Interview with Margaret Shontz, author of "Is Your House Making You Overweight, Sick or Tired?

Welcome to Reader Views Margaret. It is a real pleasure to have you talking to us about your discoveries that a major cause of ill health and stress is caused by an external diet.

Irene: The title of your book depicts a question we would never think of asking ourselves - "Is Your House Making You Overweight, Sick or Tired?" Wow, why ask this question?

Margaret: First, Irene, I would like to thank you for this interview. I welcome the opportunity to share this life-saving information with you and your readers.

One should ask himself if his house is making him overweight, sick or tired because maybe it is. Ours was, and as we look back, our previous house was also.

Twenty-five years ago, each one of my family members was overweight, sick or tired. I thought the cause must be related to what we were or were not eating so I started studying nutrition. I threw out all of the health destroyers in my kitchen and had only raw apples left! I changed our internal diet, and we were better for five years. Then we started having excess sodium symptoms, so for another two years I studied the nutritional literature trying to discover the source of the excess sodium. Then one day while taking a shower, I noticed I was swelling up. That was it! There was 40# of salt affecting our bath water and house air-that was the source of our excess sodium! Two years earlier, we had remodeled our bathroom and added a water softener to keep the new fixtures mineral-free. That is what was giving us the excess sodium symptoms!

As I went into other homes and public buildings, I became aware of other symptoms often matching the later-learned symptoms of the residents. This is one reason why internal diets do not work for very long and cravings surface; the external diet is affecting the body's balance of internal body chemistry. Also, if the external body is being pulled outward, one must consume a lot of food to keep the internal body an equal distance.

Irene: What all do you cover in your book?

Margaret: I cover over 125 possible household problems that might be causing the residents to be overweight, sick or tired. I include the effects of many "invisible" stressors from a metal headboard to dryer sheets to some types of furnace filters to gas leaks to improper electricity and many more stressors.

Irene: What inspired you to write this book?

Margaret: As I mentioned above, my family and I realized the external diet had a major impact on our health. I would tell others of our experiences, and they would realize problems in their houses were also stressing their health. They encouraged me to write the book to help others.

Irene: I had the opportunity to review your book, and after several days of pondering all I could say is "Wow, really??" What is the biggest "wow" that people find?

Margaret: Without a doubt, the biggest "wow" is the effects of improper electricity.

Electricity is powerful - it can glow, heat, cool, mix, spin, suck, wash, dry, entertain, print words, tell time, raise the heavy garage door, and much more. Everyone knows if they were to touch an electric wire, they would probably get electrocuted. It should be no surprise then that being a few inches away from improper electricity or within improper electricity=s environ can have such a powerful ill affect on the body!

Irene: You go in-depth to make us realize that improper electricity negatively affects our health. Please explain to our readers your findings.

Margaret: First, let me explain improper electricity as I use it in my book: Improper electricity is any electricity that causes stress on the body.

Observation of my body was the first indicator that improper electricity was a problem. I learned of a $14 voltage detector that beeps and lights up when around voltage; it confirmed my body=s observations. Later, I reviewed a massive amount of literature on the subject. Twice-nominated Nobel Peace Prize Robert O. Becker has completed very precise research. In his excellent book Cross Currents he states, ". . . with any level of voltage, the water within the tissues will be subjected to electrolysis, a process in which the water molecules are broken apart . . . this produces gases such as hydrogen, that are extremely toxic to cells . . . the onset of electrolysis . . . occurs at about 1.1 volts." Even at that very low level of voltage of 1.1 volts, there is a very strong effect on one=s body. This can be one explanation why some people cannot drink water or eat wet or wetting foods; because consuming them would add to the body=s fluid volume.

Irene: You refer to our homes as being sick. What are the major culprits that exist in most homes?

Margaret: I believe the most major culprit in homes is, of course, improper electricity. People believe that just because the light comes on and the refrigerator cools that their electricity is wired correctly which is not necessarily the case.

Next would be the corrosive rod in a new hot water heater which over time dissolves into the water. I talked with one lady whose husband had been diagnosed with throat cancer just two months earlier. I asked her if they had just gotten a new hot water heater. She answered they had gotten a new one just a couple of months ago!

Salt in household water softeners can have a major influence on a person=s health. Everyone has heard the warnings about excess salt in the internal diet; those warnings also apply to the absorption of salt externally from bath water and household air.

Heat sources such as furnaces, radiators, fireplaces, and etc. can have a tremendous effect. I know of one brand of furnace where not only was it installed incorrectly, but also it was engineered incorrectly. Finally after ten years, the engineers moved the location of a part=s grounding wire from the electronics board to the frame of the furnace so after all these years, it now appears to be engineered correctly.

