My friend Stanley Fishman, author of the acclaimed cookbooks Tender Grassfed Meat and Tender Grassfed Barbecue, lives in California and, like many folks around the United States, has been dealing with the physical stress of having a smart meter installed at his home against his will.
The option to use an analog meter and have this health sucking device removed from one’s home has only recently become available in some localities. Unfortunately, the pace of getting them removed has been painfully slow in some cases.
Whether you are waiting your turn to get your smart meter removed or still fighting for the right to opt out in the first place, here are some steps you can take based on what Stanley discovered to proactively protect yourself from a smart meter’s harmful effects.
1. Q-Links. A Q-Link is a pendent that has been designed to strengthen the electromagnetic field of the body. The electromagnetic field generated by our bodies does protect against emissions. It was designed by a Stanford academic who specializes in the study of fine energies.
The Q-Link contains certain metals and a computer chip, and is powered by being worn. This sounds strange, and some may consider it to be hokum. But it really did help Stanley, who ended up wearing it almost 24/7.
There are a variety of Q-Links available. Some can be quite expensive, as they are made for decorative purposes as well, though the basic no frills model is much cheaper. All models work the same, except there is the classic version and a more modern version that is supposed to work better.
In Stanley’s opinion based on his research, the difference between the two is hard to find. In summary, the cheapest model is very helpful, and there is no need to buy the expensive decorative models. The link comes with a cord that works fine, and there is no need to get a gold or silver chain. Stanley feels the Q-Link was the most effective protection he and his wife found against the smart meter installed at their home.
2. Metal. Find out where the meter is and place a lot of metal between it and your home. This is difficult to do, as the meter is usually attached to one of your walls. The idea is to place some metal shielding between yourself and the meter. The meter emits dangerous EMFs in a fan shaped curve, so it is best to have metal for a number of feet to the sides of your wall directly opposite the meter.
Stanley’s meter was opposite the kitchen, directly opposite some kitchen cupboards. He tried foil, that did no good. Eventually, he placed a number of old aluminum pans in the cupboards opposite the meter, propping them up so they formed a shield. This did help, but not as much as the Q-Link.
3. Distance. The closer you are to the meter, the more emissions you get. Every foot makes a significant difference. Be sure that everyone sleeps as far from the meter as possible, and spend as little time in close proximity to the meter as possible. This can be quite difficult, depending on the layout of your home. It is also best to stay away from the meter when you are outdoors. Stanley ended up spending most of his time in the end of his house that was furthest from the meter. The further away you are from the meter, the better.
Ultimately, Stanley tried many other things as well, but the above three strategies were the only ones that made a difference.
None of them solved the problem completely, but using all three of them did help a great deal. There are a lot of expensive devices that are supposed to protect against smart meters and dirty electricity. After evaluating them, Stanley was not confident that they would help, so he did not try them. Other people may have found other ways that help, but this is what he found.
The best protection is, of course, to get the smart meter removed or never have it installed in the first place – to opt out. The more of your neighbors that opt out, the better for everyone, as smart meters bounce signals from house to house. At least getting the smart meter out ends the dirty electricity problems, and will usually put you a lot further from a smart meter, and ends the transmission of your power usage.
This is not true for everybody, as people who live in apartment buildings can be near too many smart meters, as often the meters for every apartment in the building are placed together, often concentrated near one or two apartments.
Thank you Stanley, for providing your wisdom to all of us. There are many people out there struggling with health issues related to their smart meter, and hopefully these strategies can help them until they are able to move or opt out of those unhealthy devices once and for all!
Note: If the health dangers of smart meters is new to you, click here for information on smart meters from a Harvard MD who has worked in the area of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and public health for over 18 years.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
More Information
Are AMR Devices Safer than Smart Meters?
Reducing Exposure to Dirty Electricity
The Health Hazards of Wireless Baby Monitors
Harvard MD Speaks Out about the Health Dangers of Smart Meters
Tawny Brown I saw you mention something about this to someone in my side bar.
Wow, lots of information. I’ll check out all the links.
Also, I googled earthing sheet, and still have no idea what it means.
Nicole, seems that you know a lot. I cannot believe you would be hassled in an ER, since this has been going on for you since childhood.
So, you use this grounding thing for using a kindle? Yeah, they both have wifi/and bluetooth.
Actually, in my house are 3 laptops, one desktop, tablet and kindle fire. Three cell phones, one wireless router. LOL! Geez, is that crazy? Oh, and don’t forget the microwave. TV too.No cable here though.
I had no idea so many people had heart arrythmias. My daughter who is an EMT has had to do a few cardio conversions. I no way want to have that.
