Tag: social media

if you’ve got kids and you’ve ever struggled with how to regulate their time online and more importantly, maintain a nice relationship with them, you’re in for a real treat. Jennifer Sitterud is a brilliant mom I came across on Instagram. She posted something like, “Okay, we’re logging off now. It’s time for screen-free summer.” And I thought, wow, really? What? How do you do that? So, I knew as we got into the thick of summer, it would be great to talk to Jen about how she actually does it and how she keeps the kids occupied and engaged. So, you can find a really fun, easy, practical discussion that shows you that you can make screen time free summers work for you, even if it’s a screen-free summer week and build better relationships with your kids at the same time.

On today’s episode, I’m welcoming Merilee Nelson. She’s the founder of Branch Basics, human safe cleaning products. Branch Basics is fast becoming a household name. In fact, it’s the only name that you’re going to find on anything in my house that’s used to clean-anything! You’re going to get to know Merilee today. And while she was dealt a very tough hand, she turned it around and turned that into her life’s work, her passion, and really fabulous success. Can you imagine at just 23-years-old being told you’re going to need a kidney transplant just to survive? After she said NO to that idea and healed herself with a new diet of clean foods, she was able to have a normal life and family.  But THEN can you imagine having a perfectly healthy, adorable 10-year-old kid, who gets exposed to banned pesticides and overnight can’t even do simple tasks?  Well he is more than fine today, thanks to actions that Merilee took. That was the second chapter that led her to start Branch Basics.

Merilee is going to share how she turned this all around. How both she and her son became healthy, and well, and are doing great today. Merilee has helped so many people get better, feel better. And she does it by first simply having them toss the toxins from their lives. And you know what? You can do this too, because she’s going to walk us through the basic, toxin tossing process. And yes, we’re going to chat about the tech toxins too, like EMF’s, which she definitely wants you to avoid. 

Merilee’s a board certified nutritionist, and a certified building biologist, and a materials building specialist. Wow, what an authority.  And I’m so happy that you’re going to listen in on our conversation, because her stories of healing give us really super practical tips. You’re going to walk away knowing what to do next.  We can incorporate this into our homes, for us, for all the people we love to feel better and thrive.

Today’s episode is my conversation with Theodora Scarato, who is the Executive Director of the Environmental Health Trust.  And she is awesome.  You’re in for a treat.  She is really on the front lines of trying to educate us all, including the FCC, about the potential hazards of 5G.

Let me tell you about Theodora:  She is not only the executive director, she’s also the lead policy analyst and researcher for the EHT database on international actions– the most comprehensive collection of information on policy actions on cell phones and wireless.

She published a landmark paper on why and how to reduce radiofrequency wireless in buildings —and she presents to important organizations like the National Institutes of Health, the University of California and the American Federation of Teachers.  

She has been with Environmental Health trust for 10 years and before that she co-founded several organizations both locally and nationally that address environmental health and safety concerns. 

Before that, she was a practicing clinical psychotherapist, working with children. Her research interests include not only the effects from radiation exposures but also the social emotional effects of technology overuse. 

If you’ve read any of our articles about EMF’s on Tech Wellness, you may remember the Environmental Health Trust.  It’s a non profit founded in 2007 by Dr. Devra Davis as platform to advocate and educate us about environmental issues like climate change and EMF’s.  

About the time they were starting, I was making my first video, showing people that radiation coming from their phones was just the same at the energy coming from their microwaves.  

The Environmental Health trust was one of the few voices out there with fact-based information.  And they have remained so to this day—which is even more important, because so many people are talking about emf these days, and so many of them don’t know what they’re talking about!  EMF is a complicated topic.  And there’s a lot of information out there that just is not true.

That’s one of the reasons I’m excited to have the chance to share the organization with you today.  

We’ll tell you how you can learn more, help out and get involved. That  is what Theodora did… she came onboard as a volunteer and moved up to executive director.

You’re about to hear how the Environmental Health Trust has filed a legal action against the FCC, They’re saying that the Commission didn’t protect consumers when they rubber stamped the extension of testing standards for cell phones.  That standard, that didn’t make much sense when they adopted in 1996—and make even less sense today.  

A quadrillion is 1, followed by 15 zeroes. 1,000,000,000,000,000. Today’s guest says that is how much more EMF radiation we are exposed to today than we were a generation ago. 

August talks to Swedish professor Olle Johansson who is a pioneer in the study of the effects of EMFs–which come from all of our digital devices. Beginning in the 1970’s, he has published over 600 papers in this field. There are few people who know about this subject–and there’s probably no one who makes it more interesting and entertaining. Olle tells us what keeps him up at night these days. Is it 5g? No it’s the effect of EMF radiation on all the bacteria around us. Join us for a very interesting episode.

On this episode of Thriving With Technology, I talk with Rob Metzinger, President of Safe Living Technologies about EMF’s or Electro Magnetic Fields.  EMF’s carry the information that we send and receive on all our digital devices.  Multiple studies over three decades point to biological damage from EMF’s, so we should all do what we can to reduce our exposure to them.  Rob’s company designs and builds a great line of EMF meters that I love and they’re one of the companies I feature on Tech Wellness. 

