Thursday, May 1, 2014

Is Earthing just a craze or a real health benefit?

So I'll start this out by admitting something, I'm a little bit hillbilly. I'm 36 but grew up very old fashioned for my age and just a hair on the hillbilly side. Now, I'm not ashamed of that and I certainly don't think my childhood has in anyway hurt whom I have become. I would like to think I am a fairly cultured and well read and yes, a little hillbilly. 

I say that because I was told that a lot as a child. I went without wearing shoes every chance I could. I hated wearing them and I am still that way today. If I did wear something on my feet I preferred the moccasins I made or maybe some flip flops. To this day I get poked at for doing yard and garden work barefoot. It's hard to explain why I am this way. I just love the feel of the earth. I love the smell of the grass and dirt, and the feeling of the dirt between my toes as I walk on it. I joke that my feet are just another of my senses. I'm smelling the dirt with my feet. 


It's really no big deal I'm this way. A lot of people walk around barefoot so maybe that's why I've become a little amazed and humored at this new "craze" of walking around without shoes and that it even has a name, earthing. Now before I get the hate mail coming in I'm not hating on earthing or people walking around barefoot. I think everyone should do it. I just find it a little comical that it now has a such an eloquent name. I guess it's just because it was so natural for me growing up and now there is sort of a fad with it. But pushing that aside let's talk about it and see if there really is any benefit to it. 


So is there really any science behind it? Well yes and no. There have been a small handful of studies to indicate that there are some health benefits to direct contact with the earth or at least grounding yourself to it. There is also some common sense that plays into it giving it a little more credence. Finally there is the psychological aspect of it, and all of those we will briefly cover and try and figure out if this fad and old way getting around is beneficial to our health or just feels good. Either way, personally, I like it. 

Two of the best studies are from 2011 and 2012. Both showed some very positive results. In 2011 Drs Karol Sokai and Pawel Sokai published, Earthing the Human Body Influences Physiologic Processes, which showed that earthing during relaxation and physical exertion increased calcium and the catabolic process. In 2012 a group of medical researchers also showed increase in antioxidants and a decrease in free radicals which improved the overall immunity of the body. But why?

The science behind it is really simple. Our bodies are simply one big electrical system with charged electrons resonating at certain frequencies. We know that the earth is one big electro magnet and by simple contact we can recharge our bodies electrons. But not simply recharge them, earthing can bring our electrons back into balance with nature. This may sound a little nutty but there is some serious evidence to back all of this up. If our electrical charge becomes out of balance then so does our whole system including our immunity which is the basis for fighting any disease and bacteria we come in contact with. Planet Earth gives off these electrons and these studies have showed that our bodies do absorb these electrons and seem to come into better sync with the earth electro magnetic frequency. 

This is something lacking in most of modern humans and may count for the lack of natural health in modern man. Most people have very little direct contact anymore with the earth unlike the rest of the planet. Over the past century nearly everyone wears shoes all the time and those shoes now are rubber or some synthetic plastic. It's also safe to say not many sleep on the ground anymore either. We walk on sidewalks, stay indoors, mow our lawns on riding mowers and even if we garden, we wear pretty little gloves. When our kids get dirty we quickly wash them up and more and more we are seeing weakened immunity across the board. 

Although this field of study is rather new there are also reports in history of physicians noticing increased health and sleeping habits when patients slept directly on the ground or had more direct contact with the earth. So is all this a coincidence or have we modernized ourselves so much that we have disconnected ourselves from our recharging stations? It seems more and more science is saying yes to the latter. 

It really makes sense to me. Our bodies are meant to be in harmony with the planet, we are meant to coincide with it not just consume it. Maybe we have made some great medical advancements that improves our health through synthetic means but can there be some truth to using the earth itself to heal us? Personally, I say it makes enough sense for me to say yes. 

One other thing I would like to point out. Using myself as an example, when I am in direct contact with earth I enjoy it. I love the smell of the dirt in the garden, the feel of laying directly on the ground and the softness of the grass under my bare feet. Maybe this is just all a psychological feeling but if that's it and nothing else isn't that enough? We know that the health of the psyche has a major affect on the health of the physical body so even if it's only a psychological benefit then for me that's good enough. I feel a little better connected with nature, without my shoes, and enjoy  the increased sensory I gain from it. 

So maybe we haven't established if walking barefoot will heal you or not. We still aren't sure if this is just a fad for some to rebel against the norms but we do know that it can help make you feel good and maybe even recharge your body into its correct frequency. So whether you're just a country bumpkin that has just never had an infatuation with footwear or you've just discovered a trendy way to walk through the park I say bring on the earthing and show your bare piggies proudly. For me, I'll just say, "I was earthing when earthing wasn't cool". 

0 comments:

Post a Comment