I am glad the ablation worked somewhat for you, I know they fail often. I’m hoping my cardio has some good words for me. my holter monitor test came out good, they called me today and told me is was all good. Stress test/echo on Friday. And I’m worried about what to wear? I have to divert my stress somehow, might as well worry about hair, clothes and shoes.
Jill, just as we ground electrical circuits today by connecting to the Earth’s charge, our bodies once were grounded most of the time when we walked barefoot on the Earth or wore non-insulating shoes made of animal skin. A cable TV executive experiencing ill-health wondered about whether the proliferation of inflammation in modern humans was due in part to the fact that we had evolved with the charge of the Earth on our feet, but are now blocking the flow of its energy with plastic and rubber soled shoes that do not conduct. He used himself as a guinea pig and his health improved when he slept grounded and also made a point to walk barefoot on the earth more often. His “Earthing” sheets and mats ground the user to the Earth’s energy. In my experience, I get that same feeling of relief that you describe with being outdoors when I sleep on his sheet and use his mat while on the computer. The studies that have been done to date (search “Earthing” on PubMed) agree with the accounts of those who have used his inventions: Earthing, by returning our bodies to the electrical state we evolved in, seems to decrease inflammation in the human body and improve many conditions. Several sites sell the Earthing equipment. I bought my Earthing products from http://www.earthing.com. I have no financial relationship with them. I have asked to be an affiliate of theirs, because Earthing products have benefited me greatly, but am not one because they do not have such a program at this time. Earthing is also thought to be able to mitigate some of the damage inflicted upon our bodies by the constant barrage of EMFs and RFR we are now exposed to in everyday life. Dr. Sinatra’s Metabolic Cardiology book addresses the effects of EMF and RFR on the heart and discusses how exactly Earthing can help address some of it. My heart is behaving the best it has since I developed the newer arrhythmia, now that I removed the WiFi and DECT devices. I noted even greater improvement (despite the smart meter) with using the Earthing products. You can read more about the science behind earthing at http://www.earthinginstitute.net/index.php/research.
Ahh, but where to find a dr. that would agree with you that it is related? That could be a tough one. I feel 99% positive that it was that. I’m not saying diet didn’t play any role in this. In fact, my Vitamin D was extremely low, despite living in a usually nice southern state on the west coast. So, I’m assuming that made it easier for my body to become ill. So, I had a new tablet, a new kindle, and a new electric meter, all in a short time period. Then the afib. I’ve since been very careful with my electronics. My holter monitor reading came in today, yah, checked out good. So, despite all the skepticism of those around me, since I first had afib, I’ve toyed with the idea that it was my electronics, but had no idea about the meter. This just tips the scales more in favor that maybe my instincts were correct.
Thanks for the links all.
So true. I am luckier than most because I have a doctor (DO) who would do this.
I do have the sense that this is the tip of an iceberg and we will see clearer and clearer evidence of the hazards of the waves we are bombarded with each day. I would think that natural health practitioners (chiropractors, homeopaths, etc.), and maybe even some conventional docs, will become more aware and enlightened about this, out of necessity.
I wonder if there are or will be any efforts for individual states to pass bills exempting citizens from additional utility charges for opting out or removing smart meters if they have a signed letter from their doctor regarding a related health issue. Natural health groups, the environmental medicine doctors’ group and grassroots organizations should push for this. Individual citizens should not be penalized for trying to remedy a problem that the utility companies created.
Sarah, thank you so much for this article! I thought I was going crazy. This Friday I have a follow up appointment with my cardiologist after a month of monitoring my heart. At the beginning of April, I began noticing heart palpitations. I am very active, exercise regularly, and eat a WAP diet. So this really concerned me! NAND it’s not just the palpitations, I have days where my ears ring non stop and frequently I am plagued with headaches. Sleeping has been terrible too. After reading your article I investigated our meter. We DO have a smart meter and I immediately put in a call to the power company. Luckily, we can change it back to an analog. But have to pay an additional $25 per month for someone to come out and read it. Not real happy about that, but I guess it is a small price for our long term health!
Stanley, Nicole, Sarah, etc.:
Do you know if a certain kind of metal is needed to make a smart meter shield? For example, would the thin and somewhat flexible metal used for duct work work to deflect the radiation? Or do you need heavier metal, and, if so, what kind? In my case, it’s for a water meter smart meter attached to the water pipe along the wall in our basement. I’m thinking I could fashion a big bowl-shaped barrier that works like a cup, open to the exterior wall but hopefully blocking the EMFs from entering the home. Any thoughts or suggestions?
Also, other than noticing an improvement in symptoms, where does one get a reliable EMF testing device to know if the shield is helping?
Lastly, are all cordless home phones called DECT phones? From what I can tell from the many helpful comments, DECT phones give off unwanted EMFs even when not in use — is this true? And is the only way to fix this to get corded phones? (Ah, I think back to my teenage years when I was tethered to the kitchen phone nook in order to talk with friends…)
Thanks for any additional info!
