A few months ago I read the book, Earthing. The Most Important Health Discovery Ever? Authors: Clinton Ober, Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D. and Martin Zuker.
(I intended to report on this book right after reading it, but summer and all the work on five rentals came along, and, well, .....you know how it goes.)
Clinton Ober, the main author of the book, discovers by happen chance (on a journey around America to find himself and his purpose in life) that physically being grounded to the earth is beneficial to one's mental and physical health.
The short of it is this: if you're suffering from a headache, heartburn, insomnia, afflicted with debilitating arthritis, allergies, backaches, cuts, scrapes or sprains or other inflammatory ailments, then ground yourself with a grounding device or journey outside to your lawn and stand there (or sit in a chair with your feet on the ground) for ten or fifteen minutes or longer and see what happens. Quite often astonishing positive results are obtained.
According to Ober et al, the soles of you feet contain thousands of nerve endings, in fact, more per square inch than any other part of your body. What happens is that a "deficiency of electrons in the ungrounded body appears to distort and weaken the function of the immune system. But it can be readily restored to normal functioning by Earthing."
Inflammation occurs as cells release a hoard of positively charged free radicals that snatch away electrons from damaged tissue (cuts, scrapes, sprains, etc.) or from foreign microorganisms that have invaded an area. "It involves the mobilization of plasma (the yellow-colored liquid component of blood) and white blood cells into the injured tissue." This is, of course, a normal response by your immune system, and the bad bugs are deactivated and damaged tissue is broken down for removal.
Occasionally, though, the immune response can get out of hand and the free radicals, because of their fervent appetite for electrons, attack normal cells and cause chronic inflammation. "The good guys," as Ober puts it, "become bad guys on a rampage, ripping up innocent, healthy cells. Think of security dogs that snag the burglar and then go after the owner. They continue attacking and oxidize healthy tissue."
This is where grounding or earthing comes in handy. "We believe that normal inflammation veers out of control because of lost contact with the Earth. People are suffering from an electron deficiency--not enough free electrons on hand to satisfy the lust of rampaging free radicals." By getting in contact with the Earth, either by walking or standing barefooted or using a grounding device, electrons flow into the body, positively charged free radicals latch onto them, and the excessive inflammation is deactivated.
Several scientifically controlled studies and dozens and dozens of anecdotal instances are provided whereby people with various health complications, most brought about by some kind of inflammation, such as allergies, chronic back pain, muscle and joint pains from hard physical labor or sporting events, gastrointestinal afflictions, heart and circulatory problems, high blood pressure, menstrual and menopausal distress, jet lag, premature aging and just about any other ailment, disease, disorder or discomforting aggravation you can think of, according to Ober, can be ameliorated and in a few instances almost completely eliminated upon following a regimen of grounding.
One 71 year old lady, a massage therapist, stands on a grounded floor pad and does up to six massages a day. '"If I don't use it, I can do maybe one or two massages a day."'
Another person with rheumatoid arthritis got so bad that she considered having the knee surgery recommended by her doctor, but then she heard about grounding. '"And in three weeks, the pain and swelling were gone...Gradually, overtime all my joints quit popping."'
'"For years I was in a very bad way, just sitting painfully...,"' one woman explained, after being diagnosed with mixed connective tissue disease. She was told to just go home, get her affairs in order and enjoy whatever good days that came along. '"At some particularly low point, I decided I had to try to lift myself up by my bootstraps and do whatever I could to improve my quality of life..."' She met a doctor who practiced conventional and alternative medicine. As part of his therapy he recommended that she sleep grounded every night. That made a big difference in her quality of life and dramatically improved her condition.
One day Ober was asked if he could help an elderly man who was in agonizing pain and bedridden with severe rheumatoid arthritis. Because the man could barely move, it took several people to lift the man while Ober placed a grounding mat on his bed. The pad was then connected to a ground rod outside the man's room.
Several days later, the man called Ober to see if he could come over and reconnect his wire to the ground rod because a squirrel had chewed it into.
'"How do you know that?" Ober wanted to know."'
'"I went out and saw it had been chewed through," the man said.'
Ober fixed the break and was astounded at the man's improved condition in such a short duration of grounding. Over time the man was able to do chores and engage in other physical activity, and lived for another five years.
One study demonstrated that being grounded also appears to shield or protect the body from the adverse effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) that constantly surround most of us in our homes, workplaces, etc. Even though a person may turn off all the appliances clocks, radios, and other electrical devices in, for example, a bedroom, EMF still pervades the room from the wiring in the walls and electrical chords that lead to the appliances. Some people are extremely sensitive to this radiation and can experience fretful sleep, headaches and other physical discomforts.
