The solution for chronic inflammation, regarded as the cause of most common modern diseases, has been identified! And it is not blueberries. It is something right beneath our feet-the Earth itself!
Throughout most of evolution humans walked barefoot and slept on the ground, largely oblivious that the surface of the Earth contains limitless healing energy. Science has discovered this energy as free-flowing electrons constantly replenished by solar radiation and lightning. Few people know it, but the ground provides a subtle electric signal that maintains health and governs the intricate mechanisms that make our bodies work-just like plugging a lamp into a power socket makes it light up. Modern lifestyle, including the widespread use of insulative rubber or plastic-soled shoes, has disconnected us from this energy and, of course, we no longer sleep on the ground as we did in times past.
Earthing introduces the planet's powerful, amazing, and overlooked natural healing energy and how people anywhere can readily connect to it. This eye-opening book describes how the physical disconnect with the Earth creates abnormal physiology and contributes to inflammation, pain, fatigue, stress, and poor sleep. By reconnecting to the Earth, symptoms are rapidly relieved and even eliminated and recovery from surgery, injury, and athletic overexertion is accelerated.
This never-before-told story-filled with fascinating research and real-life testimonials- chronicles a discovery with the potential to create a global health revolution.
About the Author Clinton Ober started as a cable TV salesman in Billings, Montana, and rose to become a leader in the industry. Following a near fatal disease in 1993, he embarked on a personal journey looking for a higher purpose in life. Since discovering Earthing he has been devoted to promoting the scientific exploration and practical applications for the concept.
Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D., F.A.C.C., is a board-certified cardiologist, a certified bioenergetic psychotherapist, and a certified nutrition and anti-aging specialist. He is the author of the best-selling book The Sinatra Solution: Metabolic Cardiology.
Martin Zucker has written extensively on natural healing, fitness, and alternative medicine for thirty years.
"Earthing" (aka "grounding") is a movement that has been gaining *ahem* ground, its basic premise being that physical connection with the earth will convey a bunch of health benefits, namely a reduction in inflammation, which is painted as the root of numerous modern ailments: auto-immune diseases, allergies, PMS, sleep apnea, autism, you name it. The sharp-eyed reader may notice that the first edition's Papyrus-font subtitle "The Most Important Health Discovery Ever?" has gained a shiny new exclamation point "!" in this second edition. So wait... all I need to do is to spend more time barefoot, absorbing beneficial electrons from the ground, and I'll live a longer, happier, healthier life? Or better yet, I can just buy the author's patented grounding mats and mattress covers that plug into the wall? This is an extraordinary claim indeed, and unfortunately this book and its companion documentary wield half-truths and pseudoscience in order to make their case.
I've reviewed Earthing's products and this book for the podcast I co-host, Oh No, Ross and Carrie. You can listen to the four-part series . We met and interviewed the author, Clint Ober, and he's a super nice guy. However, the basic claims of this philosophy and product simply don't compute. You can cite electron pathways all you want, but the electrical exchange with the Earth is minor, and its electrical import (and export) is dwarfed by other daily activities. You can line up charts comparing our disconnection from the ground (due to rubber-soled shoes and synthetic flooring materials) with the rise in diagnosed inflammatory conditions, but you'll be glossing over a multitude of relevant factors. You can cite endless testimonials, but they won't amount to scientific evidence. You can present thermographs with conflicting temperature scales (whoops), but you'll be taking advantage of people who aren't paying attention. You can keep insisting that inflammation is impossible for someone who is actively connected to the ground, but that won't alter the basic fact that, no, you can become inflamed while grounded. Not to mention that inflammation itself is only one piece of the larger puzzle of the complex, multifactorial diseases mentioned in this book. Throughout, Earthing offers breathless claims, insinuations and jargon-filled explanations in hopes that the reader will assume they belong together and support each other.
