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Earthing or Grounding the Human Body

Earthing or Grounding the Human Body


Ni Wayan Ekarini (Eka)
Abstract
In this modern life we separate ourselves from direct contact with the
Earth by wearing shoes, living in a house of wood or stone, and sleeping on
spring beds. Recent research by Clinton Ober found that our bodies need an
adequate supply of electrons in order for our body to function optimally. When
the body has direct contact to the Earth, electrons are conducted to our bodies,
bringing it to the same electrical state as the earth. Earthing, by walking barefoot
is the simplest way we can get contact to the Earth. Clintont Ober, and several
other researchers including James Oschman, and Gaetan Chevalier have found
that Earthing or grounding is an important health discovery because research
shows that electrons from the Earth have effects that protect our bodies and thus
the health of our mind and spirit.
Earthing or Grounding the Human Body
Why do we feel good when we walk barefoot on the earth? Recent research proposes that
our immune system functions optimally when our body has an adequate supply of electrons;
these electrons are obtained naturally by contact with the earth and walking bare foot is the
easiest way to get such contact to the earth. Research shows that electrons from the Earth have
antioxidant effects that can protect our bodies from serious illness and inflammation.
Throughout history, human beings have been in contact with the Earth, but in our modern life we
separate ourselves from direct body contact with the Earth by the use of shoes, rugs, and
concrete. The Earth maintains a negative electrical potential on its surface. When we have
direct contact with the Earth by walking barefoot on the ground, electrons are conducted to our
bodies, bringing it to the same electrical state as the Earth. In this paper, I would like to discuss
how important Earthing is to our minds and bodies.
Grounding
I read several works about Earthing or grounding; the researchers made a very important
discovery; that especially in this modern lifestyle we tend to disconnect from the Earth. In this
modern life we separate ourselves from direct bodily contact with the Earth by wearing shoes
with plastic soles, live in the wood houses, and sleep on a spring bed. Earthing is perhaps the
most simple and natural remedy against many health problems including insomnia, chronic pain
of multiple diseases and injuries, exhaustion, stress, anxiety, and premature aging created by
several kinds of inflammation. Clinton Ober made the discovery of the concept of Earthing and
determined how it affects human life. He describes, Earthing restores and maintains the human
bodys most natural electrical state, which in turn promotes optimum health and functionality in
daily life. The primordial natural energy emanating from the Earth is the ultimate anti-
inflammatory and the ultimate anti-aging medicine. (Ober, 2010)
Through the years Ober worked with several experts to find the answer to the question,
why is grounding good for our health. In their research they found that the ground beneath our
feet has a vital electrical connection between the Earth and the living organisms that live upon it.
If one simply walks, stands, or sits barefoot on the ground for half hour or more it will help us to
feel better from PMS, arthritic pain, backache, indigestion, jet lag, feeling fatigued, just to simply
place our bare feet on the Earth. The Earth energizes our bodies through the grass, sand,
sidewalk, and dirt beneath us. Ober describes Just like a battery in a car that keeps the motor
running and the wheels turning, so too, do the rhythmic pulsation of natural energy flowing
through and emanating from the surface of the Earth keep the biological machinery of global life
running in rhythm and balance for everything that lives on the land or in the sea. (Ober, 2010)
Mother Earth has natural vibes that keep us healthy and can heal us if we connect to the
source of this energy. If our bodies remain disconnected from the Earth, the body is vulnerable
and malfunctions. The body malfunction would make one prone to inflammation related
diseases, and accelerated aging. How does Earthing work in our body? We should understand
the relationship between our bioelectrical bodies and our electrically charged planet, and
consider for a brief moment that three types of materials used in electricity: conductors,
insulators, and semiconductors. An example of a conductor is the metallic copper wiring in the
walls of our house or in the electrical cord that we plug into an outlet from an appliance. The
insulating materials consist of electrons held in a tight grip by their atoms. There are no free
electrons and consequently no current can flow through these materials, (plastic, rubber, glass,
and wood). Semiconductors are the backbone of modern electronic equipment because their
conductance can be controlled by the application of an electric field.1
Our bodies (just like the Earth) are mostly water and minerals, both great conductors of
electrons. What does it mean Earthing or grounding? The simple meaning is that we are
connected to Mother Earth. If we look at an example in the electrical world; grounding is the
common practice of connecting equipment and appliances to the Earth to protect against shocks,
shorts, and interference. Applied to our bodies, Earthing naturally protects the bodys delicate
bioelectrical circuitry against static electrical charges and interference.2 The Earth is negatively
charged. The Earth has an endless supply of negatively-charged free electrons. When the body
has direct contact with the surface of the planet, our conductive bodies naturally equalize our
electrical state with the Earth. Anytime two conductive objects make contact such as bare feet
and the ground, the electrons will flow from the place of abundant electrons to the place of fewer
electrons. Also when we stick a ground rod in the Earth; it allows the electrons to flow from the
Earth via a wire into an object. Science backs up the common sense. Science tells us that the
body is one dynamic conductor of electric impulses, or in the words of biophysicist James
Oschman, the living matrix. (Ober, 2011) There is a particular part of the skin thats right in
the middle of the ball of our foot; there is a point has known to acupuncturist as Kidney 1(K1).
This point is well known as it connects to all of the acupuncture meridians and essentially
connects to every nook and cranny of our bodies. 3
The study Earthing: More Efficient Cardiovascular, Respiratory, Nervous System Function
by Chevalier measured different physiological values before, during, and after a forty-minute
grounding session. Twenty-eight healthy men and women, ages eighteen to eighty, were used in
the experiment. The men and women were grounded with electrode patches applied to the soles
of their feet and the palms of their hands. The results from the grounded are: First, an
immediate reduction (within a few seconds) of skin conductance, indicating rapid activation of
the calming-mode parasympathetic nervous system. Skin conductance is a widely accepted
measure of nervous system function. This result strengthens our understanding about stress
reduction and improved sleep from grounding. Second, an increased respiration rate and
