'Dirty electricity' affects blood sugar.

Dr. Magda Havas, an authority on the biological effects of electromagnetic frequencies at Trent University (Ontario, Canada), has found evidence that "dirty electricity" elevates blood sugar in a subset of diabetics (Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine. 2008;27[2]:135-146). '"Dirty electricity' refers to electromagnetic energy that flows along a conductor and deviates from a pure 60-Hz sine wave,'" she explains. Electronic equipment such as televisions, computers, mobile phones, fluorescent lighting, dimmer switches, and appliances, as well as broadcast antennae and tree branches that contact electrical wires, produce dirty electricity.

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In her article, Havas discusses four case studies: a 12-year-old boy with type 1 diabetes, an 80-year-old woman with type 1 diabetes, a 51-year-old man with type 2 diabetes, and a 57-year-old woman with type 2 diabetes. In all cases, plasma glucose levels responded to the installation of Graham/Stetzer (GS) filters used to remove electromagnetic pollution. The individuals with type 2 diabetes reported that their blood-sugar levels decreased after the filters were installed. If they entered an electrically polluted environment, the glucose levels rose within minutes. After returning to a clean environment, the blood-sugar level again declined. Neither person was taking diabetes medication. The patients with type 1 diabetes required less insulin after the filters were installed. In the case of the 12-year-old boy, his younger sister, who was diagnosed with diabetes at age 3, also responded to the filters with lower plasma glucose levels, making it difficult to regulate her insulin.

Professor Martin Graham (University of California, Berkeley) and power-quality expert Dave Stetzer invented the GS filters. These filters plug into power strips and electrical outlets and short out high-frequency spikes. The filter's ability to lessen dirty electricity can be measured with an oscilloscope or microsurge meter. Information posted on the company's web site (www.stetzerelectric.com) includes published studies in which the filters have reduced numerous symptoms associated with electrical hypersensitivity including chronic fatigue, depression, headaches, body aches and pains, ringing in the ears, dizziness, impaired sleep, memory loss, and confusion.

Not all diabetics react to dirty electricity. Havas refers to a May 2006 trial in which GS filters were installed at an Ontario long-term care facility. Data was collected on five diabetics: two with type 1 and three with type 2. After the installation, glucose levels for the type 2 diabetic patients remained the same. However, the nurses reported that they frequently needed to give the type 1 diabetics orange juice because the patients' glucose levels had significantly declined. (Insulin intake was not changed during the study.) Havas calls electromagnetically sensitive diabetics "type 3."

"Type 3 diabetics may be better able to regulate their blood sugar with less medication, and those diagnosed as borderline or pre-diabetic may remain non-diabetic longer by reducing their exposure to electromagnetic energy," she writes. Practitioners need to be aware that electrical pollution from the equipment in medical clinics can elevate blood sugar levels in electromagnetically sensitive individuals.

Laboratory studies indicate that electromagnetic energy affects insulin production and effectiveness. In a 1982 study, insulin secretion from islets of Langerhans exposed to low-frequency pulsed magnetic fields decreased compared with controls (p < 0.002) (Bioelectromagnetics 4[1]:103-106). More recently, L. Li et al. observed a "conformation change in the insulin molecule and an 87% reduction in the binding capacity of insulin to its receptors compared with controls" after they exposed hepatocytes to 50 Hz pulsed electric fields (Bioelectromagnetics 26[8]:639-646). Electromagnetic radiation also causes the body to produce stress hormones such as norepinephrine, according to a 2004 commentary by M. Blank and R. Goodman. Norepinephrine inhibits insulin secretion. As a result, blood glucose levels rise during stress.

Evans J. Filthy frequencies. What Doctors Don't Tell You [Web page]. September 2008. Available at: http://www.foodsmatter.com/es/electricrity_dirty_el_lighting/index_electricity_lighting.html.

Havas M. Dirty electricity elevates blood sugar among electrically sensitive diabetics and may explain brittle diabetes. Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine. 2008:27(2):135-146. Available at: www.stetzerelectric.com/filters/research or www.informaworld.com/smpp/title ~ content = t713597249. Accessed December 17, 2008.

Havas M, Stetzer D. Dirty electricity and electrical hypersensitivity: five case studies. Paper presented at: World Health Organization Workshop on Electrical Hypersensitivity; October 25-26, 2004; Prague, Czech Republic. Available at: www.stetzerelectric.com/filters/research. Accessed December 17, 2008.

briefed by Jule Klotter

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