In our conversation with the primary author, we addressed many of these issues. He was confident that he could detect when he was grounded, but failed a blinded test with lower-than-chance results. He told my co-host repeatedly that she could not experience inflammation while grounded, but her hand slammed on the table begged (and ached) to say otherwise. It turns out that his co-author and right-hand man, Martin Zucker (also featured in the documentary), passed away last year from COVID (which could easily fall under the "inflammation" category) despite his adherence to this philosophy. Clint Ober offered a few conflicting answers to resolve this obvious problem. The FDA clearance (let alone approval) implied by the documentary turned out to be illusory.
For these and many more reasons, Earthing as a healing mechanism and product are to be avoided. By all means, spend some time outdoors - even barefoot - it feels great in safe conditions! But leave the healing to the counsel of caring, evidence-based medical professionals (who are painted in this book as greedy and uncaring) and good habits of diet, exercise and sleep.
When I first heard about this concept I was very sceptical. I am a big supporter of orthomolecular and nutritional medicine and the not-very-popular idea of treating the causes of disease and not just suppressing symptoms with drugs...but earthing just sounds so completely eye-rollingly nuts at first!
After watching a half dozen videos on the subject made by experts and reading about the same number of articles on earthing, I was quite intrigued but still far from convinced of its scientific merits.
So I came to this book with an open but very sceptical mind and with the attitude that I would have to see a lot of impressive evidence and solid logic to be convinced that this concept was worth bothering with and worth supporting.
Long story short, this book did convince me. I went out and spent $50 on a grounding mat before I had even got to the end of it.
Any book can provide lots of testimonial claiming all sorts of health benefits (dubious and genuine) for just about anything, and this book is no different in that respect. There are a LOT of testimonials in this book and I must say I had little interest in most of them. What impressed me about this book was the story of how the grounding concept was discovered (which has an undeniable ring of truth to it), the solid logic of the concept and the studies done so far on grounding.
People cut off from the electrical current of the earth for long periods of time develop all sorts of problems which are reversed by grounding, and studies have show the positive effects it has on sleep and also on red blood cells. The red blood cell before and after photos in the book are amazing as are the thermography images. At least some of the studies done were double blind as well. I'm still too ill to go into all the science and theory here, and you really need to read the whole book to fully understand it all anyway, but this is a brief sample of what the book contains.
The fact that trying grounding is either free or very inexpensive, very easy to do, low risk in regards to side effects (low-level healing reactions are possible but that is about it) and potentially mildly or very helpful for those battling illness and pain also helps.
The main benefits described by the book from grounding are pain relief, reduced inflammation, a reset sleep-wake cycle, feeling calmer and a dampening down of the sympathetic nervous system and adrenaline surges, resynchronisation of cortisol release, protection from EMF radiation and the problems it can cause, relief of muscle tension and headaches plus speeded healing and prevention of bedsores. It can also help you cope with jet-lag.
This book explains:
"Exposure to sunlight produces vitamin D in the body. It's needed for health. Exposure to the ground provides an electrical `nutrient' in the form of electrons. Think of these electrons as vitamin G--G for ground. Just like vitamin D, you need vitamin G for your health as well."
FWIW the effects of grounding myself using a small grounding mat day and night for the last 2 months have been noticeable and definitely worthwhile but not astounding, sadly. I feel a significantly blunted adrenaline response (which is great as adrenaline surges are part of my disease and very detrimental to my long-term health) which has led to me feeling calmer and more able to cope with stress and I have also noticed a normalisation of my sleep-wake cycle (which is also a part of my disease) and possibly better sleep quality.
The book mentions MS patients (MS is very similar to the disease I have) having their illness reversed through grounding, but I am not at all sure that this is something that could be said to be a 'usual' effect of grounding and suspect the benefits for many or most of us may be more subtle. It would be easy to read the many testimonials in the book and to expect far too much and be disappointed. I was a little bit, I have to say.
The effects I felt were fairly immediate and as I have said, worthwhile, but I'm still very ill and mostly bedbound of course. The effect grounding had on me wasn't quite life changing, just life improving. (I wonder if this could be due to the fact I was already very electron boosted through taking high dose vitamin C and GSH? More on this below.)
