Many people write to ask me about pendants and other devices or substances that claim to offer protection from electromagnetic radiation.
Wonderful though it would be to have a quick-fix device you could place in your home or wear on your person, I’m sorry to say that I’ve tested most of the well-known ones and have yet to find one that causes any reduction of electromagnetic effects. I have also tested shungite, and found it to be of no use at all. I would therefore not trust my own health to one of these contraptions or substances, recommend one to anyone else. Avoidance, or at least reduction, in electromagnetic exposure remains the only course of action I advise.
Magda Havas and Camilla Rees, leading experts in the field of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and co-authors of Public Health SOS, are of the same opinion.
Magda Havas says in the book, ‘I haven’t seen any credible scientific studies conducted by independent researchers. Also we haven’t been able to measure any changes in radiation.’
Camilla Rees goes on to say, ‘Some scientists believe that, at best, these devices mask symptoms (sometimes by altering brain waves).’ She says ‘there is little evidence to date showing they prevent types of injury known to be occurring (injury to DNA, cell membranes, blood vessels, blood cells, brain cells, nerves, heart, thyroid, adrenals, etc), even if people feel improved using them.’
Alasdair Philips, director of Powerwatch and one of the leading EMF experts in the UK, goes even further. In an article titled Q-link, Bio-Pro and other ‘gizmos’, written in 2006, he says about Q-link and Bio-Pro, ‘I wouldn’t go near that stuff with a very long pole. We have had an example of products from both firms and believe that they are completely ineffective and lack any scientific basis that would suggest otherwise.’
He goes on to explain:
About seven years ago I also wore a standard plastic encapsulated Q-link for 3-months and noticed no improvement in my electrosensitivity. I then tested it for EMF resonances in the ranges 1 Hz to 2.7 GHz and found none. I then dissected it under a microscope and tested the individual parts. The copper wire coil is not connected to anything – the ends are open circuit. The special “chip” in the centre is a standard ‘zero-ohm’ surface mount resistor link. There is a rather technical looking gold-plated printed circuit board – rather techno-pretty, if you like such things. I could find no trace of the special SRT material in my one. I think they may have an extra blob of something in recent years.
So, sorry, but I think both the Ally and the standard Q-link are pure Linus-blanket psychological props – nothing necessarily wrong with that – but I do get annoyed at the pseudo-scientific words they weave around the Q-link products. At least Q-Link (Clarus) offer a money-back guarantee – though many of their re-sellers fail to do this. I think that, if sold at all, they should be sold as “comforters” and not scientific gadgets/wonder protectors.
Related articles
Scams galore
Electrohypersensitivity
Copyright © Karen Kingston 2012, updated 2015