He is an engineer and also a Building Biologist who also consults with people and helps them reduce their exposure in their homes.  He also teaches classes at the Building Biology Institute. Over the years, I’ve talked to researchers, scientists, to public policy people, to people who suffer from EHS. But it’s great to talk to someone who truly understands the properties of the waves and can help us shield and stop them effectively.  

I also love the fact that Rob helps us separate what’s true from so much of the other stuff on the internet, that may not be completely true.  People have really latched on to things like Shungite, a black mineral that is 98% carbon that somehow has been turned into the miracle cure for radiation (spoiler alert—It’s not), EMF protective clothing, EMF blocking device cases—you can even find videos online with tens of thousands of views that say all you need to do is put a house plant in the room and it will suck out the EMF (again—not).

You’ll learn what works and what doesn’t work and how to best protect you and your family.  A lot of this I’ve known intuitively for years, but it’s so nice to talk

the about why there’s issues with EMF protective clothing, talks about plants.  these are things I’ve known intuitively for a long time, but it’s so nice to hear an engineer’s perspective. 

Hope you enjoy the episode.  If you aren’t sensitive to EMF’s and have no idea what the fuss is all about, I’m including a link to an earlier episode where we journeyed to England and talked to people who suffer from Electromagnetic Hyper-Sensitivity or EHS and you’ll understand the profound impact that EMF can have.

If you like the program, please subscribe and tell your friends—and we really appreciate those reviews on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get yours.  Be Well!

Your smartphone may already have contact tracing installed. Is that a problem?  Can it be used for things other than controlling the covid-19 virus?  If you don’t update, what are the consequences?  August talks with Bryan Neumeister and Matt Erickson at USA Forensic to answer all those questions and to give you some other interesting ways to make sure your information stays private.

This week, August talks with Dr Ofir Turel, a research scientist who studies digital addiction. He shares a simple strategy for helping yourself or loved ones who are spending too much time on social media platforms.

In this episode, August sits down with Natalie Hampton, a 19 year old freshman at Stanford, a youth delegate to the United Nations and one of People Magazine’s 25 Women Changing The World, among many other accolades. This amazing young woman had a horrible bullying experience when she was in middle school. When it was over and she had moved to a more inclusive school, she decided she needed to do something about bullying–not just for her, but for every kid who is excluded, shamed and even physically assaulted. Natalie struck back by creating Sit With Us, an app that allows people who don’t have a place to sit during school lunch, to sit with people who are happy to have them.

August talks to Natalie about the inspiring story behind sit with us and her plans for its future. You’ll also hear about the new Tech Wellness Collection at sevenly.org, benefitting Sit With Us. It’s a show you don’t want to miss.

This is an amazing episode.  Let’s start by being honest.  Many people just don’t believe that their cell phones and WiFi can actually be harmful. They are not convinced that their favorite personal possession could possibly hurt them.  It just wouldn’t do that. If you know anyone experiencing things like headaches, anxiety, rashes, insomnia or other auto-immune issues that they can’t find answers for, please share this podcast with them!

In this episode, you’ll hear how from people whose health has been turned upside down by this unseen wireless energy that surrounds us and our children more every day.  They are regular, healthy people like you and me.  But when you hear about how their health and their lives have been impacted, it’s hard not to believe.  

We attended a Global Conference in Southern England on the state of research on the potential effects of electromagnetic radiation, a type of EMF.  Bottom Line:  There is a biological effect on all of us.  It’s been well documented over the last 30 years.  Here’s a compilation of some of our latest  Research Findings.  The scientists we spoke with say the question of whether or not EMF is a public health concern was answered years ago.

At the Conference, we also met and interviewed people who suffer from Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity.  They people could easily tell if someone had brought their smart phone into a meeting.  They could feel it.  These EHS sufferers had quit jobs, moved, many times had gone to multiple doctors to try and get to the cause their symptoms.  One man told us he would often leave his wife and children on weekends, just so he could drive far out into the countryside, to places where there’s less wireless radiation. His EMF protection was less of it.  Because radiation worsens his symptoms.  

The lesson for us in this is to be smart about it.  No one wants to give up their phone for all its delicious convenience.  But we also don’t lay out in the sun for hours without using sunscreen.  We probably don’t stand with our heads next to an operating microwave.  We take easy and reasonable steps to reduce our exposure to something that could harm us.  

That’s why you should read our TOP TIPS FOR LIVING BETTER WITH TECH on our website.  

I hope you enjoy the episode.  If you find what we’re doing useful, please like us on the iTunes Store and share the message with your family and friends.  And of course for more information, visit us anytime at Tech Wellness.

Be Well!

August Brice

In this episode, August talks with one of the world’s foremost experts in Cyber Forensics.  Bryan Neumeister, head of USA Forensic, helps law enforcement, government agencies and the legal system.  He can find erased information on cell phones–your bank accounts, exactly where you’ve been, the passwords to all your accounts and so much more.  He can do the same with your laptop, as well as pick out a single voice in a crowded airport and help identify people on grainy video footage.  Bryan and August talk about the best ways for you to keep your online information private and give you Bryan’s top 7 tips to protect yourself and your family.