People living without electronics are healthier

 

 

Diseases such as diabetes, depression, cancer and ADHD were extremely rare a century ago. They are still rare among people who live without electronics

 

Keywords:    electricity, electronics, wireless, health effect, children, ADHD, diabetes, depression

 

According to a 2019 study, the number of younger people with ADHD, depression, diabetes and other “diseases of affluence” is skyrocketing (Blue Cross Blue Shield 2019). This is the first generation that was exposed to all sorts of electronics since birth. Could that be the reason?

 

Another study found that as electric service was rolled out across the United States in the years 1920 to 1956, childhood leukemia followed closely behind (Milham 2001).

 

Multiple studies show that children who are exposed to their mother’s use of mobile phones have a higher chance of developing ADHD (Divan 2008, 2012).

 

And a study shows increased risk of asthma in children exposed to magnetic fields from electrical wires, while in the womb (Li 2011).

 

Preliminary research in Canada suggests that dirty electricity, caused by electronics, can worsen ADHD and diabetes (Havas 2004a, 2004b, 2008).

 

The Amish

The Amish is a Christian sect that values community, modesty and simple living. They live mostly in rural parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana in the United States.

 

The Old Order Amish are famous for living without telephones, televisions, cars and electricity (Scott 2016). These devices all irradiate their users, including the cars.

 

The Old Order Amish are not automatically opposed to all modern things, but their elders evaluate whether each new technology would benefit their community or not. A particular concern is preserving the integrity of their tight-knit societies (Scott 2016).

 

Telephones, radios and televisions would bring in ideas and images that could be disruptive. Television is especially effective at making people who are not rich unhappy with their lives.

 

The Amish do recognize that sometimes cars and telephones are necessary, so they allow their members to use telephone booths or hire someone to drive them. The key here is to make it inconvenient, so it is only used when really needed.

 

Some modern inventions are allowed, such as the use of pesticides and herbicides for farming.

 

Amish are healthy

The Amish have much lower levels of asthma, obesity, cancer and diabetes than other Americans (Kluger 2018; Stein 2016). ADHD is virtually unknown among Amish children (Sherman 2017).

 

 

 

Some scientists point to the more active lifestyles of the Amish. Since their only machinery is horse-driven, they do a lot of manual work and walk a lot more. Some also suggest they may simply have good genes (Kluger 2018).

 

Other scientists suggest that the Amish’s use of farm animals expose their children to more allergens at an early age, so their immune systems become healthier (Stein 2016). They compared Amish children to Hutterite children. The Hutterites use modern machinery instead of farm animals. What the study did not consider was that the Hutterites use electricity and electronics.

 

Dr. Michael Ruff is a pediatrician who serves 800 Amish households. He states “We haven’t diagnosed a single child in this group with ADHD... On the other hand we care for several Amish families who have left the church and adopted a modern lifestyle, and we do see ADHD... in their kids. Obviously, the genes in these two groups are the same. What is different is their environment” (Sherman 2017).

 

What to learn from this

We are not suggesting society should stop using electricity. Living totally without electricity is difficult in many ways, and not always healthy. The Amish tend to use kerosene lanterns for lighting, cook their meals on woodstoves and heat their homes with firewood.

 

There are many ways to live with electricity while reducing the exposures.

 

Reducing the exposures in your house may help. Limiting screen time is certainly a healthy step, with books and walks in the park a great alternative. Then consider measures such as moving the bed and unplugging everything in the bedroom at night. Or perhaps modify the wiring in various ways.

 

Use a corded phone instead of a wireless one. Plug the computer into a wired network whenever possible.

 

As a society there is much that can be done, such as improving building codes to encourage better wiring practices. Designers of electronic equipment, from computers to telephones to solar system inverters, can also include low-radiation measures.

 

More information

For articles about low-EMF house wiring, etc., see www.eiwellspring.org/lowemfhousing.html.

 

Sources and references

This author has friends in Amish country and has watched when the Amish neighbors needed a car ride or to borrow the phone. On two occasions I have visited Amish farmsteads – once to buy produce where they explained their acceptance of pesticides.

 

Divan HA et al. Prenatal and postnatal exposures to cell phone use and behavioral problems in children, Epidemiology, 19, 523-529, July 2008.

 

Divan HA et al. Cell phone use and behavioral problems in young children, British Medical Journal, 2012.

 

Havas, Magda, Michelle Illiatovich and Cameron Proctor. Teacher and student response to the removal of dirty electricity by the Graham/Stetzer filter at Willow Wood school in Toronto, Canada, Biological effects of EMFs, 3rd international workshop, October 2004.

 

Havas, Magda and David Stetzer. Dirty electricity and electrical hypersensitivity: five case studies, World Health Organization workshop on electrical hypersensitivity, October, 2004.

 

Havas, Magda. Dirty electricity elevates blood sugar among electrically sensitive diabetics and may explain brittle diabetes, Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine, 27, June 2008.

 

Kluger, Jeffrey. Amish people stay healthy in old age. Here’s their secret. TIME, February 15, 2018.

 

Li, D et al. Maternal exposure to magnetic fields during pregnancy in relation to the risk of asthma in offspring, Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine, August 2011.

 

Scott, Stephen and Kenneth Pellman, Living without electricity: lessons from the Amish, New York: Good Books, 2016.

 

Sherman, C. et al. Culture vs. biology: what really causes ADHD? ADDitude, undated, approximately 2017.

 

Stein, Michelle et al. Innate immunity and asthma risk in Amish and Hutterite farm children, New England Journal of Medicine, 375, August 4, 2016.

 

2019 (updated 2023)