The Blood-Brain Barrier Under Attack

By Cynthia Vann

EMF Safety

     It is incredible how many scientists and electrically sensitive people who have told their stories. Many scientists have docu-mented bio-effects in their studies of radio-frequency (RF) and microwave radiation for over 40 years, and yet we don’t know their experiences. One such scientist is Allan Frey who showed that RF radiation could break the blood-brain barrier and interfere with other biological membranes. But before I tell that story, let’s look at why a healthy blood-brain barrier is important.

     In EMF Off!, Olga Sheean reveals that in 2016 an emergency landing of a San Francisco-London flight occurred with 25 crew members hospitalized for exposure to fuel fumes. They experienced dizziness, headaches, and nausea, with some exhibit-ting aggression, forgetfulness, confusion, and the inability to think straight or con-verse in a normal manner. Other bizarre behavior included crew members curling up in corners on the floor, with blankets over their heads. They thought this was from the fuel fumes, but all of these symptoms are consistent with exposure to microwave radiation, Sheean says.

     Increased incidents in recent years are most likely because people’s blood-brain barriers have already been chronically compromised by the wireless radiation in their environment, Sheean believes. When the blood-brain barrier is open, toxins in the environment are more likely to affect the brain. You guessed it. There is more potential harm around other body barriers.

An Extraordinary Barrier

     Getting into the brain is more complica-ted than in other parts of the body. “Coursing through the brain are 400 miles of tiny capillaries. The cells that form the walls of these tiny blood vessels are so tightly packed that they form the blood-brain barrier,” says Sheen. If laid flat, this network would be about the size of a three-bedroom house. The barrier works against many possibly harmful molecules. “Aspirin, alcohol, and many addictive drugs

can cross the barrier easily, but larger molecules that will not dissolve in fat or do not have the right electrical charge do not get across. Antibiotics are one example.”

Other Barriers in the Body

     At biointiative.org, independent researchers raised the question whether EMFs could be weakening other important barriers such as the blood-ocular barrier (protects eyes), the blood-placenta barrier (protects the developing fetus), the blood-gut barrier (protects proper digestion and nutrition), and the blood-testes barrier (protects developing sperm). Future research could answer barrier vulnerability questions.

     Another possible vulnerable barrier is the blood-cerebro-spinal fluid barrier (BCSFB). “While the BBB separates or

controls the traffic of molecules from the blood to the cerebral interstitial fluid, the BCSFB keeps the circulation between the blood and cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) separate. The former is made of endothel-ial cells and the latter of epithelial cells. The junctions in the BCSFB are leakier than those between the endothelial cells of the BBB, which would increase the likelihood of injury to the choroidal tissue by toxic materials originating from the blood. There’s more to reveal that was meant to be secret.

     A landmark article in Gentleman’s Quarterly (GQ) in 2010 revealed health issues with cell phones. Its publication was fought by the telecom industry, but GQ decided to publish despite the threats. The GQ article reveals that people around the world are being affected as never before with increased tumor risk, sleep disturban-ces, brain aging, brain damage, early-onset Alzheimer’s, DNA damage, and even sperm die-offs—all traced to cell phone use. Go to a doctor, people say, but when you go, you are told there’s nothing wrong. There is more and more wireless electronic power than ever and more powerful appliances that could be affecting your brain, and there’s barely a word spoken about the consequences.

   So here’s the catch. If we are unaware that something can cause consequences, we will pursue it to excess, just as we did with the use of pesticides and with smok-ing, and the result is staggering. Just as the U.S. Senate is supposed to act as a check on the president, independent scientific study is the factual check to limit our environmental excesses. The science isthere, but hidden, and we look the other way while merchants dangle shiny objects

in front of us. I’m sure you agree with me, this is how you increase sales and sweep away science to protect profits.

     In EMF Off!, Olga Sheean estimates that “about 10% of the population in developed countries is already suffering the damaging effects of 4G and Wi-Fi radiation, yet doctors are failing to recognize this because of the sheer diversity of illnesses it’s causing.” This U.S. percentage is up from 3% in 1998. In addition, up to 35% are mildly electrically sensitive at current microwave transmission levels (4G), making approximately 45% affected in developed countries. The population gets sicker at the same time as a tragic denial of cause exists.

Allan Frey’s Incredible Story

     Behind the headlines about microwave weapons and ills of U.S. embassy workers in Cuba this year is the 83-year old biologist Allan Frey. An article in the New York Times

revealed that investigators have questioned Frey on this diplomatic riddle and asked, Is microwave radiation a possible cause? A long-time contractor and consultant to a number of federal agencies, Frey specula-ted that Cubans, aligned with Russia, might have launched microwave strikes to under-mine Cuban-U.S. relations. Diplomats and their families recounted high-pitched sounds in homes and hotel rooms, at times intense enough to incapacitate. Long-term, the symptoms included nausea, crushing headaches, fatigue, dizziness, sleep problems, and hearing loss. Another scientist included vertigo, as well as possible brain-tissue injury to Frey’s list. The attacking technology could have enabled tight focus due to the small size of microwaves as when dish antennas turn disorganized rays into concentrated beams. “The dimensions of the human head, scientists say, make it a fairly good antenna for picking up microwave signals.” Do you see how huge this is?

