The perfect playlist can power you through your workout, keep you focused and encourage you to break a sweat. Thanks to the all-in-one properties of cell phones today, we never have to ditch a call when we’re dancing and getting our gym groove on to the beats conveniently available on our treasured smart phones.

Unfortunately, not all is well in the ways of convenience and cardio as it has been discovered that we may be subjecting ourselves to high levels of radiation from our cell phones.

In early 2011, a World Health Organization panel declared cell phones as possibly carcinogenic and a possible threat to human health. According to the National Cancer Institute cell phones emit radiofrequency energy, a form of non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation, which can be absorbed by tissues closest to where the phone is held.

And don’t think that because you’re texting most of the time you think that you’re safe. The National Institutes of Health released a study finding that even 30 minutes of cell phone use can speed up brain activity. The study listed concerns that the RF-EMF’s emitted by cell phones may induce brain cancer.

Quite the shocker right? Perhaps not so much as many cell phone manuals (those ones we never read) actually instruct consumers to avoid keeping phones next to our heads and in our pockets. For example, the iPhone 4 manual recommends keeping the phone at least 5/8 inches away from the body when transmitting. The BlackBerry bold manual also suggests keeping at least a 0.98 inch distance between the device when it’s in use.

But before you toss out your phone, don’t be afraid… just get prepared. While regulation is still underway to change the cell phone safety laws (which haven’t been evaluated in the past 16 years), the Environmental Working Group (EWG) recommends that consumers take steps to reduce their exposures to cell phone radiation by holding phones away from our bodies, using earpieces and making calls when signals are the strongest as radiation exposure increases dramatically when cell phone signals are weakest.

Are you concerned about cell phones and radiation?

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  1. Secondhand Exposure to Cell Phone Radiation: An Emerging Public Health Problem?

    Exposure to other people’s cell phone radiation on buses and trains can be considerable according to a newly published study.

    http://www.prlog.org/12010018-secondhand-exposure-to-cell-phone-radiation-an-emerging-public-health-problem.html

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