Split receptacles which use a wall switch to turn on the electricity must not only be wired correctly but also used correctly. Split receptacles should be outlawed!

Of course, we must also not forget that such things as mercury dental fillings, vaccinations, aluminum from aluminum cookware and some deodorants, and fluoride toothpaste are also part of our external diet.

Irene: You do realize that your information is ahead of your time and many people may consider your information unfounded. What recourse do you take to convince them differently?

Margaret: A medical doctor aware of my research has told me I am fifty years ahead of my time. I enjoy being a pioneer. The stranger people think it is, the better I like it because it reinforces the newness and uniqueness of the concept. When observation of your own body leads you to truth, that is really all that is necessary. Unfortunately, few people take time to observe their senses to connect how they feel with their external diet. Instead they believe ill health can only be caused by the internal diet, inherited factors, something that is "going around," or "unknown" reasons that medical researchers have yet to discover. My research suggests most ill health is not hereditary; instead, it is houseitary. The engineers and our technicians are our family's health care providers. If they do their jobs right, we have health; if they do their jobs wrong, we have ill health. They know if someone at our house is ill, I call them instead of a doctor.

Today many people pop food, pop pop, pop pills (over-the-counter, legal, or illegal drugs), buy this, buy that, escape to here, escape to there, and etc. just so they can keep going. They do not take time to notice how they feel when and where. They are so busy that sometimes subtle health problems are overlooked. So I developed a Health Inventory Checklist to help them. They can use the results of this checklist as a wake-up call. It is free on my website at www.stressfreelivingatyourfingertips.com . If your readers will start noticing when and where they feel the best and the worst, sooner or later, they will begin to see patterns, and it will finally dawn on them their external diet is causing their health problems.

Your readers may be surprised how they feel if they unplug the little transformers which lower voltage such as those found on some printers, video games, answering machines, portable phones, and cell phones. The body operates on its own electricity and must maintain the proper level.

Your readers may be surprised how they feel if they unplug surge protectors which level out electricity. After all, heartbeats are peaks and valleys; a straight line is death. Readers may also be surprised how they feel if they eliminate microwave signals, ovens, portable phones, cell phones, cable/satellite TV--which can make things inflexible. The heart and lungs especially need to be able to contract and expand. Look at someone's face who uses a cell phone. Frequently, the side of the face where they place their cell phone while talking is very inflexible and has "old age" lines.

It must be remembered whatever happens to the house, happens to its residents. One lady was complaining about her adult son having become so lazy; he just would not get going. I explained to her about improper electricity. She said her son slept in a loft and had recently put his computer directly below his bed! In today's world, one's behavior is composed of one's true personality engulfed in stress. It is only when stress is removed that an individual's true personality can appear. Divorcing spouses will say their spouse has changed. The spouse did not change; instead, stressors, many of which are invisible, changed the spouse.

Irene: Tell us about all the research that you have done over the past twenty-five years that has given you the insight of our external diet.

Margaret: I paid attention to how I felt when and where. And I had confidence in my body=s senses to warn me of dangers. That is the key.

First it was the swelling up from salt in the water softener. When we got a new hot water heater, I got an "ulcer" feeling in my stomach and an ugly green sore in my throat. Then when the Utilities surge protector was on our electrical system, I learned about powerful improper electricity. God gave us our senses to keep us safe; we must pay attention to when we feel bad and correct the situation or flee from it.

I have interviewed many experts and technicians and have reviewed related literature.

Irene: How do you propose we improve our external diet?

Margaret: First, we must realize it is the external diet that is causing most of our health and stress problems. For example, if a nail was sticking out of a door frame and family members scraped their arms on it when walking into the room, it would be obvious not to just keep putting band-aids on the wounds but to pound the nail back into the door frame. So it is with most of our other ailments; we just have to find the cause (probably in the external diet) that is causing the problem and eliminate it. Usually when there is no interference (external or internal), the human body can work just fine.

When the cause of ill health is eliminated, a cure is not needed. I wrote my book as a checklistBhow to find problems and how to fix them. With this checklist, house problems can be examined, one problem at a time. Once your readers eliminate a stressor and notice their health has improved, they will want to finish all the items listed in the book as fast as they can; it feels so good to feel good!

Irene: Are you writing any more books?

Margaret: Yes, I am working on the book which has the same name as my website: Stress-Free Living at Your Fingertips. It explains how to remove stressors from the internal, external, and spiritual diets. For it is only when stressors are eliminated that the body can function as it was originally and wonderfully designed.

Thanks again, Irene, for the opportunity to share this information. I wish you and your readers well.

Irene Watson is Managing Editor for Reader Views
http://www.readerviews.com