     To understand the grasp Frey has on his research, let’s go back to the early 1960s. Frey did original work sponsored by the

Office of Naval Research, showing that microwave radiation like that used in cell phones today could weaken the mem-branes surrounding our hearts, brains, eyes, and lungs. “It is the pulsed signals of digital phones that are the issue and much more problematic biologically.”

      What the telecom industry doesn’t want you to know and what bothered them about Frey was that he studied waves “emitted from the non-ionizing part of the EM spectrum—the part that scientists always assumed could do no outright

biological damage.” In 1960, “it was assumed that the only way microwaves could have a damaging biological effect was if you increased the power of their signals and concentrated them like sword points—to the level where they could cook flesh. In 1967, this resulted in the first microwave oven, a popular device that employed microwave frequencies at very high power, and was concentrated and contained in a metal box. Aside from this engineered thermal effect, the signals were assumed to be safe.”

 “Cell phones are tiny, low-power microwave ovens, without walls, that we hold against the sides of our heads.”

     Studying the new field of “bio-electromagnetics, Frey found what appeared to be grave nonthermal effects from microwave frequencies—the part of the spectrum that belongs not just to radar signals and microwave ovens but also, in the past fifteen years, to cell phones. He thought, “cell phones…are tiny, low-power microwave ovens, without walls, that we hold against the sides of our heads.” Frey tested microwave radiation on frogs and other lab animals, targeting the eyes, the heart, and the brain, and in each case, he found troubling results. In one study, he triggered heart arrhythmias. Then, using the right modulations of the frequency, he even stopped frog hearts with microwaves —stopped the hearts dead.” That’s not all; it gets more bizarre, read on.

Pulses & Biological Effects

     In 1975 Frey reported that “microwaves pulsed at certain modulations could induce ‘leakage’ in the barrier between the circulatory system and the brain.” He used a method of tracing “a fluorescent dye into the circulatory system of white rats, then swept the microwave frequencies across their bodies. In a matter of minutes, the dye had leached into the confines of the rats’ brains.” As a result of this discovery, Frey would lose his job.

     The government had a different agenda than public health, and Frey was in the way. The possibility of lowering standards for electronic equipment for any reason would be unacceptable. For more than fifteen years, Frey had received almost unrestricted funding from the Office of Naval Research. “Now he was told to conceal his blood-brain barrier work, or his contract would be canceled.” Thus ended U.S. government blood-brain barrier research, but keep reading because research didn’t really end.

Research Since Frey

     Blood-brain barrier leakage research dried up in the United States but in the 1990s, “a Swedish neurosurgeon Leif Salford recently expanded on Frey’s work, confirming much of what Frey revealed decades before. Salford found that microwave exposure killed rodents’ brain cells and stimulated neurons associated with Alzheimer’s. ‘A rat’s brain is very much the same as humans,’ he said in a 2003 interview with the BBC. ‘They have the same blood-brain barrier and neurons. We have good reason to believe that what happens in rats’ brains also happens in humans’. ‘His research, he said, suggests that a whole generation of [cell-phone] users may suffer negative effects in middle age.’” In addition, Salford discovered how quickly BBB leakage occurs. In one study, blood drawn after a short phone call showed higher levels of a specific thyroid hormone carrier—proof of cerebrospinal fluid leaking into the blood. The damage may last for days, if not weeks. I know this is a lot to take in, but there’s more to learn that has to do with your safety.

     In a 2018 article, the BBB vulnerability question was re-addressed by the main-stream media in Nation. The article noted, “Wireless radiation has been shown to damage the blood-brain barrier, a vital defense mechanism that shields the brain from carcinogenic chemicals elsewhere in the body, for example, from second-hand cigarette smoke.” Dominique Belpomme, French cancer specialist, also stated, “The most important effect from EMFs is the opening of the blood-brain barrier. This allows mercury, organochlorines, and other pollutants to enter the brain, where they cause various neurodegenerative diseases.” Viruses can cross the barrier, and this has huge implications for susceptibility to viral diseases.

     In conclusion, “We currently stand at the crossroads between self-annihilation and greatness.” Depending on a gadget that appears magical is a denial that we are magical. Learning this would be a powerful step for humankind. Denial is happening everywhere; it is denial of our power, and even of science itself. We have the power to reverse what harms us even though we don’t think so. We deny our power at the same time that “the wireless telecom industry and governments are denying the power of their EMFs.” Our power lies in our

voice, intention, and actions. Begin to see, begin to talk about what you want, not the dangerous thing they want to sell you. If you don’t, “you must take responsibility for what shows up.”