The mats are okay to use and only mildly annoying on occasion, such as when I scrunch them up in my sleep, but most of the time I don't even notice they are there. The prices are pretty good for grounding products although I do have some concern about how you know when they need to be replaced in years to come.
My dad has said to me that I should do my own trial on the mats and that he could disconnect the grounding wire from the wall for me without my knowing about it on random days or weeks. I may well take him up on that in a few months! I'd be very interested to see the results. For now I'm hoping that more benefits will appear form grounding over time. After 6 months or so I may begin my tests though.
Author Dr Sinatra's son had a near-lethal electropollution illness for 6 years, which was slowly improved through grounding. If nothing else this book is absolutely *essential* reading for anyone suffering with severe EMF health issues. This book explains that when we are grounded our bodies don't have to cope with so much electrical 'noise' and that all our interconnected electrical systems (such as the heart) can then function better. Studies have backed up the reduction of EMF radiation with grounding. I don't see why anyone with severe EMF issues wouldn't at least try this and/or read more about it, as there is so little to lose and a lot to gain, potentially, when you are really ill in this awful way. For this issue in particular grounding seems very promising and makes a lot of sense.
If you are ill, read this book if you can and make up your own mind I say. See if your library has a copy at least, like mine did, and then your initial risk is minuscule. Remember too that the results from grounding may not be immediate and that it is very 'dose' dependent.
Grounding isn't the whole answer to regaining health or preventing illness but it does seem like one very important or even essential part of the bigger picture. It should not be ignored or dismissed out of hand without proper open-minded investigation, particularly as the risk and cost is so very low. Please actually read this book before making up your mind.
Thanks to the authors of this book for writing it, doing all the research and doing such a great job with both. I look forward to reading about the new grounding studies being done in the near future.
I'd love to learn more about how grounding and the electrons it gives compare to the electrons given by vitamin C and glutathione. Some crossover research would be great too.
As vitamin C experts Dr Levy explains, Vitamin C is the premier extracellular antioxidant and glutathione is the premier intracellular antioxidant. Vitamin C and glutathione are powerful and important antioxidants taken alone and have an even more powerful synergistic effect when they are taken together. They both give the body the `rapid and profound influx of electrons' needed to fight disease and to support heart, lung and brain health and immunity says Dr Levy, who also adds that `Virtually all diseases and toxins/poisons cause sickness and death through their electron stealing activity.'
In the book GSH: Master Defender Against Disease, Toxins and Ageing ' Dr Levy continues,
"Since no one has ever seen an electron, for most people it remains a theoretical entity. It is this invisibility that makes it so difficult to accept them as real entities that reliably treat diseases more effectively than antibiotics or prescription drugs. Yet this is precisely the case. Even though it is not possible to give a teaspoon of electrons to a sick child, one can administer medications and/or nutrients that are extremely rich in their electron content. Once a sufficient quantity of electrons is delivered to the body, it brings what can only be described as fantastic clinical results when compared to traditional medical therapies. And, this has already been shown to be true for a wide variety of medical conditions."
It seems grounding should be added to this electron boosting list, at the very least!
When I first heard about this concept I was very sceptical. I am a big supporter of orthomolecular and nutritional medicine and the not-very-popular idea of treating the causes of disease and not just suppressing symptoms with drugs...but earthing just sounds so completely eye-rollingly nuts at first!
After watching a half dozen videos on the subject made by experts and reading about the same number of articles on earthing, I was quite intrigued but still far from convinced of its scientific merits.
So I came to this book with an open but very sceptical mind and with the attitude that I would have to see a lot of impressive evidence and solid logic to be convinced that this concept was worth bothering with and worth supporting.
Long story short, this book did convince me. I went out and spent $50 on a grounding mat before I had even got to the end of it.
Any book can provide lots of testimonial claiming all sorts of health benefits (dubious and genuine) for just about anything, and this book is no different in that respect. There are a LOT of testimonials in this book and I must say I had little interest in most of them. What impressed me about this book was the story of how the grounding concept was discovered (which has an undeniable ring of truth to it), the solid logic of the concept and the studies done so far on grounding.