I have not gotten much into the remediation portion of smart meters too much. I am still hoping I will succeed in having mine removed. I have seen YouTube videos of folks getting lesser readings with RF meters after covering walls in sheet metal, but I have not fact-checked these methods. Here is a blog post on the subject that I had bookmarked, but I have not fact-checked any of the info in it: http://electricsense.com/1299/cell-phone-tower-protection-tips-what-to-do-if-a-cell-phone-tower-is-erected-next-to-your-home/ . I think the term for what you are trying to build around your smart meter is a “Faraday Cage,” so you might try Googling that.
This is the meter that was recommended to me as being the cheapest meter that accurately does the job by an electrical engineer who has compared cheaper meters to a professional-grade meter: http://www.emfnews.org/store/home-cell-phone-and-mobile-tower-radiation-meters/radio-frequency-microwave-meters/hf32d-800mhz-2-5-ghz.html .
Yes, most DECT phones pulse RFR even when not in use. I have not seen the type that only pulse when in use for sale in the U.S. I could only find them on German sites. All cordless home phones are not DECT phones. DECT phones are the newer generation of cordless phones and they say “DECT” on the box. However, all cordless phones that run above 900 MHz are not advisable, according to the experts I have read. The higher the frequency, the smaller the wave. The smaller the wave, the more penetrating the wave. The more penetrating the wave, the more potential for health effects. Cordless phones that run at 900 MHz are not risk-free, either–they are just much preferable to the higher frequency ones. My husband and I decided that we would rather just have corded home phones and be sure we were safe. Yes, being tethered is annoying, and it does bring me right back to being twelve. I just try to think of how much happier my DNA is;-)
Nicole, thank you for your thoughtful and helpful replies! You rock.
Glad to share what I have learned among folks who want to hear it. Many are not ready to hear that technology could be hurting them.
We have two electric meters on our property. I checked them both. They are digital, but I do not see FCC written on them. Don’t I know where to look, or is it possible to have a digital meter without it being a smart meter?
Rose, the FCC notation on mine is tiny and on the front towards the bottom. I assume that it would be possible to have a digital meter that is not a smart meter. If yours does not have an FCC notation then that is probably a good sign. You could also look for some notation regarding KHz or MHz, since those would also be indicative of it containing a radio transmitter. Does someone from the power company come out and read your meter by walking up to it and looking at it? If not, then you may have a smart meter. If you have not seen them walk up to the meter and read it visually, then you could call your power company and ask them how they know what to charge you. If they say that the meter reader reads it by simply driving through the neighborhood with a special device in the car, then that is a kind of smart meter. If they say it is automatically downloaded to their computer systems, then that is another kind of smart meter. If they say that a signal goes from your meter to a nearby telephone pole, then that is yet another kind of smart meter. Do not ask them flat out if you have a “smart meter.” They are trained to be evasive regarding that question.
Thanks! This is very helpful!!
Nicole, I can’t believe you’ve had ablation, and I know how that episode is. Most everyone thinks I’m a big baby. Okay, I’ve had 4 kids, and believe me, I’d rather give birth than have the afib attack again. Even at the hospital er, they made it sound like it was my fault, if I would just calm down it would go away. Calm down? Right.
As for the meter, our bill has gone up, yet we don’t even have cable tv, we turn off appliances. I do not use the microwave. Daughter does, but she shuts it off. As for the immune problem. My son who was raised in this home, got transverse myelitis, my grandson who was born here, had a febrile seizure, think his immune system set that off. Although no one knew for sure. My husband and daughter have a lot of weird symptoms, ear ringing, mood shifts. I’ve been beefing up on ubiquinol (CoQ10) and vitamin D3 which for some reason was super low, and omegas. I’m generally a healthy person, but leading up to the afib, started just feeling weird, tired, cramping in my legs which I had never had before and just feeling old, okay, so i am getting old, but just a bit too much.
Anyway, we do not have cordless phones, just cells. We do have wifi. The afib happened right after I got the wifi, tablet and laptop and kindle, and also the smart meter. I in fact at the time was wondering if it was my tablet.
I’ve only had one afib attack, a few times I thought I was getting it. Seems worse when I’m in the garage, closer to the smart meter. I am almost starting to see this connection, although right now can’t prove it. I feel better after I’ve been outside walking alot, away from here. Not in a mall either, but out in the open, or the beach.
Jill, my ablation was a last resort. It cured one of my arrhythmias (one that I have had since I was a kid), but left me with a host of other problems and the new-onset arrhythmia remained.
