Table Of ContentTHE ,p ·:RO·MIS·E Of·:
. ·-ELECT·R;OMEC:l-IC:IN:E
Roberto. Becker
Dr.
WITH A NEW FOREWORD BY LOUIS SLESIN
Caoss CuR~ENTS
Also by the author:
MECHANISMS OF GROWTH CONTROL
ELECTROMAGNETISM AND LIFE
THE BODY ELECTRIC (with Gary Selden)
THE HEALTH HAZARDS OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
CROSS
CURR NT
The Promise of Electromedicine ·
The Perils of Electropollution·
ROBERT 0. BECKER, M.D.
Jeremy P. Tarcher I Penguin
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Becker, Robert 0.
Cross currents : the promise of electromedicine, the perils of
electropollution I Robert 0. Becker.
p. cm.
Includes index.
1. Electromagnetic waves-Health aspects. 2. Electrophysiology.
3. Biomagnetism. I. Title.
QP82.2.E43B43 1990
612'01427-dc20 89-5067
ISBN 0-87477-609-0 C'IP
Copyright© 1990 by Robert 0. Becker
Preface copyright © 2004 by Louis Slesin
All rights reserved. No part of. this work may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage
or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976
Copyright Act or in writing by the publisher.
Design by Susan $hankin
Computer art by Mmjory Dressler
Manufactured in the United States of America
25 24 23 22 21
CONTENTS
PREFACE x
PROLOGUE xii
PART,0NE:
LIFE ENERGY: THE HIDDEN DYNAMIC IN
MEDICINE
1
The History of Life, Energy, and Medicine 3
The Origins of Energy Medicine
Medicine in Greece: The Beginnings of Western Medicine
The Renaissance: The Beginnings of Scientific Medicine
The Scientific Revolution Under Way
The Triumph of Technology
2
The New Scientific Revolution:
The Electrical Connection 27
Understanding Growth and Healing
The Mystery of Regeneration
Discovering Acupuncture
The Missing Link: The Internal Direct-Current Electrical
Control System
Cancer: 'Growth Out of Control
The Morphogenetic Field: Blueprint for Growth
The Dual Nervous System Uncovered: Analog and Digital
Controls
Uncovering the Hidden Cellular-Communication System
3
The New Scientific Revolution:
The Magnetic Connection 67
Magnetic Fields and Biology
Linking Biological Cycles to the Earth's Magnetic Field
Magnetic Sen~e Organs in Living Things
The Dual Nervous System Completed
v
vi CONTENTS
PART Two: ELECTROMAGNETIC MEDICINE
4
Turning On the Body's Electrical System:
Minimal-Energy Techniques 85
The Scientific Basis for Electromagnetic Medicine
The Human Electrical Control System
Linking Hypnosis to the Electrical System
The Three Types of Energy Medicine
Minim.al-Energy Techniques: The Use of the Mind
How Minimal-Energy Techniques Work
Unraveling the Healer Phenomenon
5
Building Up the Body's Electrical System:
Energy-Reinforcement Techniques
116
Homeopathy and the Law of Similars
A New Angle on the Scientific.Basis for Homeopathy
Homeopathy and Traditional Pharmacology
Acupuncture: Traditional versus Electrical
Other Energy-Reinforcement Techniques: Vitamins, Trace
Elements, and Physical Manipulation
6
Adding to the Body's Electrical System:
High-Energy Transfer Techniques 135
The Rise of Modern Electrotherapy
The "Black Box" Treatment: Transcutaneous Electrical
Nerve Stimulation (TENS)
Electrotherapy for Drug' Addiction
Electricity and the Healing of Bone Fractures
Linking Electrical Currents and Cancer Growth
How Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields (PEMFs) Work
The History of Electrotherapy and Cancer
Modern Electrotherapy for Cancer
Magnetic-Field Therapy for Cancer
Electrochemical Growth Stimulation
Electrochemical Therapy for Cancer
Microwaves and Cancer
High-Voltage Therapy for Snakebite
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging: The Biological
Effects
High-Energy Techniques: Where We Are Today
CONTENTS vii
PART THREE: ELECTROMAGNETIC POLLUTION
7
The Natural Electromagnetic Field 173
The Earth's Geomagnetic Field
Magnetic Storms and Human Behavior
Magnetic Reversals and Species Extinctions
The Geomagnetic Field and the Origin of Life
The Geomagnetic Field and Life Today
8
Man-Made Electromagnetic Fields 185
Our Abnormal Electromagnetic Environment
The Question of Health Hazards
The History of Microwave Fields and Their Biological Effects
The First Thermal-Effects Safety Standard
The $5 Million Experiment That Went Wrong
The Second Thermal-Effects Safety Standard
Microwaves and Genetic Effects
Microwaves and Brain Tumors
Extremely Low-Frequency (ELF) Radiation from
Electrical-Power Lines
Early Power-Line Studies
The New York State Power-Lines Project
Linking Low-Frequency Fields and Cancer.
Linking Low-Frequency Fields and Neurological Behavior
The Battelle Study: The Utility Companies Respond
More Developmental-Defect Reports
The Genetic Effects. of Power-Frequency Fields
The Spectrum between Microwave and ELF
The Hazards Are Real
The Role of Abnormal Electromagnetic Fields
9
ELF and the Mind/Brain Problem 218
Electrical Stimulation of Brain and Behavior: The Question
of Free Will
Low-Frequency Magnetic-Field Stimulation of Brain and
Behavior
Low-Frequency Radiation and Altered Consciousness
10
Linking Up Inner and Outer Fields:
Mechanisms of Action 229
Ionizing Radiation, N onionizing Radiation, and Heat
The "Antenna" Theory and Heat Effects
Biological Effects of Radiation Without Heat
viii CONTENTS
Enter the Resonance Concept
Biological Resonance: How It Works
Magnetic Resonance and the HHealer Phenomenon"
Magnetic Resonance and Extrasensory Perception
Magnetic Fields and Cell Division
11
The New Plagues
Electromagnetic-Hypersensitivity Syndrome
Chronic-Fatigue Syndrome
AIDS
Autism
Fragile X Syndrome
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
Changes in Preexisting Diseases: Alzheimer's Disease,
Parkinson's Disease, Cancer, and Mental Diseases
Where Do We Go from Here?
12
The Risk and the Benefit: What You Can Do 267
Risk/Benefit Ratio
Dose-Rate Considerations: Electric Razors and Electric
Blankets
The Ambient Field
Personal Actions: Television Sets, Personal Computers and
VDTs, Fluorescent Lights, Electric Clocks, Hair Dryers,
Electric Heaters, Microwave Ovens, Personal Radio
Transmitters
How to Make Your Own Field Measurements
Ambient Environmental ,Fields: TV, FM and AM Radio,
Microwaves
The Long-Term Radio Frequency/Microwave Solution
The Long-Term Electric-Power Solution
Risk/Benefit Analysis: Industry's View and Citizen Action
EPILOGUE 295
APPENDIX: THE HIDDEN HAND ON THE SWITCH:
MILITARY USES OF THE
ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM 297
GLOSSARY 305
RESOURCES 308
INDEX 327
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
!wish to thank first of all my editor, Connie Zweig. This book
would not have been written without her. Her patience and tact
are responsible for a readable, understandable story. Thanks are
due also to all those who helped, encouraged, and provided info r
mation and· guidance; they are too numerous to mention individu
ally. A special thanks to my son, Adam, for lengthy and numerous
discussions and for his skill at computer graphics, which produced
simple, clear illustrations from my complex scrawls. And, finally,
thanks to The Institute of N oetic Sciences, for invaluable assist
ance and support.
