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We have TV commercials in Israel right now of a new invention that is also planned, from what I read, to be marketed worldwide.

It is a bracelet that according to the company protects you from electromagnetic radiation.

From the company website:

The SR18 formula, inserted into the silicone BioGuard X bracelets, is unobtrusive and is designed to help the body's cells, without any direct physical contact, by transmitting signals to the cells. This process is designed to assist various elements contributing to the cells' activity in stress situations, such as the exposure to electromagnetic radiation.

It's originally in Hebrew so I put it in Google translate:

The translation at the beginning is pretty bad so I'd suggest skipping to the part "How to prove the defense capability of the material that you developed?"

Here is some more info about its function from the official website:

  • The formula prevented the phosphorylation of the protein in the cells, a phenomenon caused by the negative response of exposure to electromagnetic radiation.

  • Reinforced activity of the EGF, which is an essential factor that strengthens the cell's ability to cope in stress situations (such as exposure to radiation).

  • Despite the stress caused to the cells as a result of exposure to electromagnetic radiation, the formula balanced the P53 protein level, the cell's regulator and cell balance supervisor.
  • The formula has been tested in laboratories on sperm cells, which are recognized as defenseless cells. This test, which is customary for toxicity testing, showed that after six hours not only had the material not had any affect on the cells, it actually increased their motility.

So is this really possible: a bracelet that lessens the effects of electromagnetic radiation, all from the outside of your body?

I don't want to get to the whole "does radiation have any effects?", we all know that's a hot topic, but I want to focus on whether its even possible for such a bracelet to have any effect.

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    Well, it takes more than a bracelet. Sometimes a tinfoil hat works perfectly. Funny how PT Barnum probably knew nothing at all about radiation, but he still had just the right words for this.
    – user3344
    May 16, 2012 at 11:16
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    Related. Also this, and this. Do these answer the question?
    – Konrad Rudolph
    May 16, 2012 at 12:35
  • I hope the bracelet does not absorb electromagnetic radiation. That would interfere with my cell-phone and wifi.
    – Quora Feans
    Jul 3, 2015 at 17:08
  • Not unless it's a "bracelet" that covers your entire body.
    – Shadur
    Aug 7, 2015 at 11:54

1 Answer 1

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This "Bioguard X" bracelet is a hoax.

The Ministry of Health Israel has issued a statement (translated from Hebrew) saying:

The Ministry of Health would like to inform the public that after inspecting the information about the Bioguard X bracelet as claimed by the manufacturer, no evidence was found for any health benefit of the product. The bracelet doesn't meet the accepted standards for proving efficicacy and was not studied in a clinical study as commonly practiced when testing a product that alleges to have influence on health.

The marketing approval refers only to safety and contains a directive to not attribute health properties.

It's important to point out that the Ministry is in contact with the Authority of Consumer Protection to check the claims regarding the product and continuation of its advertising.

An Israeli blog already analyzed the "research" behind the bracelet and came to the following conclusions: (Translated from Hebrew)

I have no problem if people want to believe in energetic halos and to pay for it with their hard earned money, but once it's sold as the product of a scientific development it starts to be problematic. I've gathered some claims from the product's site, from an interview at the news site Ynet and from the promotional video and we shall go over them together and see why the product is problematic. Take notice: all the research that they provide is provided in the company's format, meaning they were not published in scientific peer reviewed publications. But lets ignore that and address them as they appear [in the product's site]:

The critique on each of their pieces of "research" in short:

  • Research number 1:

Doesn't provide proof for its underlining assumptions, and similar results can be gained by many toxins.

  • Research number 2:

Doesn't have a control group, and the cells experimented on that are suppose to simulate cancer cells are not cancer cells at all.

  • Research number 3:

Doesn't have a control group, or a positive control groups, lacks control groups for each possible factor in that test. The test have been done only on cell cultures and never on whole biological systems (live animals) which is a must with a product like this.

  • Research number 4:

For some unexplained reason done on sperm cells and shows to improve mobility, but lacks statistical analysis to show that it isn't a statistical error. Toxicity tests were never done on animals: what happens if the bracelet breaks and the SR-18 leaks out and comes in contact with the skin? What happens if a child bites the bracelet and swallowed the SR-18? All formulas, especially new formulas have to be tested on animals.

  • Research number 5:

Same as number 2 and 3

  • Research number 6:

In their promotional video they show a person tested by a BIM device, which tests for electrical conductivity in the skin. It's unclear how a result from that device indicates anything about the harms of radiation. In the video the man wears the bracelet in the same hand he is holding the phone, while the product claims to protect the whole body, what will happen if they put the phone in the other hand?

Also the time of the effect is puzzling. The effect seems to be immediate, but all the experiments mentioned a time of minutes to hours, while in the video is affect takes place in seconds. Also, why didn't they show the results of that test with all their other tests. And why didn't they do an experiment with a placebo control where a person is given a bracelet with no active substance inside?

  • Research number 7:

In an article in Ynet is claimed that a clinical trial was made with 35 people that wore the bracelet for 2 month and with 85% of them there was a rise in the Endoxins levels but they didn't publish the results of this experiment as well.

In addition to the problem with the "scientific background" of that product, the site publishes a list of its advisory board consisting of five researchers and doctors. I've contacted three of them, of which one, Dr Ehud Neeman, gave me the following reply:

enter image description here enter image description here

The whole conversation can be viewed here (I've blacked out my email address)

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