The study measured the electrical field around each of twelve subjects ungrounded while lying in their own beds. The average was about 3.27 volts. One was as high as 5.98 volts. After being grounded, the average dropped to 0.007 volts.
Here are a couple of links where you can read more about earthing. The FAQ sections offers a wealth of information, but be aware that both sites are commercial, in that they offer grounding related material/devices for sale.
~http://earthing.com/about-earthing.php
~http://www.earthinginstitute.net/
MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCES AND OPINION
Connecting to the earth as much as possible makes sense to me. As Ober points out, we evolved pretty much in a grounded state. Ancient peoples walked the earth barefooted and slept and sat on the ground, and in that sense, were pretty much connected to the earth 24/7.
Today most of us adults who live in the modern industrialized "asphalt jungle" world are 24/7 insulated and separated from the earth. About the only exceptions are young children who play barefooted, people who love the outdoors and toss their shoes aside as soon as they get to the beach or the tent set up in the woods and those who saunter around barefooted in their gardens or backyards.
I'm 70, so sleeping like a baby (some, I guess) and not waking till morning is something most folks my age really yearn for, so before grounding I usually woke up two or three times a night and very often slept restlessly. Well, for the last three months I have slept grounded with my home-made device, and I can definitely say that I do sleep more soundly and wake up no more than once (only occasionally, a couple of times) during the night to go to the bathroom, and in the morning I feel much more refreshed than I did before sleeping grounded.
I must admit, though, that during the last two months while being grounded at night, I have also, as a result of reading many of the articles relating to diet on SOTT and the dietary recommendations on the forum, altered my diet by consuming more fat, (like bacon, grass fed beef, etc) fewer carbs and eliminating anything with gluten, soy, etc. So, I'm sure that, in addition to grounding, my on-going dietary changes have also contributed to my well being and better sleep. (I'm about halfway through the "Vegetarian Myth" and just started on "Primal Body, Primal Mind" and "Life Without Bread")
So this brings up another personal observation. As I reread a few of the personal stories in the book, several times the thought occurred to me that if these people had also embraced the Paleo diet and practiced the Eiriu Eolas breathing technique along with the grounding, improvements in their unhealthy conditions might have been more significant. The lady diagnosed with the connective joint disease, for instance, also decided to give up fats and become more of a vegetarian. Well, of course, she experienced some improvement as a result of the grounding, but one wonders if she, instead, along with the grounding, had eaten more (instead of less) fat, more meat and eliminated all food with gluten and other vegetable toxins and consumed fewer carbs, would she have experienced even greater mitigation of her disease?
I did purchase one small grounding pad which plugs into the grounded circuit of any grounded electrical wall outlet. With the pad came a tester that can be used to make sure the outlet has a ground circuit and that it is wired properly. If you live in an older house (built before the 70's) that does not have a grounded circuit in the wall outlets, then this type of pad will not work. A ground circuit tester is a must, and they can be purchased at almost any hardware store for just a few bucks.
The pads and other grounding devices sold on the aforementioned websites are rather expensive, so I recommend that you put together your own device or, BETTER YET, just spend some time barefooted outdoors if you want to experiment with grounding. Damp ground/grass is preferable because the moisture in the soil increases the conductivity. Concrete is conductive, but be aware that some concrete surfaces may have a plastic like coating, a plastic vapor barrier underneath or both; as such, they would not offer an ideal means of grounding. Also, a slightly moist concrete surface conducts much better than a completely dry area.
Now, if you'd like to build your own device to use indoors here's one way to accomplish that:
Purchase at a hardware store about (1) three feet of #6 bare copper wire (it's about a quarter of an inch in thickness and rather stiff, but yet, bendable), (2) ten or fifteen feet (or enough to go from the outside of a window to your bed or wherever you plan to use the device) of sheathed, multiple strand copper wire (table lamp wire will work fine or, if you can find any, the old flat TV antenna wire, as it will most likely fit under a closed window).
Cut off about six or eight inches of the #6 copper wire and bend it into a circle. Gently pound or push the remaining #6 (it should be as straight as possible) wire into the ground outside the window about six to eight inches away from the foundation. If the wire doesn't easily go into the ground, soak the area with water and then try it. Leave about two to three inches of the wire above the ground.
Remove about two inches of the sheathing from both ends of the small wire (the table lamp or TV antenna wire). Attach one end of this to the larger wire that you placed in the ground. Use a clamp or electrical tape. Then attach the other exposed copper wire end to that round piece of #6 wire. Use electrical tape.
You now have a grounding device. Place it wherever it's convenient on your body: under a shirt, bra, in the elastic upper part of your sock or hold it in your hand or place the bottom of one barefoot on top of it (such as, when you're sitting), etc., or use an elastic band to keep it in contact somewhere on your body.