People cut off from the electrical current of the earth for long periods of time develop all sorts of problems which are reversed by grounding, and studies have show the positive effects it has on sleep and also on red blood cells. The red blood cell before and after photos in the book are amazing as are the thermography images. At least some of the studies done were double blind as well. I'm still too ill to go into all the science and theory here, and you really need to read the whole book to fully understand it all anyway, but this is a brief sample of what the book contains.
The fact that trying grounding is either free or very inexpensive, very easy to do, low risk in regards to side effects (low-level healing reactions are possible but that is about it) and potentially mildly or very helpful for those battling illness and pain also helps.
The main benefits described by the book from grounding are pain relief, reduced inflammation, a reset sleep-wake cycle, feeling calmer and a dampening down of the sympathetic nervous system and adrenaline surges, resynchronisation of cortisol release, protection from EMF radiation and the problems it can cause, relief of muscle tension and headaches plus speeded healing and prevention of bedsores. It can also help you cope with jet-lag.
This book explains:
"Exposure to sunlight produces vitamin D in the body. It's needed for health. Exposure to the ground provides an electrical `nutrient' in the form of electrons. Think of these electrons as vitamin G--G for ground. Just like vitamin D, you need vitamin G for your health as well."
FWIW the effects of grounding myself using a small grounding mat day and night for the last 2 months have been noticeable and definitely worthwhile but not astounding, sadly. I feel a significantly blunted adrenaline response (which is great as adrenaline surges are part of my disease and very detrimental to my long-term health) which has led to me feeling calmer and more able to cope with stress and I have also noticed a normalisation of my sleep-wake cycle (which is also a part of my disease) and possibly better sleep quality.
The book mentions MS patients (MS is very similar to the disease I have) having their illness reversed through grounding, but I am not at all sure that this is something that could be said to be a 'usual' effect of grounding and suspect the benefits for many or most of us may be more subtle. It would be easy to read the many testimonials in the book and to expect far too much and be disappointed. I was a little bit, I have to say.
The effects I felt were fairly immediate and as I have said, worthwhile, but I'm still very ill and mostly bedbound of course. The effect grounding had on me wasn't quite life changing, just life improving. (I wonder if this could be due to the fact I was already very electron boosted through taking high dose vitamin C and GSH? More on this below.)
The mats are okay to use and only mildly annoying on occasion, such as when I scrunch them up in my sleep, but most of the time I don't even notice they are there. The prices are pretty good for grounding products although I do have some concern about how you know when they need to be replaced in years to come.
My dad has said to me that I should do my own trial on the mats and that he could disconnect the grounding wire from the wall for me without my knowing about it on random days or weeks. I may well take him up on that in a few months! I'd be very interested to see the results. For now I'm hoping that more benefits will appear form grounding over time. After 6 months or so I may begin my tests though.
Author Dr Sinatra's son had a near-lethal electropollution illness for 6 years, which was slowly improved through grounding. If nothing else this book is absolutely *essential* reading for anyone suffering with severe EMF health issues. This book explains that when we are grounded our bodies don't have to cope with so much electrical 'noise' and that all our interconnected electrical systems (such as the heart) can then function better. Studies have backed up the reduction of EMF radiation with grounding. I don't see why anyone with severe EMF issues wouldn't at least try this and/or read more about it, as there is so little to lose and a lot to gain, potentially, when you are really ill in this awful way. For this issue in particular grounding seems very promising and makes a lot of sense.
If you are ill, read this book if you can and make up your own mind I say. See if your library has a copy at least, like mine did, and then your initial risk is minuscule. Remember too that the results from grounding may not be immediate and that it is very 'dose' dependent.
Grounding isn't the whole answer to regaining health or preventing illness but it does seem like one very important or even essential part of the bigger picture. It should not be ignored or dismissed out of hand without proper open-minded investigation, particularly as the risk and cost is so very low. Please actually read this book before making up your mind.
Thanks to the authors of this book for writing it, doing all the research and doing such a great job with both. I look forward to reading about the new grounding studies being done in the near future.
