Here’s what I’m doing about this to mitigate these potential risks, should they also be true in humans.

1) Start wearing these super chic glasses (hehe) that block blue light. Although the new study suggests risks even when the lights aren’t shining in your eyes, experts still recommend light-blocking glasses.

2) Upgrade my Kindle, which I read for at least an hour each night, to this new one that has a blue-light filter. (I’ll trade in my old Kindle to reduce the cost a bit.)

3) Set my iPhone to “night shift” mode even during the day, and set the “color temperature” to much warmer. (You’ll find the section under Settings > Display & Brightness.)

4) Get the right light bulbs. Traditional LED bulbs emit high levels of blue light, but these bulbs emit less even than you would experience during even the natural daylight hours.

If you know any other ways to avoid the dangers of blue light, please let me know.

Stay sane,

Shop This Story

Blue Light Blocking Glasses

Blue Light Blocking Kindle

Low Blue Light Bulbs

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I always look forward to this 10-week stretch of spending more time with my boys…until about three days into summer when said boys are fighting, the house is a mess, it’s a gazillion degrees on the sticky streets of Brooklyn, and neither kid will fall asleep before 10:00 PM because it’s so light outside.

This summer we will be spending time in Vermont, Long Island, and Lancaster, PA. But, there will be some long days in the hot city, and while we take a lot of mini-adventures, the summer inevitably results in more screen time in our house.

(Side note: check out the Clean Travel section of our website for info on some of my favorite summer vacation destinations.)

Because of concerns about radiation from tablets, I put my kids’ iPads on airplane mode whenever possible. But sometimes they want to watch those weird YouTube videos of grown men unpacking boxes of Legos or Playdoh, and they start whining: “Turn on the wiiiiiii-fiiiiiii!” (I keep ours turned off during the day if we aren’t using it.)

If you’ve got a kid, an iPad or other tablet, and WiFi, you might want to invest in a Anti-radiation tablet case.  When we initially reviewed anti-radiation devices for cell phones, we were really skeptical. It’s hard to prove that these devices work, and many tech reviews are negative.

Related Post: Are Cell Phones Dangerous? How to Protect Your Family

Happy summer, everyone! Let’s see if I can make it a full week home with both kids before counting the days until school starts again!

Stay sane,

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By John, Certified Holistic Health Coach

Here are two questions we at Gimme the Good Stuff hear quite a lot from our readers:

1) “Is there a link between cell/smart phones and cancer?”
2) “Is there a product that provides effective radiation protection?”

As you probably know, your cell phone, along with other common household electronic devices, emits EMFs (electromagnetic radiation fields). That much is an established fact. Vexingly, we are far less certain what health concerns these EMFs might cause.

Until recently, studies have been either inconclusive or show little reason for concern. But the last several years found the World Health Organization, at the urging of over 195 scientists from 39 countries, and citing over 2,000 peer-reviewed studies, reclassifying devices emitting EMFs as “possibly carcinogenic to humans.”

French researchers have found an almost three-fold increase in the incidence of brain cancer in people with more than 900 hours of lifetime cellphone use. Swedish researchers also found that the risk of being diagnosed with brain cancer increased by a factor of three in people who had used cell or cordless phones for at least 25 years. Research on lab animals has caused similar concerns.

Bear in mind that this technology is still in its infancy and as a rule I’d rather err on the side of safety, especially when I consider the fact that:

• When I was a kid, cigarettes were considered safe, and there were even doctors who endorsed particular brands.
• In the 1960s, many doctors believed that diet played little or no role in our health.
• Recently, the American Cancer Society changed mammography guidelines, based on a new understanding of the risks.

I’ll stop there. The point is that when industry-funded, scientific researchers claim that cell phone use is safe, I can’t help but wonder if, in twenty or thirty years, we will look back and wonder how we could have been so foolish. Children–due to lower skull density and a still-developing brain–would likely be even more vulnerable to the potential carcinogenic effects of cell phones.

Cell Phone Radiation Protection

The good news is that there are ways to decrease the amount of EMFs we expose ourselves to without giving up our phones entirely. For better or worse, cell phones are here to stay, so we need to learn how to use them safely.

(Related Post: iPad Radiation)

Here are some things you can do to drastically decrease the amount of EMFs you are hit with:

1. Don’t let your kid use your cell phone. Admittedly, I love to FaceTime with my grandsons. But we try to keep these calls brief.
2. Use your speakerphone. Every centimeter of distance between your brain and your cell phone reduces the amount of EMR exponentially.
3. Put your phone on airplane mode when you’re not using it. If nothing else, you should always put your phone in airplane mode at night if you use it as an alarm and therefore have it next to you.
4. Don’t use your phone when the signal is weak. When the bars are low, your phone has to work harder to find the signal–which means higher radiation for you.
5. Invest in a protection device. The internet is thick with products that claim to reduce or eliminate EMF exposure from cell phones. Some of these products are pure quackery, while others have proven their effectiveness in independent labs. We’ve done research on several products, and generally speaking, any product that is worn as a pendant or necklace won’t block or absorb EMFs in any effective way.
6. Use tube-type headphones. Normal headphones are attached with a wire that can transmit EMFs to your head.

Here are some good products we’ve found to protect yourself from your phone radiation:

Pong (Now Alara)

We no longer carry Alara cases in our store, but they have been tested and our research suggests that the shielding/redirecting technology embedded within Pong cases successfully reduce EMF exposure.

The limitations are that they are only made to fit a iPhones. (See below for what to use if you have a Galaxy or want a universal case).

