Part 1 Indoor Air Quality, Mold & Moisture, VOCs
Part 2 Renovations and New Building Construction
Part 3 Electrical and Magnetic Fields in the Home and Office
Part 4 Radio Frequencies (Cell Phones and Cordless Phones)
Additional Articles:
USA TODAY ^{in MS Word format}
Essential Wellness September 2005
Kansas City Wellness September 2005 | This page -- See below.
Copy of Power Point Slides ^{in MS Word format} presented at Healthy Home Lectures

Creating a Healthier Living and Work Space
By Oram Miller, BBEI

Note: This article has been published in the September 2005 issue of Kansas City Wellness, a monthly magazine covering health issues for the Kansas City metro area.

Do you feel rested and healthy in your home or office? Sadly, this is not always the case today. The EPA estimates we spend 90% of our time indoors, so the impact of the built environment on our health is very important.

Modern medicine is becoming increasingly aware that many illnesses are caused by toxicity in buildings. When these toxic sources are found and eliminated, health problems clear up and medical modalities work better.

Environmental Illness developed in response to "Sick Building Syndrome," which began after the 1973 oil embargo. Builders tightened up homes to reduce heat loss but did not increase fresh air exchange. Simultaneously, thousands of untested chemicals were introduced in carpeting, upholstery, cabinets, countertops and cleaning and laundry products. The result was a toxic soup that many believe is partly responsible for the rise in cancer, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, and allergies.

It is commonly felt that a new house will "outgas" within a few weeks, but it can really take months or years if non-toxic materials are not used. Exposure to these materials increases the "toxic load" on the body, which, according to Dr. William Rea of the Environmental Health Center in Dallas, acts like a rain barrel. You never know how much water it contains until it spills over. Likewise, the body fills up with fat-soluble toxins from exposure to volatile organic compounds in carpeting, paints, and so on. The body can compensate for this toxic onslaught only so long until it reaches its limit and you suddenly become sick. It is better to minimize your exposure to these products in the first place.

Secondly, the public and electrical industry in America do not know that electronic devices and house wiring create unhealthy electric, magnetic and radio frequency fields in our homes and offices. Nor do they know the effect that these fields have on our health.

For example, wireless devices (cellphones, cordless telephones and wireless Internet) are convenient, but they are also thought to be relatively harmless. Nothing can be farther from the truth, and Americans are woefully uninformed about their dangers. European researchers and physicians call their use the largest human experiment ever. They are predicting an epidemic of dementia and Alzheimer's Disease worldwide in teenagers who use these technologies by the time they reach middle age, and health problems not normally seen in younger age groups (ie, stroke) are cropping up in America's 20+ year olds. For an eye-opening look at this topic, go to www.latitudes.org/articles/electrical_sensitivity_articles.html

Exposure to wireless Internet (Wi-Fi) and other wireless technologies already bothers a number of people and those around them, like second-hand smoke, and it causes illness for many more who do not yet know their dangers. We recommend using cables for all data and telephone connections. Likewise, keep cell phones away from your head and body while you are talking and when they are in standby mode. Purchase earphones with plastic tubes, shields and wire guards from www.rfsafe.com and external car antennas from www.cellcrew.com.

Electric fields from wiring in your walls, as another example, prevent deep, restful Stage Four sleep at night, even when the lights are off, causing chronic fatigue syndrome and reducing your ability to maintain good health. These fields suppress the natural nighttime spike in melatonin production by the pineal gland. This results in less production of "Happy Hormones," lower energy levels, less protection against cancer, lower functioning of the endocrine and immune systems, and reduced cleansing of the liver, which aggravates chemical sensitivities. All of these physiological activities occur in a healthy direction when melatonin levels are normal, which is only possible when electric and magnetic fields are reduced.

What can you do about this increasing assault on your health from the built environment? First, get informed. Second, minimize your exposure to these sources of ill health, at least in your home and office. Third, increase your tolerance of their influence. Have an evaluation by a Building Biologist to find and fix sources of ill health in your home and office.

For complete details about these and other steps to reduce house-borne sources of ill health, see "Articles" and "Tips for a Healthy Home" on my website, www.createhealthyhomes.com. Also read Athena Thompson's book, Homes That Heal (www.homesthatheal.com). You can also attend lectures that I will be presenting in the Kansas City area September 26, 27 and 28th. See the Calendar of Events page for details.

Creating a healthy home and office takes patience, dedication and persistence. Once you begin to make changes in this direction, however, you will notice an improvement in health and energy, making the task easier as you go and providing greater results from the modalities provided by your health care practitioners. You will be glad you took the effort to make your home healthier.

Biography
Oram Miller, BBEI, is a certified Building Biology Environmental Inspector based in Minneapolis. He comes to Kansas City every two months to provide healthy home and office evaluations and will be in town September 24 through October 2. He also consults any time by telephone for existing homes and for healthy new construction and remodeling. Oram lectures on health and the built environment and will lecture in KC September 26, 27 & 28th (2005). See the Calendar of Events page. Call 952-412-0781; www.createhealthyhomes.com