HAPPY GROUNDING!! :)
(I intended to report on this book right after reading it, but summer and all the work on five rentals came along, and, well, .....you know how it goes.)
Clinton Ober, the main author of the book, discovers by happen chance (on a journey around America to find himself and his purpose in life) that physically being grounded to the earth is beneficial to one's mental and physical health.
The short of it is this: if you're suffering from a headache, heartburn, insomnia, afflicted with debilitating arthritis, allergies, backaches, cuts, scrapes or sprains or other inflammatory ailments, then ground yourself with a grounding device or journey outside to your lawn and stand there (or sit in a chair with your feet on the ground) for ten or fifteen minutes or longer and see what happens. Quite often astonishing positive results are obtained.
According to Ober et al, the soles of you feet contain thousands of nerve endings, in fact, more per square inch than any other part of your body. What happens is that a "deficiency of electrons in the ungrounded body appears to distort and weaken the function of the immune system. But it can be readily restored to normal functioning by Earthing."
Inflammation occurs as cells release a hoard of positively charged free radicals that snatch away electrons from damaged tissue (cuts, scrapes, sprains, etc.) or from foreign microorganisms that have invaded an area. "It involves the mobilization of plasma (the yellow-colored liquid component of blood) and white blood cells into the injured tissue." This is, of course, a normal response by your immune system, and the bad bugs are deactivated and damaged tissue is broken down for removal.
Occasionally, though, the immune response can get out of hand and the free radicals, because of their fervent appetite for electrons, attack normal cells and cause chronic inflammation. "The good guys," as Ober puts it, "become bad guys on a rampage, ripping up innocent, healthy cells. Think of security dogs that snag the burglar and then go after the owner. They continue attacking and oxidize healthy tissue."
This is where grounding or earthing comes in handy. "We believe that normal inflammation veers out of control because of lost contact with the Earth. People are suffering from an electron deficiency--not enough free electrons on hand to satisfy the lust of rampaging free radicals." By getting in contact with the Earth, either by walking or standing barefooted or using a grounding device, electrons flow into the body, positively charged free radicals latch onto them, and the excessive inflammation is deactivated.
Several scientifically controlled studies and dozens and dozens of anecdotal instances are provided whereby people with various health complications, most brought about by some kind of inflammation, such as allergies, chronic back pain, muscle and joint pains from hard physical labor or sporting events, gastrointestinal afflictions, heart and circulatory problems, high blood pressure, menstrual and menopausal distress, jet lag, premature aging and just about any other ailment, disease, disorder or discomforting aggravation you can think of, according to Ober, can be ameliorated and in a few instances almost completely eliminated upon following a regimen of grounding.
One 71 year old lady, a massage therapist, stands on a grounded floor pad and does up to six massages a day. '"If I don't use it, I can do maybe one or two massages a day."'
Another person with rheumatoid arthritis got so bad that she considered having the knee surgery recommended by her doctor, but then she heard about grounding. '"And in three weeks, the pain and swelling were gone...Gradually, overtime all my joints quit popping."'
'"For years I was in a very bad way, just sitting painfully...,"' one woman explained, after being diagnosed with mixed connective tissue disease. She was told to just go home, get her affairs in order and enjoy whatever good days that came along. '"At some particularly low point, I decided I had to try to lift myself up by my bootstraps and do whatever I could to improve my quality of life..."' She met a doctor who practiced conventional and alternative medicine. As part of his therapy he recommended that she sleep grounded every night. That made a big difference in her quality of life and dramatically improved her condition.
One day Ober was asked if he could help an elderly man who was in agonizing pain and bedridden with severe rheumatoid arthritis. Because the man could barely move, it took several people to lift the man while Ober placed a grounding mat on his bed. The pad was then connected to a ground rod outside the man's room.
Several days later, the man called Ober to see if he could come over and reconnect his wire to the ground rod because a squirrel had chewed it into.
'"How do you know that?" Ober wanted to know."'
'"I went out and saw it had been chewed through," the man said.'
Ober fixed the break and was astounded at the man's improved condition in such a short duration of grounding. Over time the man was able to do chores and engage in other physical activity, and lived for another five years.
One study demonstrated that being grounded also appears to shield or protect the body from the adverse effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) that constantly surround most of us in our homes, workplaces, etc. Even though a person may turn off all the appliances clocks, radios, and other electrical devices in, for example, a bedroom, EMF still pervades the room from the wiring in the walls and electrical chords that lead to the appliances. Some people are extremely sensitive to this radiation and can experience fretful sleep, headaches and other physical discomforts.
The study measured the electrical field around each of twelve subjects ungrounded while lying in their own beds. The average was about 3.27 volts. One was as high as 5.98 volts. After being grounded, the average dropped to 0.007 volts.