I'd love to learn more about how grounding and the electrons it gives compare to the electrons given by vitamin C and glutathione. Some crossover research would be great too.
As vitamin C experts Dr Levy explains, Vitamin C is the premier extracellular antioxidant and glutathione is the premier intracellular antioxidant. Vitamin C and glutathione are powerful and important antioxidants taken alone and have an even more powerful synergistic effect when they are taken together. They both give the body the `rapid and profound influx of electrons' needed to fight disease and to support heart, lung and brain health and immunity says Dr Levy, who also adds that `Virtually all diseases and toxins/poisons cause sickness and death through their electron stealing activity.'
In the book GSH: Master Defender Against Disease, Toxins and Ageing ' Dr Levy continues,
"Since no one has ever seen an electron, for most people it remains a theoretical entity. It is this invisibility that makes it so difficult to accept them as real entities that reliably treat diseases more effectively than antibiotics or prescription drugs. Yet this is precisely the case. Even though it is not possible to give a teaspoon of electrons to a sick child, one can administer medications and/or nutrients that are extremely rich in their electron content. Once a sufficient quantity of electrons is delivered to the body, it brings what can only be described as fantastic clinical results when compared to traditional medical therapies. And, this has already been shown to be true for a wide variety of medical conditions."
It seems grounding should be added to this electron boosting list, at the very least!
[Update: More than 6 months on, I would have to say the effect I feel from grounding is very mild if it is there at all. My dad says the same thing. It has not made a noticeable difference to me, as have so many other things such as ubiqunol, B vitamins and so on. It is of course difficult when trying and doing so many health promoting things, to work out which treatment is doing what. But even with that issue, there is no way grounding helps me even 10% as much as high-dose vitamin C does. When I miss a dose of that I am immediately aware of it, the positive impact of it on my life is so enormous. It really helped me turn a corner, as did vitamin D. Of course this is only my case study of one, but my personal opinion is that trying grounding should not take the place of taking a balanced orthomolecular program including high-dose vitamin C. Doing both is fine, especially if you have EMF issues, but expecting grounding to be all or almost all that is needed for healing serious disease is unrealistic It is also not an idea supported in this book, although I have heard it from some grounding fans.]
Jodi Bassett, The Hummingbirds' Foundation for M.E.
Jodi Bassett, The Hummingbirds' Foundation for M.E.
My landlady pet-sits her son's dog on occasion, for weeks at a time. This part-wolf, part-German Shepherd snarled, barked, and growled at me, teeth bared and hackles raised, whenever I stepped outside. Frightening.
And then the dog started hanging out on the lawn. Earthing. And it became so mellow, it refused to come inside at night.
I'm no scientist, but this activity works. It calms the nerves. When I've been in front of the computer too long, absorbing those electromagnetic rays that muck around with my nervous system, I head for the park. I lie down on the grass under a redwood tree and read a good book. Some folks call it laziness. I say I'm Earthing.
"People sometimes report feeling a tingling sensation in their body the first few times they are grounded at night. It is not unpleasant... You are simply feeling the Earth's natural, healing energy coming into your body." (!)
I am suspicious when a book is also trying to sell a product like these grounding mats, and then they anecdotally tell you how terrific they are for healing the world using the mats they profit from. Hmmm.
You know what, save your money, walk around barefoot all summer (like kids used to do) and take your family camping so you can sleep on the ground. This book is akin to telling us that oxygen is vital for living: walking around on the earth is good for you. And don't forget to breathe while walking.
The biggest problem with this sort of book is that there is hell to pay from the believers for saying the emperor has no clothes. And the funny thing is that people who would normally scoff at medical doctors suddenly defend this lunacy because the author has an M.D. at the end of his name. I don't get it.
These authors are smart enough to know there'd be a lawsuit happening if they didn't include disclaimers like this: "Note: Earthing has no effect on a pacemaker other than that which would occur naturally when standing barefoot on the Earth." SO, what you're saying, doc, is that when it is convenient for your mat to make a difference, ta da! it does, when not convenient, you are back to disclaiming that the mat ain't doing squat.
