Taking care of the environmental health of your home is improving your quality of life.

My passion and vocation has always been, and still is, medicine. That is why I have devoted many years of constant formation and great enthusiasm to it. Then, at a certain point in time, a life experience made me made it stop. This allowed me to to think clearly and make important decisions that completely transformed my understanding of health and illness. So I decided to spend some time in Indonesia, taking an interest in its ancient cultures and medicines. All this generated a change in the vision of health in a more integrative way, beyond conventional medicine. From there, I began to train in other areas, such as environmental health care, which is crucial to our quality of life.

Westerners spend 80 to 90 % of our time indoors, which is why it is so important to take care of our environmental health.. In an ideal world this would not be a problem. However, these environments between walls in which we take refuge most of the day (homes, offices, hotels, restaurants, shops…) normally have high levels of pollutants that are harmful to health. For example, poor air quality, lack of ventilation, dust, toxic materials or electromagnetic radiation..

Bhital, environmental health. Protection from electromagnetic radiation

From a global health point of view, it should therefore be considered essential to develop an integrated health strategy for the regionanalysis of environmental health. Not only in The same applies not only to housing, but also to workplaces. It is therefore an essential tool for maintaining a healthy state.

Thus, the results of this analysis and the resulting recommendations help to improve quality of life, comfort, health and well-being.

In short, taking care of environmental health, which is so necessary, favours the collaboration of different groups such as environmental doctors, bioarchitecture specialists and professional technicians in the field of environmental protection. mediciones.

We live in a world where the concept of health encompasses subjects as diverse as business design, economics and architecture. In the same way, this concept allows to understand the context and the situation with an eagle’s eye view to come to the conclusion that everything is interrelated. The aim is to improve the health of people and all living things, as well as to care for environmental health, in order to contribute to making the planet a healthier and more sustainable place.

Man-made non-ionising electromagnetic radiation is potentially harmful. In addition, have become one of the largest and fastest growing sources of environmental pollution. When we talk about electromagnetic pollution, we refer to the set of radiations of the electromagnetic spectrum (EMG) generated by mankind in an artificial way. We use the term contamination, because such fields do not exist in nature. And therefore, their generation constitutes an adulteration of the natural order.

Depending on their frequency, we can distinguish between two types of non-ionising electromagnetic pollution, low-frequency and high-frequency. Each of them has different sources and effects, although both have been listed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as possible Group 2B carcinogens. Symptoms and severity levels vary from person to person, depending on electromagnetic field strengths and frequencies. Overexposure or sensitivity to electromagnetic fields can manifest itself through various symptoms: learning and memory deficits, insomnia, neurological disorder, headache, chronic fatigue, irritability, cell damage, anxiety, nausea, compromised immune and/or reproductive system, among others.

Multiple studies have shown that children absorb more than twice as much radiation as adults, putting them at greater risk.

Taking care of the environmental health of your home is improving your quality of life.

Research studies on EMF and health

The BioInitiative Report provides a deep dive into the health effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF). It examines more than 3800 studies on EMR (electromagnetic radiation). It also reviews current exposure standards and concludes that these standards are far from adequate to protect public health. It is important to note that research studies continue to be published showing the harmful effects of electromagnetic fields. This applies not only to humans, but also to animals and plants.

If you want to go deeper into this issue, I refer you to my website www.bhital.com/mundobhital, where you will find opinions from scientists and international organisations.

A bit of history

Technologies such as mobile telephony, DECT cordless phones, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, infrared, 3G, 5G, etc. are proliferating all around us. They have quickly become part of our lives and we use them both at work and in our leisure time.. However, the antecedents go back centuries.

Traditionally, electromagnetism had been experienced and studied as two separate phenomena: electricity on the one hand and magnetism on the other. It was not until the beginning of the 18th century that they began to sound as a single concept, electromagnetism. Magnetic phenomena have been known since ancient times thanks to the natural properties of magnetite, a mineral capable of attracting iron and other materials that we now classify as ferromagnetic.

Electromagnetic measurements

To carry them out, a complex procedure is followed, i.e. it requires calibrated and professional EMF detection meters. They must be developed by certified specialists who understand the various fields affecting the environment and EMF shielding solutions. The living space assessment will determine whether radiation levels are within acceptable ranges or not. Consequently, an effective environmental health care plan will be put in place to reduce them.

