The use of magnets and electrical devices to generate controlled magnetic fields has many medical applications, and has proven to be one of the most effective means for diagnosing human illness and disease. For example, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) is replacing x-ray diagnosis because it is safer and more accurate, and magnetoencephalography is now replacing electro-encephalography as the preferred technique for recording the brain's electrical activity.

  In 1974, researcher Albert Roy Davis, Ph.D., noted that positive and negative magnetic polarities have different effects upon the biological systems of animals and humans. He found that magnets could be used to arrest and kill cancer cells in animals, and could also be used in the treatment of arthritis, glaucoma, infertility, and diseases related to aging. He concluded that negative magnetic fields have a beneficial effect on living organisms, whereas positive magnetic fields have a stressful effect.

  John Zimmerman, Ph.D., President of the Bio-Electro-Magnetics Institute,  says, scientifically designed, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies, however, have not been done to substantiate the claims of there being different effects between positive and negative magnetic poles. But numerous clinical observations suggest that such differences are real and do exist, and scientific research is needed to substantiate these claims.

  Robert Becker, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon and author of numerous scientific articles and books, found that weak electric currents promote the healing of broken bones. Dr. Becker also brought national attention to the fact that electromagnetic interference from power lines and home appliances can pose a serious hazard to human health. Dr. Becker writes that the scientific evidence leads only to one conclusion: the exposure of living organisms to abnormal electromagnetic fields results in significant abnormalities in physiology and function.

  Magnetic field therapy is a method that penetrates the whole human body and can treat every organ without chemical side effects, according to Wolfgang Ludwig, Sc.D., Ph.D., Director of the Institute for Biophysics in Horb, Germany. Magnetic field therapy has been used effectively in the treatment of such diseases as:

• Cancer
• Rheumatoid disease
• Infections and inflammations
• Headaches and migraines
• Insomnia and sleep disorders
• Circulatory problems
• Fractures and pain
• Environmental stress

 

  Dr. Ludwig adds that magnetic changes in the environment can affect the electromagnetic balance of the human organism and contribute to disease. Kyoichi Nakagawa, M.D., Director of the Isuzu Hospital in Tokyo, Japan, believes that the time people spend in buildings and cars reduces their exposure to the natural geomagnetic fields of the earth, and may also interfere with health. He calls this condition magnetic field deficiency syndrome, which can cause headaches, dizziness, muscle stiffness, chest pain, insomnia, constipation, and general fatigue. Researchers suggest that magnetic therapy can be used to counter the effects caused by the electromagnetic pollution in the environment.

 

  According to Robert Becker, M.D., John Zimmerman, Ph.D., and many other scientists and researchers, we live in an environment that is filled with stress-producing, electromagnetic fields generated by the electrical wiring in homes and offices, as well as from televisions, computers and video terminals, microwave ovens, overhead lights, electrical poles, and the hundreds of motors that can generate higher than naturally occurring gauss strengths.

  The frequency at which a magnetic field is pulsed determines whether or not it is harmful. For example, the voltage of the electrical current used in homes in the United States is sixty cycles per second. In contrast, normal frequencies of the human brain during waking hours range from eight to twenty cycles per second, while in sleep the frequencies may drop to as low as two cycles per second. According to Dr. Zimmerman, the higher frequencies present in artificial electrical currents may disturb the brain's natural resonant frequencies and in time lead to cellular fatigue.

  In 1979, Nancy Wertheimer, Ph.D., an epidemiologist at the University of Colorado, found that there was a statistically significant increase in childhood cancers among those who were exposed to the AC (alternating current) electromagnetic fields that emanate from the electrical power lines that run along many of the nation's city streets. Ten years later, in 1987, a large-scale study conducted by the New York State Department of Health confirmed Dr. Wertheimer's findings and added that it also affected the neuro-hormones of the brain. In 1988, Marjorie Speers, Ph.D., at the University of Texas Medical Branch, found that workers exposed to electromagnetic fields showed a thirteenfold increase in brain tumors compared to the unexposed group. Other studies have shown increases in suicides, depression, chromosomal abnormalities, and learning difficulties.

  In another study by Dr. Wertheimer, it was observed that users of electric blankets had a higher incidence of miscarriages. Add to this the possible perils from fluorescent lighting, microwave ovens, hair dryers, electric shavers, and heaters, and one can see why more research is urgently needed. Dr. Zimmerman states that only a few farsighted individuals, such as Dr. Robert O. Becker, have given much thought to the fact that the new electromagnetic environment created by twentieth century technology may be exerting subtle, yet very important effects upon biology. This may include alterations in gene expression, immune function, viral pathogenesis, and future genetic tendencies.