DefenderShield Radiation Protection Products

DefenderShield’s line of products block virtually 100% of harmful EMR cell phone radiation from the face of your cell phone–no matter what kind you have–without affecting signal quality. DefenderShield also makes radiation protection for laptops and tablets–supper important if you have kids who like to play on your iPad!

Backed by FCC-certified lab testing, its multi-layered shielding technology embedded in the front cover blocks virtually 100% of the full frequency spectrum of harmful Electromagnetic Radiation (EMF) from 0-10 GHz which includes:

• Extremely Low Frequency Radiation (ELF Radiation)
• WiFi Radiation (RF Radiation)
• Bluetooth Radiation (RF Radiation)
• Cellular Radiation (RF Radiation)

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The bottom line is that this is that cell phone radiation is still a new area of study. As of now, it is impossible for anyone to claim that their product will rescue you from 100% the ill-effects of cellphone use and their EMFs.

But history tells us that these EMF redirecting products might be worth the investment, considering the negative outcomes that may show themselves years from now.

Stay sane,

P.S. I recently learned that regular cell phone cases (the kind that just protect the phone) actually INCREASE radiation emissions (since the phone must work harder to establish a connection with the cell tower). So if you want to use a case on your phone, definitely consider one that reduces radiation rather than the opposite.

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Written by Suzanne, Chief Health Officer and Resident Grandmother

Kid-friendly activities are a big topic for my husband and me because we’re lucky enough to have four young grandsons who are a regular part of our lives. We’re always looking for ways to engage them, and often this means luring them away from the glow of screens! This is particularly true as the weather turns cooler and the days get shorter. I know that many of you face the same struggle, so I wanted to share five free, simple and fresh strategies to encourage screen-free play:

Strategy #1: Use Water Play

Wolfie’s preschool is big on water play…for good reason!

Kids love water play of any kind. You don’t have to have access to a swimming pool for them to enjoy the natural pleasures of playing with water. Buckets, kiddie pools, bathtubs, and sinks are all ways to get kids engaged in water play. Give them some little containers and objects so they can experiment with floating and pouring. One of our grandsons could easily spend an hour playing at the sink!

Of course, water can be a drowning, slipping, and burning hazard, so make sure your kids have an age-appropriate level of supervision when they’re around water.

Strategy #2: Model Curiosity

Kids are imitators and want to be like the adults that love them. Kids are also naturally curious. One way to keep them off screens is to model curiosity. It’s great to talk and explain things to children, but sometimes just quietly leading them to an activity works best and avoids power struggles.

For example, the other day, Wolfie, one of my grandsons, was on the iPad. When I suggested he turn it off, he wasn’t interested. (Surprise, right?) I decided to switch things up by telling him that I was going out to the garden to work and he could come if he wanted. I went out, and in about two minutes, Wolfie was out there with me and we were talking about the birds we heard, and he wanted to help me in the garden. Then Wolfie was off playing an imaginary game in the grass. Score!

Another time recently, the boys were all fussing about what to do, and my husband quietly got on the floor and started building something with Legos. Pretty soon, all the boys were on the floor playing with Legos. He then backed away, and they continued to play for another hour. Score again!

Wolfie had a great time making muffins, and the results were delicious!

Strategy #3: Bake & Cook with Kids

Kids love mixing ingredients and preparing food. Cooking and baking are a great way to teach them about where their food comes from. They can also learn things like measuring, counting, patience, safety, and cleanup. Remind yourself of these benefits when you’re otherwise cringing over the extra mess that kids tend to make in the kitchen! It’s worth it—I promise.

Almost any recipe involves at least a couple of tasks that are safe and simple enough for kids to do. Recently, we made oatmeal muffins with Wolfie. He loved the whole process– mixing, baking, and eating (of course!). He also loved having muffins to enjoy later in his lunchbox. Comment below if you’d like me to share the healthy recipe we used.

Strategy #4: Do Simple Arts & Crafts

You don’t have to hit up Pinterest to organize a spectacular art or craft project. (That’s great, but it but can be overwhelming!).

Just setting up a table with simple art materials and beginning to use them with your kids will often get them excited. Remember that as your kids get older, their attention span grows, so they’ll sit for longer periods and create independently.

One of my favorite materials is bees wax crayons because of they are made from bees wax and their colors are more vibrant. I love the block crayons for little ones because they’re easier to grip. The bees wax stick crayons are nice too and don’t break as easily as regular crayons. For younger children, modeling drawing works well as you sit and create, they will join in. With the block crayons, you can just play with colors and shapes and not be overly concerned with details.

This worm was one of the best outdoor treasures Wolfie has found.

Strategy #5: Spend Time in Nature and Gather Some Treasures

Okay, I admit, this isn’t a fresh strategy—I’ve blogged about five outdoor activities to help children avoid screen time and strategies for winter play. I’m a bit obsessed with nature play, and because it’s one of my go-to strategies for engaging kids, I couldn’t help but include it here again.

Kids love being outdoors, whether it’s the woods, the ocean, a riverbank, a park, a neighborhood, the mountains, a meadow, or a city street. Kids have a way of finding their own games to play outdoors. Fall in particular is perfect for gathering acorns, pinecones, and leaves.

Bonus for parents: Children will go to bed easier and sleep better after getting lots of fresh air! Try this and you will see how much better they behave indoors and how much easier bedtime is. They’ll also probably get sick less, too.

Please share some easy things you do with your kids to keep them off of screens.

To your health,

P.S. No wonder Wolfie likes looking at screens, when this is what his parents were doing during a recent trip to the circus!

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