And the saddest thing is that there are good honest people who need medical help for pain etc. and they are desperate enough to be willing to spend good money on this quackery.
Just rub a balloon on your head and touch someone... GROUNDED!
I've been walking barefoot and sitting in the grass my entire life. I even hike barefoot half the time I hike. My favorite pair of shoes, when I have to wear shoes, is a pair of handmade sandals made of leather and brass - 100% conductive materials.
That said, I'd heard several years back of this baffling thing where they gave barefootedness a name - "Earthing". In my opinion, from someone who's been doing it for the 42 years I've lived on this planet in this lifetime, I find it to be a not-new thing. Consider that indigenous peoples all over the world often are barefoot. Shamans all over the world can tell you about the connectedness we have with the Earth and why walking without shoes is better to maintain that connection. Hardcore hippies were going barefoot everywhere in the 60s too because they understood!
And I understand too, that this book is not only about walking barefoot. It's also about buying electronic tools to help you connect with the energy. Let me say though, that considering that prana is flowing around us and inside us 100% of the time, I don't feel I need to plug in to an outlet if I want to connect on a deeper level with the life force that is everywhere.
The book was easy to finish in less than two hours, although I did skim through the last half that comprised of solely medical conditions as subtitles containing only testimonials from people with those medical conditions. No actual scientific studies were presented here. This, to me, would have been prime real estate to mention a published and VALID study on how Earthing helps that particular medical condition. But no. Most of the source information is based on the plug-in apparatuses they want to sell you. He's even got all the stuff in the book to sell, and the included bookmark has a link to buy his products. He's got colorful photos of what appears to be homemade studies of how things did improve. And perhaps they did, but it's not quite as objective as I'd hoped.
The book might be good for people who already aren't walking around barefoot and sitting in the grass on a regular basis. If you're trapped in an office and then again trapped in your house with shoes on, you might be in need of this book to open your mind to new possibilities.
Oh, that's the other thing. By his wording, the author seems to assume the reader wears shoes at all times including while at home. Also assumes that the reader knows next to nothing about the connectivity we have to Earth, and the energies on and around it. Personally, while I know people who are totally oblivious to this fact, many people I know are totally aware and knowledgeable in this matter. So to assume that I or anyone else is completely ignorant of the ideas presented is, quite frankly, ignorant.
And I'm not going to plug my bed into an outlet. We're bombarded with really unhealthy EMF waves all day, especially now with tech everywhere in our homes and outside. So there's something about this plugging in things to "connect with the earth" that just seems a bit far fetched.
Maybe the author just rubbed me the wrong way. But after buying a book to learn the science behind something and then learning that the science behind it is all within his own experience and testimonials, I feel duped. I kept waiting to see a citation of an objective source and science-based study about how this affects inflammation. I have yet to find that.
I don't doubt there is at least some validity to the information in this book, but I am really annoyed that this book is like a midnight infomercial on paper.
I first heard about "Earthing" about a year ago when I read a very interesting article about the subject. I finally decided to buy the book and am delighted that I did. While some may say there isn't enough scientific evidence yet to conclude that being grounded to the Earth provides health benefits, the authors do share quite a bit of clinical data that supports their claims. To me it just makes intuitive sense that the Earth, with its wealth of negative ions that constantly stream from its surface, can be of healing benefit to human beings whose bodies constantly create positive ions (i.e., free radicals) as a result of the various chemical processes occurring within them 24/7. The real-life stories shared by people who have received healing benefits from being grounded are very interesting, and clearly suggest there is merit to this entire grounding concept.
I was so impressed with this work that I actually purchased an Earthing Starter Kit, and at this moment have my feet on a grounded pad. I've also been sleeping on a grounded half-sheet for a couple of months now. While I honestly cannot cite some major healing breakthrough (as I don't have any serious medical conditions), my gut feel still tells me that my body is indeed benefiting from being grounded to the Earth.
