Recently in the news we learned that cell phones may lead to brain tumors according to the World Health Organization (WHO) researchers. This is not based on new research but a review of limited past studies. Not three months ago we read about a British study by the University of Manchester, published in BioElectroMagnetics that suggested that cell phones do not lead to brain cancer. Certainly the debate will continue on about cell phone safety with the user confused on which side to error. It's also held by some that electro-magnetic radation can cause other kinds of illnesses too.

There is no doubt that a powerful transmitter being held closely to the users head region over decades could cause some issues. So many factors can contribute to the possibility or lack of that it's very difficult for a study to pick up on subtle trends. Figure in variables like exposure time, distance the phone is held from head, age, thickness of skull and it may take 20 years or more to determine some kind of pattern.

If you aren't willing to wait and see if you or someone you know develops brain tumors from radiation than you do have some options.

• Speakerphone
• Hands free device that separates you from your phone
• Gia Cell guard
• Gia Radiation Free Air Tube

Brain health is an intriguing pursuit that we may or may not have much control over. Old lore has provided many paths with few showing any breakthrough. Ginkgo nuts were long thought to provide a memory boost however current studies have shown little or no advantage. Some find caffeine a brain stimulant although how you get the caffeine can be more important. Coffee and tea offer caffeine but the effects are much different.

Moving away from tonics for health and perhaps the most controversial subject, exercising the brain. This runs from actual brain exercises like crossword puzzles to physical body exercise. It's been a long held belief that doing crossword puzzles helps keep the brain sharp with some research like the New York's Albert Einstein College of Medicine study in 2009 and yet Robert S. Wilson, professor of neurological science and behavioral science at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago describes studies including his own (NPR) that show cognitive exercises actually hasten decline in patients who have Alzheimer's disease even though more than half show a greater period of time staving it off before the inevitable onset. Tara Parker-Pope mentions a study on brain activity in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences demonstrating exercise helps the brain.

The problem is the brain is a very complicated piece of bio-engineering and it's hard to figure out the interaction with multiple biological systems involved. Chemistry certainly plays a role as do many other biological processes. Far from being the final blog article on brain health we expect to find a lot to discuss in the coming months.