Yes, I have also received the “you’re nuts” treatment at a hospital ERs for arrhythmia problems–many times over the years in several different states. Like we don’t have somewhere better to be on a Friday night or something! Seriously! I have also been told by a few doctors that I “just need to calm down” as if supraventricular tachycardia and non-sustained ventricular tachycardia happens to every woman when she is late picking the kids up from school. Even as an eight-year-old, I understood the concept that I had an extra circuit in the electrical system in my heart; yet that is lost on some doctors, even in the year 2012. Ridiculous! They didn’t have an explanation for why I could wake up out of a sound sleep with it in the face of their “calm down” hypothesis;-) Either way, even the worst cardiologist laughed at all of the “calm down” comments by other doctors. You never know what you are going to get when you go to the ER it seems . . . yet sometimes you just have to go.
I don’t think any of us will be able to “prove” the connection since we do not have the resources to do a double-blind controlled study, or seven, with a placebo condition any time soon. However, if we can correlate our issues to the presence of these devices, which emit waves that are established as causing damage to many aspects of human functioning, then I think we have our answer. There is also a PhD-level researcher in Canada, who has done some preliminary studies on the effects of a DECT cordless phone on heart rate variability. Here’s a link: http://www.magdahavas.com/microwave-radiation-affects-the-heart-are-the-results-real-or-are-they-due-to-interference/ .
It could be that you reached a sort of tipping point with adding all of those RFR emitting devices (I am assuming that the tablet and Kindle have wireless/web capabilities). From what I have read, the exposure is cumulative. Devices that you hold in your hand or close to your body, like a tablet or reader also theoretically dole out larger doses than those farther away from your body.
I too feel better when walking outside barefoot. This, and reading the book Metabolic Cardiology, led me to purchase an Earthing sheet (for the bed) and an Earthing pad (for use at the computer, or on the rare occassion that I am using a Kindle), which, in addition to removing the RFR from my home, has helped my symptoms immensely. I was led to the Metabolic Cardiology book and Earthing by a very enlightened DO. I think you would find the Metabolic Cardiology book, by Stephen Sinatra, MD, helpful. You can see some peer-reviewed research on Earthing by doing a PubMed search.
To clarify: I meant that I removed the RFR from my home, not that the Earthing sheet removed it somehow.
Jill, the reason I have done so much research into this issue after first hearing about it on Sarah’s blog and discovering that I have a smart meter is that I have had a new onset heart arrhythmia since moving into this home, and my daughter has suffered from laboratory documented immunosuppression. She has lived in this home her entire life. My neighbors say the smart meters arrived to our neighborhood before I bought the home. This home is also the first home in which we had WiFi and DECT cordless phones–just as dangerous as smart meters as long as you have them plugged in. It could all be a coincidence, but, now that I know, I have chosen to remove the risks I can control (the WiFi and DECT devices) and will continue to try and get my smart meter removed. My heart arrhythmia, which even ablation surgery could not fully stop, has been worlds better since removing the WiFi and DECT from my home. I made the mistake of plugging in the DECT phones, after two weeks of having them unplugged, in order to delete our phone numbers out of them before getting rid of them. What ensued is possibly the worst arrhythmia episode I have experienced and some serious vertigo. I did not put two and two together until my husband asked, “Why are all of these phones plugged in?” I had plugged in all 6 handsets and was standing right in front of them deleting the labels and numbers out of them when the attack came on. I am not sure I would have believed the preceding had someone told me it a year ago. However, it is the truth. DECT and WiFi are banned from my house for good. I have replaced all of my phones with corded phones. Regardless of whether or not radiofrequency radiation is responsible, solely or in part, for bringing on my arrhythmia attacks, there is good, solid scientific evidence that it poses harm to human DNA, cells, immunological functioning, and neurological functioning. That alone is enough for me to issue a ban on RFR emitting devices in my household.
As for the mattress shopping: It is absolutely maddening!
This has been informative, especially the comments. I am in N. San Diego County, if there had been an opt out, we never saw it. Ours too was changed out, and we didn’t see it until later.
As for latex mattresses, oh my, what a task. I so far have ended up with a organic all wool 3 1/2 inch topper. I ordered a latex topper from walmart, twice. First topper went to a house in Middleton, New York. Think Martha Stewart has a house there, hmm. 2nd one just fell through with no explanation. I’ve called, researched, and learned talalay and dunlop. Just have trouble trusting companies based on my research, both on price, and where they actually got this latex. It’s an odd thing. Organic mattresses aren’t necessarily all organic. either.
As for the smart meter, I’ll be interested in learning more. We seem to have symptoms, heart palpatations, a-fib, cramping, and headaches, and other odd things that were not around before that.
Very scary indeed!
hey jill.. check www. cozypure dot com
-jason and lisa-