 Safe Spots & Other Solutions

     Currently, EMF emissions are seldom taken into consideration as a cause of anything. Educators can remedy that. Macrobiotic teachers and counselors can learn about and recommend safety measures to clients who use electronics. Recommending books such as The Non-Tinfoil Guide to EMFs, and Electro-Magnetic Radiation Survival Guide, and many others can do this.

     Symptoms of EMF are similar to allergies and food related symptoms, especially from sugar and alcohol, making it easy to overlook EMF as a cause. So a simple recommendation of avoiding electronics for several days to a week can help analyze the cause of symptoms and recurring or surprisingly aggressive disease.

     “Safe spots” are areas that are free of wireless technology. Providing them helps the sensitive. Macrobiotic event organizers can guide wireless device users to turn off or put in airplane mode their devices in lectures. Devices are even collected at the doors of some health conferences or spas. At the Vegetarian Educational Institute (VEI) summer camp, despite printed guidelines to turn off phones, many had little understanding that leaving a smart-phone on, even though not connected, still emits microwaves. So my friend and I carried a sign that read CELLPHONE FREE ZONE when we went to eat or go to a class. It alerts others to the need for cell phone safety.

     For those who are hypersensitive and/or ill, there is one clinic in the country that I know of that recognizes and treats electrically sensitive cases. This clinic is in Dallas, and the doctors at the Environ-mental Health Center (see note in refer-ences under Dr. Rea) do  a battery of tests, then recommend detox and supplements for nutrient, vitamin, and mineral losses caused by exposure to microwave energy. This clinic also supports people who need help proving their health issue causes in court.

     Most importantly, the telecom industry should be made responsible for the safety of what they sell. You can be made safer by demanding shielding for wireless devices. There is a patent for shielding already established by Nokia, Motorola, Ericsson, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, and Alcatel H.V. “Here these folks have the ability to protect consumers from being radiated and they’re unwilling to spend a couple bucks to do so. ‘It’s outrageous,’ declares attorney Carl Hilliard, wireless safety advocate.” Yet the patents to this day lie dormant.          ¨                                     

    Cynthia Vann discovered macrobiotics after retiring from the Air Force in the early 990s. She studied at Kushi Institute and is a macrobiotic counselor and a personality consultant, specializing in eyeology sciences. She edited the Best of East West, seasonal cooklets of recipes originally published in East West Journal which were then published by Amberwaves. She lives in Arizona and is on the board of Planetary Health, Inc.

References

• Broad, W. J. (2018) “Microwave Weapons Are Prime Suspect in Ills of U.S. Embassy Workers.” New York Times. New York, NY: A.G. Sulzberger. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/01/science/ sonic-attack-cuba-microwave.html

• Brynie, F. H. (2008) 101 Questions Your Brain Has Asked About Itself But Couldn’t Answer…Until Now. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books.

• Davis, D. (2010) Disconnect. New York, NY: Penguin Group.

• Cooper, C. (2009) Cell Phones and the Dark Deception. Grandville, MI: Premiere Advantage Publishing.

• Gittleman, A.L. (2010) Zapped. New York, NY: Harper Collins.

• Hallberg, Ö & Oberfeld, G. (2006). Letter to the Editor: Will We All Become Electrosensi-tive? Retrieved from http://www.next-up.org/pdf/ EHS2006_Hallberg Oberfeld.pdf

•      Hertsgaard, M. & Dowie, M. (2018) “How Big Wireless Made Us Think That Cell Phones Are Safe: A Special Investigation: The disinformation campaign—and massive radiation increase—behind the 5G Rollout.” The Nation. New York, NY: The Nation Company, L.P. Retrieved from https://www. thenation.com/article

• Pineault, N. (2017) The Non-Tinfoil Guide to how-big-wireless-made-us-think-that-cell-phones-are-safe-a-special-investigation/

•      Ketcham, C. (2010) “Warning: Your Cell Phone May be Hazardous to Your Health.” Gentlemen’s Quarterly. New York, NY: Condé Nast. Retrieved from https://www.gq.com/story/warning -cell-phone-radiation

•      Pinault, N. (2017) The Non-Tinfoil Guide to EMFs: How to Fix our Stupid use of Technology. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

• Rea, William J. (2018) passed away in

• August. NOTE: The Environmental Health Center (EHCD) in Dallas, TX offer understanding, compassion, diagnoses, and treatment for chemical sensitivity, EMF sensitivity, food, mold, mycotoxin and pollen sensitivity. Retrieved from https://www.ehcd.com/

• Rees, C. R. G. (2017) The Wireless Elephant in the Room: An overview of the rapidly emerging health issue from cell phones, wireless devices and wireless …driver of poor health outcomes and costs. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

• Sheean, O. (2017) EMF Off!. Canada: InsideOut Media.

• Söderqvist, F., Carlbert, M., & Hardell, L. (2009). “Mobile and cordless telephones, serum transthyretin and the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier: a cross-sectional study.” Environmental Health 2009 8:19. Retrieved from https://ehjournal. biomdcentral.com/ Articles/10.1186/1476-069X-8-19