Harmful Effects of Positive Ions
Ions were first linked to human health by a Japanese medical study in 1910, which showed that patients with arthritis experienced greater pain when weather fluctuations elevated the percentage of positive ions in the atmosphere. As a result of this and other research, in Japan the close relationship between ions and health has long been widely recognized.
Cold fronts and low pressure systems increase the percentage of positive ions in the atmosphere, leading to a decrease in the number of Negative Ions in our bodies. Doctors in Japan report that under such conditions, the symptoms of their asthma and arthritis patients are aggravated, and the number of strokes increases.
In North America, the relationship between positive ions and asthma has also been studied. Positive ion winds (in which there are extremely high concentrations of positive ions) in Calgary, Alberta, southern California, and other places around the world have been found to coincide with increased incidence of asthma attacks (Guy Cramer, "Advanced Research on Atmospheric Ions and Respiratory Problems", Certified Medinex Website, Sept. 2, 1996, http://mypage.direct.ca/g/gcramer/asthma.html).
Moreover, in recent years a number of doctors in Japan report that high levels of positive ions in the immediate environment - due to electromagnetic fields generated from computers, cell phones and other electronic devices - can both impair brain function and suppress the immune system, leading to a host of ailments. Symptoms include headache, lack of energy, fatigue, anxiety, irritability, nausea, stomachache, breathing difficulty, vertigo (dizziness), poor concentration and mental performance, and sleep disturbance. When blood or urine samples from individuals reporting such symptoms are analyzed, extremely high levels of the stress hormone serotonin are detected. This hormone is known to be potentially harmful to the body at high levels, and it is thought that positive ions may work to increase serum serotonin. (Negative Ions, on the other hand, cause the body to convert excess serotonin into a harmless compound).
Positive ions turn into free radicals in the body, oxidizing cells throughout the entire system. They damage healthy cells and increase the acidity of the blood. When cells are oxidized, lactic acid levels rise drastically, resulting in a variety of maladies, including cancer. The balance of the endocrine, immune, and autonomic nervous systems is thrown off, and blood and lymph circulation declines. As a result, aging processes accelerate, and premature aging occurs.
The following are human-made environmental factors that increase positive ion levels; each hazard is either new to the last century, or has magnified significantly during that time.
Human-Made Hazards that Increase Positive Ion Levels
- Exhaust fumes - the major environmental cause
- Factory smoke
- River pollution and acidic rain
- Dioxin produced from the burning of waste materials
- Pesticides and food additives
- Formaldehyde
- Phosphorus compounds used in everyday products
- Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) generated by X-rays, electric appliances, computers and other electronic devices, power lines, etc.
