia S. Lemer, M.Ed., LPC, is the author of Outsmarting Autism: Build Healthy Foundations for Communication, Socialization, and Behavior at All Ages.

Bioregulatory medicine is a total body (and mind) approach to health and healing that aims to help facilitate and restore natural human biological processes. It is a proven, safe, gentle, highly effective, drugless, and side-effect-free medical model designed to naturally support the body to regulate, adapt, regenerate, and self-heal. BRMI is a non-commercial 501(c)(3) foundation and will expand and flourish with your support. Our goal is to make bioregulatory medicine a household term.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for the direct care of a qualified health practitioner who oversees and provides unique and individualized care. The information provided here is to broaden our different perspectives and should not be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.