I truly believe that over time Earthing will become a very important healing modality for people and animals as well. My advice is to buy this book and at least learn about the science underlying it; you never know, you may end up being pleasantly surprised should you in fact make it a point to be in actual contact with the Earth more often.
This book caught my eye months ago. I added it to Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ. I library borrowed it. I let it use up space on my counters, in my backpack, in my car. I didn't read it. I returned it. I checked out the book again. I almost returned it, but then my naturopath told me to get grounded. So I took the late-fee hit and read it with my feet planted in some grass and dirt. And couldn't stop reading or earthing. I've noticed subtle improvements in my allergies. I slept a full deep sleep for the first time in a month last night, after grounding for 2 hours the evening before. Grounding sheets are in my near future! My body wants this, so I'll oblige.
This book is a compilation of 10 years of research on grounding or earthing, which is direct contact with the earth by actually touching the earth (barefoot) or using a grounding modality (bed sheets). The negatively charged earth is teaming with free electrons that immediately absorb free radicals from the body reducing inflammation, which is at the heart of most health problems. Earthing also protects against EMF exposure; so talking on your cell phone outdoors while grounded will eliminate potentially harmful radiation. The best part about this technology: it's 100% free.
This book is a sales pitch with all research provided by the people selling earthing products. The research the authors provide uses about three pages for the nearly 200 pages of testimonial. It is free with purchase of Earthing products.
Suggested title rewording... Big Placebo Catches Big Pharma: Brochure Becomes Book.
This is about the most woo-woo book I've reviewed. But. I think there might be something to it.
My rule for alternative and wholistic medicine protocols is: If it can't hurt but it may help I'm willing to give it a try. I look at the risk/benefit ratio and make my decision.
I've been hypertensive for 18 months. For various reasons and neuroses I'm reluctant to go on blood pressure medicine. (Confession: as a child I used to sneak into the pantry and eat Norwich aspirin. Those bitter pills were ... what, pleasant??! Now I am "pill adverse" and don't take any medicine.) My primary care doctor always offers and I always politely beg for "three more months" to use diet and exercise to bring it down. My friend Linda brought her blood pressure to normal (at one low point in her life it had been VERY high) which she credited to grounding and sauna. Which led me to this book.
The central theme is that we draw electrical energy through our feet in the form of free electrons fluctuating at many frequencies. These frequencies reset our biological clock and provide the body with electrical energy. So the answer to ______ (problem due to chronic inflammation) [circulation / asthma / PMS / arthritis / psoriasis / allergies / arrhythmia / jet lag] is to stand barefoot on the grass? How crazy is that? But. What can it hurt? Is it the most important health discovery ever? I think not, Finknottle. (<-- P.G. Wodehouse reference)
So I started walking barefoot in my back yard. I noticed I slept a little more soundly. Since we are headed into winter I considered the starter kit: a grounding mat, sleep mat, pillow case, and some patches. It costs about the same as one doctor's visit. Reader, I bought it. Almost immediately, my sleep has been quick and deep and long. I'm dreaming again! This morning's blood pressure was 126/68. Yesterday at my checkup, my doctor smiled and said, "That's a beautiful blood pressure reading!" She is pleased and wants to see me in six months instead of three. Boom! Kit paid for itself.*
To me, the most compelling information in the book was on page 125. Blood samples were taken of participants in a test and examined before and after a 40-minute grounding. The before-slides showed clumpy, shoved-together blood cells. The after-slides looked like the Windows bubbles screensaver.
Within the earthing community there is bound to be some pantheistic silliness. I sort of cringed when earth and earthing were consistently capitalized.
The book tilts anecdotal. There are a few studies cited; more studies are needed.
* To be fair, grounding was one among many changes I've tried. Lowering caffeine, isometrics, vigorous exercise, deep breathing, magnesium supplements. But the changes in bp seem correlated most closely with grounding.
THIS is an important book!!! When did we get away from walking barefoot and the benefits there of? I have continued to walk barefoot for years - and a known to amaze friends and shock others as they see me snow walk - - - and I have known the benefit of sleeping outdoors for years . . . BUT WHAT about the rest of the time? And what about for most folks?
