If the 5G Don’t Get Ya, Then the Blue Light Will: Protect with Antioxidant Skin Care and Essential Oils
“AIN’T NO TIME TO WONDER WHY. WHOOPIE, WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE” - COUNTRY JOE MCDONALD
“Be afraid, be very afraid.” “The dangers are discredited and there’s no conclusive evidence.” "We’re screwed!” “Research has found no significant health risks.” These comments can address many topics related to our existence in an industrialized and tech-driven world. We’re either all going to die or it’s all just conspiracy noise and misinformation. The topics are interchangeable. The concern is ongoing regarding toxic pollutants from industry, vaccinations from big pharma, and the petroleum industry’s fracking and pipelines, to blue light and 5 G technology. It doesn’t matter what it is, it’s going to get you, well, no, it’s completely safe. No problem, we all have to die sometime.
5G
The newest in cell technology, 5G with higher data rates and quicker network response times than 4G, pushes a more concentrated frequency at closer proximity to people. Cell towers, along with the close-to-your-brain use of cellphones, have been questioned for safety over the years, with studies showing cancer-causing effects. 5G, with its perceived more aggressive signaling and closer proximity, has been feared and fought against by environmental and health groups across the world. The concern is the amount and type of RFR (radio frequency radiation) and EMR (electromagnetic radiation) exposure, and whether the amount of exposure through 5G technology is dangerous to health.
Blue Light
The light emitted by device screens, blue light radiation, has potential risks and dangers. Blue light is visible light ranging from 380 to 500 nm. Sun provides the most abundant exposure. Computer screens and mobile devices, as a source of blue light exposure, have been flagged for health risks. Primary concerns are melatonin suppression and sleep disruption. Cellular aging and age-related pathologies have been related to the free radicals triggered from blue light exposure, which includes damage to the eyes.
Blue light is especially damaging to the skin. An increase in acne has been documented due to bacterial growth stimulated by blue light. The most common skin concern is premature aging, yes wrinkles, triggered by blue light exposure.
The Contradictory Landscape
It can be extremely difficult to work through the information available regarding RFR and EMR. These are the waves that have been questioned for their impact on health since the beginning of radio, television, neighborhood power lines, microwaves, cellphones, and wifi. Seems we should know something more conclusive by now. The abundance of available information sees safety in the current use and amounts of RFR and EMR, including old and new cellular technology. There are many studies verifying health risks.The big challenge for the consumer is in understanding the scientific studies and data that emerge, dodging bad science, “fake news,” and online media channels.
Beyond understanding the science, you would want to scrutinize who sponsored or financed the study or article, generally the very corporations who design and/or sell the technology. Who is analyzing and interpreting the data? This would include You-Tube channels designed to create fear for more shares. Where was the information or study published; journal, news media?
Currently, in relation to 5G, there are hundreds of studies, where many may claim safety, many are inconclusive, and most do not completely exonerate the health concerns of RFR/EMR waves. I have reviewed a number of scientific papers for this article and have listed a handful in the references below.
Not that you can do anything to stop it.
Though conclusive evidence to the health risk of blue light, 5G, and RFR/EMR exposure is challenged, there is still enough concern that would suggest being vigilant. You can’t stop it and can’t really get away from it when living in our current techno-lifestyle. These frequency waves are everywhere - and doesn’t it piss you off when there aren’t enough and you don’t get good cell reception. In exchange for moving to an extremely remote part of the earth, or dumping all your screen and mobile technology, there are suggestions that will assist in protecting you from the potential hazards. You can be proactive, as opposed to reactive, and take measures that, whether there is danger in the technology or not, will serve to keep you healthy and protected from any environmental disruption.
Anti-oxidant and Anti-inflammatory
For almost every disease or condition of ill-health, antioxidants are the answer or at least a first step in protection and repair. Reducing and preventing inflammation goes along with the use of antioxidants. The suspected damage due to 5G and blue light comes primarily, in simplified terms, through the release of free radicals upon exposure.
If you can’t get away from all the potential danger, then your best defense will be to include a daily intake of foods and supplements high in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory action. This is good advice for everybody all the time. A diet high in both anti-inflammatories and antioxidants is well known to have many health benefits, especially protective against all manner of free radical damage and inflammation due to the environment. Your diet would include deep green and colorful foods, like kale, berries, and turmeric
These foods are high in the potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant carotenoid and flavonoid compounds. These compounds are sold in supplement form and recommended as extra protection against RFR, EMR, and other damaging environmental factors.