Here are a couple of links where you can read more about earthing. The FAQ sections offers a wealth of information, but be aware that both sites are commercial, in that they offer grounding related material/devices for sale.
~http://earthing.com/about-earthing.php
~http://www.earthinginstitute.net/
MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCES AND OPINION
Connecting to the earth as much as possible makes sense to me. As Ober points out, we evolved pretty much in a grounded state. Ancient peoples walked the earth barefooted and slept and sat on the ground, and in that sense, were pretty much connected to the earth 24/7.
Today most of us adults who live in the modern industrialized "asphalt jungle" world are 24/7 insulated and separated from the earth. About the only exceptions are young children who play barefooted, people who love the outdoors and toss their shoes aside as soon as they get to the beach or the tent set up in the woods and those who saunter around barefooted in their gardens or backyards.
I'm 70, so sleeping like a baby (some, I guess) and not waking till morning is something most folks my age really yearn for, so before grounding I usually woke up two or three times a night and very often slept restlessly. Well, for the last three months I have slept grounded with my home-made device, and I can definitely say that I do sleep more soundly and wake up no more than once (only occasionally, a couple of times) during the night to go to the bathroom, and in the morning I feel much more refreshed than I did before sleeping grounded.
I must admit, though, that during the last two months while being grounded at night, I have also, as a result of reading many of the articles relating to diet on SOTT and the dietary recommendations on the forum, altered my diet by consuming more fat, (like bacon, grass fed beef, etc) fewer carbs and eliminating anything with gluten, soy, etc. So, I'm sure that, in addition to grounding, my on-going dietary changes have also contributed to my well being and better sleep. (I'm about halfway through the "Vegetarian Myth" and just started on "Primal Body, Primal Mind" and "Life Without Bread")
So this brings up another personal observation. As I reread a few of the personal stories in the book, several times the thought occurred to me that if these people had also embraced the Paleo diet and practiced the Eiriu Eolas breathing technique along with the grounding, improvements in their unhealthy conditions might have been more significant. The lady diagnosed with the connective joint disease, for instance, also decided to give up fats and become more of a vegetarian. Well, of course, she experienced some improvement as a result of the grounding, but one wonders if she, instead, along with the grounding, had eaten more (instead of less) fat, more meat and eliminated all food with gluten and other vegetable toxins and consumed fewer carbs, would she have experienced even greater mitigation of her disease?
I did purchase one small grounding pad which plugs into the grounded circuit of any grounded electrical wall outlet. With the pad came a tester that can be used to make sure the outlet has a ground circuit and that it is wired properly. If you live in an older house (built before the 70's) that does not have a grounded circuit in the wall outlets, then this type of pad will not work. A ground circuit tester is a must, and they can be purchased at almost any hardware store for just a few bucks.
The pads and other grounding devices sold on the aforementioned websites are rather expensive, so I recommend that you put together your own device or, BETTER YET, just spend some time barefooted outdoors if you want to experiment with grounding. Damp ground/grass is preferable because the moisture in the soil increases the conductivity. Concrete is conductive, but be aware that some concrete surfaces may have a plastic like coating, a plastic vapor barrier underneath or both; as such, they would not offer an ideal means of grounding. Also, a slightly moist concrete surface conducts much better than a completely dry area.
Now, if you'd like to build your own device to use indoors here's one way to accomplish that:
Purchase at a hardware store about (1) three feet of #6 bare copper wire (it's about a quarter of an inch in thickness and rather stiff, but yet, bendable), (2) ten or fifteen feet (or enough to go from the outside of a window to your bed or wherever you plan to use the device) of sheathed, multiple strand copper wire (table lamp wire will work fine or, if you can find any, the old flat TV antenna wire, as it will most likely fit under a closed window).
Cut off about six or eight inches of the #6 copper wire and bend it into a circle. Gently pound or push the remaining #6 (it should be as straight as possible) wire into the ground outside the window about six to eight inches away from the foundation. If the wire doesn't easily go into the ground, soak the area with water and then try it. Leave about two to three inches of the wire above the ground.
Remove about two inches of the sheathing from both ends of the small wire (the table lamp or TV antenna wire). Attach one end of this to the larger wire that you placed in the ground. Use a clamp or electrical tape. Then attach the other exposed copper wire end to that round piece of #6 wire. Use electrical tape.
You now have a grounding device. Place it wherever it's convenient on your body: under a shirt, bra, in the elastic upper part of your sock or hold it in your hand or place the bottom of one barefoot on top of it (such as, when you're sitting), etc., or use an elastic band to keep it in contact somewhere on your body.
HAPPY GROUNDING!! :)
voyageur,