Environmental health of your home

Why is it necessary to measure them?
Because many diseases we suffer from are the result of the negative influence of exposure to chemical and electromagnetic toxins. Their impact is related to the time of exposure, the intensity of the source and the state of the person’s immune system. On the other hand, the latest research is highlighting the effect on human beings of a multitude of toxins and radiations with which we coexist on a daily basis.

When to request measurements?
First of all, when buying land, even, when you want to add value to an architectural project – be it new construction or renovation to create healthy buildings – you have to rule out the most geopathogenic ones. With the study carried out, it will be possible to assess, among other aspects, that geopathogenic zones are not dedicated to spaces in which a lot of time is spent (bedroom, office, living room, etc.) and are relegated to corridors, bathrooms, gardens or swimming pool.

Secondly, measurements should be requested when treating electrohypersensitive patients, patients with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) or when we suspect that they may be affected by environmental toxins, natural or artificial radiation. In this way, sources are minimised and their welfare is improved.

I must stress that the most vulnerable population group is women of childbearing age, pregnant women, children or sick people.

What are the parameters of an electromagnetic radiation survey?
The measurements analyse low-frequency alternating electric fields: Such as, for example, those caused by electrical installations, cables, appliances, sockets, wiring in walls, floors and ceilings, overhead high and medium voltage lines, etc.
Also low frequency alternating magnetic fields. Among others, those emitted by electrical installations, cables, apparatus, motors, transformers, high and medium voltage overhead and underground lines, high-speed railway lines, etc.

Likewise, high-frequency electromagnetic fields: caused by mobile phone emissions, wireless landline telephony, data transmission, Wi-Fi, radars, etc…

Harmonic currents (dirty electricity), currents or voltages the frequency of which is a multiple of the fundamental supply frequency of 50 Hz. Harmonics are generated by non-linear consumers, i.e. household appliances that do not consume electricity as it arrives in our homes. The level of harmonics is related to the power quality.

What should a comprehensive geo-environmental health analysis cover?
There are three aspects: electromagnetic pollution – low frequency electric fields and low frequency magnetic fields, levels of harmonic electropollution (dirty currents), high frequency electromagnetic pollution, magnetic fields generated by building structures and furniture, magnetostatics and geomagnetic field variations.

Fields and radiation of natural origin – presence of radon gas, underground watercourses, Curry and Hartmann grids, the Bunker geomagnetic network, etc.

As well as, the Air Quality Index AQI (Air Toxics, Gases and Chemicals).
By way of exampleIn the case of a complete geoenvironmental health analysis and survey from scratch, i.e. before the start of construction, this would be carried out in 3 phases: the initial assessment of geoenvironmental factors in the field, the analysis of geoenvironmental health factors in housing under construction, once structures, walls and roof are built, and the complete measurement of geoenvironmental health factors in finished housing with active installations. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

In conclusion
We must bear in mind that we are bio-electromagnetic beings, as our cell membranes are key to our transmembrane potential. Furthermore, our DNA and RNA are made up of dielectric molecules and our biological processes generate electromagnetic frequencies in three quarters of the total electromagnetic spectrum.

An example of this is the electromagnetic emission at GHz from the tubulins that form the microtubules in the cytoplasm of all cells. It is therefore not surprising that we are sensitive to other sources of radiation. In fact, we use this emission for medical diagnosis, for example, when measuring temperature, doing an electrocardiogram, an electroencephalogram or an electromyogram, among others.

There are also medical treatments that use radiation such as radiotherapy, radiofrequency in physiotherapy. To claim that non-ionising electromagnetic radiation does not cause a biological effect is to ignore a multitude of scientific studies. Such as those found in BIOINITIATIVE and international calls to reconsider legal maximum levels, including Council of Europe Resolution 18/15 of 28 May 2011.,. In which they insist on the application of the ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable) principle, that is to say, keep radiation levels as low as reasonably achievable. Referring to both thermal, athermal and biological effects of the emission of electromagnetic fields.

Therefore, developing an environmental health analysis for an architectural project has become a differentiating factor and of great added value. Today, more than ever, we need to take care of environmental health to achieve indoor environments, especially at home or in the workplace. With reduced electromagnetic pollution, it will help prevent health problems and improve our immune response.

*Interview extracted from the magazine nº4 of the Associació per a la bioconstrucció a les Illes Balears.

Dr. Carmen Romero
Founder of Bhital.