stabilization of blood oxygenation, as well as a slight rise in heart rate. Signs of more efficient
oxygen consumption during grounding continued, as was documented, for at least ten minutes
after the cessation of grounding. This fascinating observation links Earthing and a healing
response to metabolic activity. Immediately after un-grounding, blood oxygenation became
erratic and respiration rate became even slightly higher.4 The body does not seem to function
optimally being separated from the Earth.
The study Earthing, Power Healing From Trauma: Less Inflamation, Faster Recovery
was set up using DOMS 5 as a model to test the impact of Earthing on acute inflammation. The
study used eight men who had tissue injury and pronounced muscle soreness in their calves. The
participants exercised from Monday until the end of the week. The participants were divided to
two groups. One group was grounded and the other group was ungrounded. When inflammation
occurs, white blood cells are activated, and their numbers increase. Among the ungrounded
group, it was found that the white blood cells increase dramatically at the stage when DOMS is
known to reach its peak, and there is a greater perception of pain. By comparison to the
grounded group who experienced a slight white blood cell decrease, an indication that almost no
inflammation occurs. Dr. Brown commented, The men who were grounded not only had a
subjective feeling of less pain, but they could also take more pressure applied to their calves with
the blood pressure cuffs. Their calves seemed to be less sore. 6
The study Earthing Can Reduced Risk of Metabolic Syndrome finds obesity as a link to
diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Abdominal obesity is one of the important factors that
characterize the metabolic syndrome. The researchers conduct an ongoing animal study finding
significant improvements in several biochemical factors associated with metabolic syndrome and
the relation to Earthing for the improvements. One group of rats was housed in cages with
grounded equipment. The other group of animals lived in a similar environment, but they were
not grounded. The animals blood samples were taken every month for six months for analysis.
The animals that were grounded had progressive improvement. The preliminary results found an
increase in metabolic activity in the animals that implies a more efficient cardiovascular,
respiratory, and nervous system functioning in humans. Increasing the metabolic activity leads
to a lower risk of developing metabolic syndrome.7
The conclusion of James Oschman, and electrophysiologist Gaetan Chevalier is that
Earthing has beneficial health improvements. The first is living longer and better, Anti aging
medicine involves the search for factors that can restore and maintain adequate energy resources
and the circulation of vital energy throughout the body. This quest has been going on with
humans throughout history. (Oschman and Chevalier, 2010) The dominant theory of aging has
a connection to free- radical concept. Free-radical is damage to the body. Denham Harman,
M.D., of the University of Nebraska in 1956 proposed Aging results from the cumulative
damage to the body produced by free radicals. These molecules can damage DNA, leading to
mutations and disease. The second hypothesis is a new definition of normal immune response.
The inflammatory response may actually be an abnormal condition caused by the separation
from the Earths free electrons. The third is Earthing promotes healing of injuries. In Earthing
activity, the research give the impression that free electrons can neutralize free radicals that have
accumulated and caused inflammation. The fourth, Earthing gives a new definition of normal
physiology. When the body is connected to the Earth, a variety of beneficial physiological
changes take place instantly. (Oschman and Chevalier, 2010) The fifth, that Earthing restores
our internal electrical stability. The body evolved utilizing Earths electrical energy (ground) to
maintain its internal electrical stability for the normal functioning of all self-regulating and self-
healing systems. The sixth, Earthing is also resetting our biological clock. Oschman and
Chevalier say that the biological clock is found not only in humans and mammals, but also in
other organisms. The biological clock is linked to survival. The humans biological clock
(called peripheral clocks) are located in the brain. Its precisely in the suprachiasmatic nucleus, a
pair of distinct groups of cells in the hypothalamus. The biological clocks basically control all
body system functions, including the wake-sleep circadian cycle. 8 The most important health
consequence from Earthing is providing electrons from the Earth to the body restoring the bodys
electrical balance with Mother Earth.
Jerry Tennant goes into more detail, There are many ways that the body is intended to
get electrons. However, our modern culture has tended to eliminate most of these sourcesIf
your body has lower voltage than the earth, walking barefoot on the dirt or grass will cause
electrons to flow from the earth into your body, recharging you Cell membranes are made up
of opposing layers of fats called phospholipids. This unusual fat is made up of a ball with two
legs. The ball is an electron conductor. The legs are insulators. Anytime two conductors are
separated by an insulator, you have an electronic device called a capacitor. Capacitors are
designed to store electrons. Electrons are taken from the body byacidic water (tap water,
chlorinated water, fluoride, most bottled water), carbonated beverages, caffeinated beverages
(pop, coffee, tea), alcoholic beverages, cooked food, processed food, healers/ doctors who touch
their patient, hugs: transfers electrons from one person to another, parent holding sick child:
child gets well quicker and parent left tired, and moving air: wind, air conditioning, fans,
convertibles, and hair dryers. (Tennant, 2010)
Tennant says cellular voltage is necessary for good health. To make a new cell requires a
voltage of -50mV As voltage continues to drop, it will go from an electron donor to electron
stealer status. This is known as a change in polarity. When voltage drops to +30 mV, you have
cancer. Tennant, a medical doctor goes on I have seen a number of patients with a diagnosis
of lupus. A blood test called the ANA test is used to make the diagnosis of lupus. If you correct
the voltages in such patients, their symptoms go away and their ANA test goes to normal. His
book lists a large number of diseases he believes are caused by a loss of electrons to the body.
Besides Earthing, he also suggests technological and other means to replace the lost electrons in
the patient.
Barefoot substitutes are one of possibilities for Earthing available to those who dont
want to walk barefoot. Clinton Ober used medical electrode patches and developed various
prototypical bed pads, sheet sets, floor and desk pads, and sheet-like sleeping bags for travelers
and athletes. The goal is barefoot substitutes can provide inside connection to the Earth outside.
The devices are connected by a wire to a ground rod placed directly in the Earth or plugged into
the ground port of a grounded electrical outlet. Specialized Earthing shoes are also available.
These shoes provide a conducting material to connect the bottom of the foot to the ground.





