Category: The Essentials

New VP Position with Environmental Health Trust and Other Updates

March 10, 2024
by Rob Brown
I have very exciting news to share with all of you! Although I haven’t written a blog or newsletter in quite a while, I have been very busy these past couple of years. For someone who attempts to educate the public on ways to maintain health, it has been a tough time to be vocal without getting in the ring and facing harsh adversity. The public excoriation of alternative health care providers – and general mistrust of traditional health care – has left many confused. At times, I have been confused as well.
Instead of putting my thoughts “out there”, I took the time to learn and write… not blogs, but a book.  I have found the topic of my study, the health effects of electromagnetic fields and wireless communication, to be quite scary. During the writing process, I came to realize that the limited distribution of my eventual book would not have a significant impact on the overwhelming din created by the wireless industry. Smart homes, ear pods, Wi-Fi, 5G… we have filled our world with radiation. WTF?!
I meditated, or if you will, prayed, for a door to open to help me get this information out to the masses.
When our then Attorney General, Josh Shapiro, announced his candidacy for PA Governor, I was thrilled that someone genuine and motivated by goodness could potentially run our state. I vied for a spot in his administration as Health Secretary. Although I believe I came close to receiving the appointment, the democratic process played out, and an applicant already established in the health department pipeline was selected for the position.
I must admit it was disappointing, but I knew I had helped Josh’s campaign, and was pleased to receive an invitation to the inauguration. Everything happens for a reason. Patience leads to an understanding of why things evolve as they do. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I never would have been able to fund my kid’s college tuition if I had been appointed to that position. And not only that, within a month of inauguration, the train derailment in East Palestine, OH occurred, spewing toxic gas and liquids into Eastern OH and Western PA. Working for the health department certainly would have been rewarding, but it would have literally diffused my energy directed at reducing the ubiquity of EMFs and instead required my attention to all aspects of public health.
Instead, I took time to further research, write, and finish my second book. During the search for endorsements, I sent a copy of the manuscript to Dr. Devra Davis, Ph.D., MPH, an epidemiologist and public health expert and founder of an impactful nonprofit think tank named Environmental Health Trust (EHT), which I have referenced in numerous prior blogs. Dr. Davis agreed to endorse the book and extended her support, friendship, and an offer to be a scientific advisor in her organization. I was thrilled!
Devra and I worked closely for months and I became smitten by her genius, elegance, professionalism, and bravery. She entrusted me to proofread her manuscript for the updated version of Disconnect, an exposé on the hazards of cell phone radiation, and the corruption of the wireless industry and our government regulators. The book is excellent and I highly suggest you read it! Frank Clegg, the former president of Microsoft Canada, and a board member for EHT, wrote the preface.
After Devra’s recent decision to step down as President of EHT in June 2024, the board gave careful consideration to organizational restructuring. Kent Chamberlin, Ph.D., a professor emeritus and past chairman of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of New Hampshire, has been appointed the new President and yours truly the Vice President of Scientific Research and Clinical Affairs. Other VPs will lead different branches of the organization, including Theodora Scarato, MSW and Executive Director emerita, who has worked with Devra for years and helped position the organization as a recognized leader and reputable source for scientific research and policy information. I am thrilled at the prospect of working with this highly qualified team to have a wide-reaching global impact.
In my role as VP, I will be directing the scientific efforts for EHT, which will focus on measurable forms of energetic toxicity, and in particular, electro-magnetic fields and wireless communication radiation. I will write a blogs and newsletters from robbrownmd.com that may or may not be related to EMFs. When I will release my book with the working title: UnPlug, you will certainly receive word it is available. Thank you all for your continued interest in my work.
Yours in good health,
Rob

Is Diet Coke Bad For You? Signs Point To….

September 14, 2021
by Rob Brown
is diet coke bad for you - picture of diet coke

Elaine was a great teacher and fun to be around. We residents all looked forward to working with her. It was obvious which reading room she had taken in the department each day because her signature can of Diet Coke would be sitting on the countertop underneath the alternator. Back then, radiologists read films that were hung on moveable panels that could hold up to 50 different patient studies.

On Elaine’s 36th birthday, as a token of appreciation, I bought her 36 cans of Diet Coke and stacked them up on her desk in an oversized pyramidal shape as a surprise. We laughed together as she walked into the room with her mouth ajar, and squealed with delight!

Back in the early ’90s, I was “technically” a doctor, meaning I had graduated from medical school and passed my board exams. But at that point, I knew nothing about the health effects of environmental toxins, aside from those that presented with correlative findings on medical imaging studies, such as asbestos exposure. I had no idea that a product like Diet Coke could potentially cause harmful health effects. I look back to that day now and think, Gee, I was trying to be thoughtful and creative, but … I gave my friend and mentor 36 cans of an addictive, chemically laden, potentially harmful drink.

Elaine wasn’t the only person in my life that adored Diet Coke. One of my best buddies from grade school also had an addiction to Diet Coke. He drank daily “Big Gulps” filled to the brim with the synthetically sweet beverage.

I can’t say anything about caffeine, as I typically enjoy two cups of coffee each morning. However, for me, aspartame, the sweetener in Diet Coke, is a no-no. Aspartame tastes 200 times sweeter than table sugar, but its physiological effects are different from sugar and confuse the body. Monsanto (think Round Up) bought Searle, the company that created aspartame, and marketed it as NutraSweet in 1984. 

The mastermind chemist behind the Diet Coke formula deserves special recognition for creating a beverage as addicting as Diet Coke. In fact, there was an article published recently in the New York Times called “I was Powerless Over Diet Coke”, and it talked about one user’s ordeal as she tried to break the habit. Anecdotally, these side effects might include headaches and fatigue. But it generally doesn’t last long.

Although the negative health effects from synthetic sugars remain somewhat ambiguous, I would strongly suggest you avoid these chemicals. In particular, if you drink a lot of Diet Coke, think about cutting back, and eventually giving it up. Most Diet Coke drinkers I know want to quit, but can’t muster up the drive to actually do it. They love the taste of the drink, but also know they are consuming something unhealthy and truly unnatural. (If you’re Googling, “is diet coke bad for you,” as I know some of you have, you’re concerned.) Knowing puts one on the right track — but quitting will get you there and likely improve your health by reducing  your exposure to the unpredictable and possibly dangerous effects of these chemicals. I’m sure you’ll be better off for it in ways you may not expect.

If you think that by drinking these human made sugars you are losing weight or keeping your weight under control, think again. Research has indicated that the opposite may be true. 

In research published in April 2021, aspartame has been found to be associated with increased risk of cancer in rodents. And that prenatal exposure to aspartame is associated with increased cancer risk in offspring. Their results suggest that an Advisory Group to the International Agency for Research on Cancer reevaluate aspartame’s carcinogenicity potential in humans.

Removing Diet Coke and aspartame from your diet may be difficult. It will require long-range focus, and dedication, and perhaps some aspirin! But it will be worth it in the long run when you get your body’s systems to function more coherently.