In your search for antioxidant food and supplements, you may come across the ORAC scale, used to show the antioxidant potency of each food or extract. This scale can be useful as a guide, though it has been deemed inaccurate due to the conditions in the testing. The foods and extracts, including essential oils, are tested in vitro (in a culture dish or other method outside the body) rather than in vivo (inside the body). Compounds behave very differently inside the body which is why the ORAC model has limits in being a reliable test for antioxidant potency.
The protective power of essential oils
The use of essential oils as a lifestyle will compliment a protective diet and supplementation. An essential oil lifestyle incorporates the oils into a daily practice and routine, especially valuable by diffusing in your home and workspace, used in the shower or bath, and applied as a daily body oil. A consistent use of essential oils is most effective in antioxidant protection from environmental factors, such as RFR.
A suggested list of essential oils that would be beneficial are Atlas cedarwood, (Cedrus atlantica) cinnamon bark or leaf (Cinnamomum zeylanicum), clove (Eugenia caryophyllus), fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), helichrysum (Helichrysum italicum), myrrh (Commiphora myrrha), oregano (Origanum vulgare), thyme (Thymus vulgaris CT thuyanol or CT thymol), and ylang ylang (Cananga odorata). There is a long list of effective antioxidant and anti-inflammatory essential oils. The oils can be chosen for their holistic and synergistic properties to enhance and compliment the desired outcomes.
Skin care: antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and cell regenerative
An ideal application of protection from harmful environmental conditions comes in the form of skin care. A benefit of skin care is that its something that is already part of your daily routine. Even if all you do is wash your face, you can incorporate protective ingredients into it. Since skin is the main barrier to internal disruption of cells caused by the environment, including RFR, UV sun damage and pollutants, the skin will also be the most susceptible to the damage caused. It is therefore a must to protect the skin with a potent blend of defensive ingredients. These ingredients are easily applied in cleansers, toning mists, treatment serums and moisturizers. Skin care is not just face, it’s total body. By layering the skin with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory ingredients, you are also shielding yourself internally.
Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory botanical skin care. The potent antioxidant astaxanthin gives the orange color.
My approach to skin care incorporates the therapeutic foods and extracts as part of a healthy diet into topical skin care. This goes beyond the current trends in skin care promoted by “clean” and natural skin care, and the Indie Beauty industry. The extracts used in skin care require a specific quality that maintains the nutritional, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and cellular regeneration found in the whole food.
Some common extracts that greatly benefit and guard skin against cellular damage (aging!), are shea butter, calendula extract, calophyllum oil, berry seed oils, sunflower seed oil, CoQ10, red algae extract, niacinamide, and essential oils. Remember, these extracts require very specific quality extraction and natural content to be most effective.
Nothing to fear, but do be proactive in protecting yourself
Whether 5G, blue light, microwaves, and other environmental hazards are dangerous or not, the steps to safe guarding your health are essential. Healthy diet, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory supplements, quality extracted plant-based skin care and an essential oil lifestyle are recommended for everyone at every age on a consistent daily basis.
References
Moskowitz, Joel M., (2019). We Have No Reason to Believe 5G Is Safe: The technology is coming, but contrary to what some people say, there could be health risks. Scientific American October 17, 2019.
Godley, B.F., Shamsi, F.A., Liang, F.Q., Jarrett, S.G., Davies, S., and Boulton, M. (2005). “Blue light induces mitochondrial DNA damage and free radical production in epithelial cells.” J. Biol. Chem. 280, 21061–21066.
National Toxicology Program (NTP). Technical Report on the Toxicology Carcinogenesis Studies. November 2018 NTP TR 595
Taheri M, Darabyan M, Izadbakhsh E, et al. Exposure to Visible Light Emitted from Smartphones and Tablets Increases the Proliferation of Staphylococcus aureus: Can this be Linked to Acne?. J Biomed Phys Eng. 2017;7(2):163-168. Published 2017 Jun 1.
A R, Mehdizadeh, and Mortazavi S M J. “5G Technology: Why Should We Expect a shift from RF-Induced Brain Cancers to Skin Cancers?.” Journal of biomedical physics & engineering vol. 9,5 505-506. 1 Oct. 2019.