References

Brown R, Chevalier G, Hill M. Pilot study on the effect of grounding on delayed onset muscle
soreness. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine April 2010

Ober, Clinton, Stephen T. Sinatra, and Martin Zucker. Earthing: The Most Important Health
Discovery Ever? Laguna Beach: Basic Health Publications, Inc., 2010. Print.

Ober AC. Grounding the human body to earth reduces chronic inflammation and related chronic
pain. ESD Journal Jul 2003; http://www.esdjournal.com/articles/cober/earth.htm

Oschman, J. D. (2012, April 29). Interview by Joseph Mercola [Web Based Recording].
Caution:wearing these can sabotage your health. Mercola Video Library, Retrieved from
http://articles.mercola.com/videos.aspx

Tennant, Jerry. Healing is Voltage- The Handbook. Jerry Tennant, 2010.

Olmstead, R., Cho, HJ, Lavretsky, H., et al. "Sleep Disturbance and Depression Recurrence in
Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A prospective Study." American Journal of Psychiatry.
165.12 (2008): 1543-1550. Print.




Footnotes
1. From Earthing the Most important Health Discovery Ever? Electrical you and your
electrical planet pg. 5-6
2. From Earthing the Most Important Health Discovery Ever? Pg.7
3. Dr. Mercola interviewed Dr. James Oschman who is the expert in the field of energy
medicine, April 29, 2012
http: //articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/04/29/james-oschman-on-
earthing.aspx
4. The study, published in 2010 in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.
5. DOMS, in the fitness and athletic world, this form of misery. Also DOMS for short and
is a well-known consequence of excessive, unfamiliar, or intensive exercise movement.
Ober,pg87
6. Brown R, Chevalier G, Hill M. Pilot study on the effect of grounding on delayed onset
muscle soreness. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine April 2010
7. Reduced Risk of Metabolic Syndrome, Clint Ober pg. 90.
8. Resetting your biological Clock in Clint Obers book pg. 94

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