Clinton Ober and a medical doctor have put together a great, easy to read book on the physical benefits of being grounded. They look at a variety of modern life challenges from depression to heart disease and how the process can help to alleviate and speed up the cure process.
The author has created a number of products that can be used in homes to travel on the road. Many sports teams and athletes are using the recovery sleeping bags with great result. I have purchased the sheets that are used on the bed, the grounding pad for when I am indoors working, and the medical bands for use on sore parts and to ground while using the treadmill! I have bought a copy for the local church whose members have passed it around and many now own sheets, pads and bands to good result.
Do read this book and if it peaks your interest, as I believe its good, common sense will - - then find ways of adding "Earthing" to your life!
This book was lent to me by a friend---it opened up a whole new field of thought and presented many exciting ideas. One of the writers is a cardiologist and psychotherapist at Manchester Hospital who practices integrative medicine and has used earthing devices with great results. Definitely something to read if you're interested in non-invasive, "down-to-earth" solutions to insomnia, inflammation, and pain from illness or exercise!
The first half of this book is really interesting. It is based on the idea that our health is markedly influenced by free-radicals which, if unchecked, can cause many of the most pervasive health problems that Western medicine is trying to overcome (e.g. arthritis, heart problems, stress, lack of sleep, etc.). The authors propose that a simple, inexpensive way to guard against these health risks is to spend 20 minutes a day in a 'grounded' state, either by walking around barefoot outside or by connecting ourselves to a grounded device so that the Earth's natural energies (I mean 'energies' in a scientific, as opposed to holistic medicine sense) can cleanse us of any excess free-radicals.
As someone who, for several years, has been interested in alternative healing techniques, this book fits really well with my paradigms. It offers a scientific explanation for the success of 'natural' or 'energetic' healing that science has thus far been unable to explain. As a result, anyone with a similar interest in energy medicine should find this book really useful. Also, the book was simply thought-provoking read on the basis that the underlying concept is so simple and, in a way, obvious, but we have only recently re-discovered it (the book suggests that many indigenous peoples are aware of the concept of Earthing, even if they do not call it as such, or know exactly why it works).
Now for the bad bits... First of all, the book is too long in light of the actual information that it presents. Much of the book is filled up by rehashing observations and findings that were introduced in previous chapters. Also, there are too many case studies stuffed into the book which could have been better placed on the book's website. As someone who does not suffer from any of the ailments that Earthing is said to be useful for (I read this book purely for personal interest), I skipped most of the testimonies. Second of all, people coming from a scientific background may protest about the way in which 'evidence' for Earthing is presented. For instance, none of their findings have been published in peer-reviewed journals and some of the associated benefits of Earthing are based on deduction on the basis that this area of research is still quite new and therefore more testing is required. Finally, people outside of America and the UK will have trouble finding Earthing devices to purchase for the reason that each device has been manufactured to fit the electrical systems of that country (i.e. you cannot plug a US device into a European converter socket and expect it to work).
Despite these criticisms, this was a very interesting book and I look forward to more discoveries in this field, as well as recognition from the wider scientific community about the health benefits of Earthing (there was actually an interesting article in the 10 March 2012 issue of the NewScientist magazine entitled 'Revelations of the body electric' that discusses the possible effects of ferroelectricty on our health).
Am having a hard time knowing what to write about this book. Part of me says snake oil/too good to be true, part of me wants to run out and buy earthing products for everyone I love. I don't know enough about physics to know if the science is sound. Mathematically, though, it seems to be me if it worked, everyone he helped would have told 10 people and they would have told 10 people and by now no one would be ungrounded and everyone would be healthy by now. I do know I love to walk barefooted, but I also know I still have health issues despite walking barefooted every day for 18 months. Can't hurt to try, but I don't think it can fill all the claims he makes either. Edit- Ok, just checked in with someone smarter than I and this was their response- "Flat out- the book's science is completely 180 degree incorrect from the lowest levels up and the authors didn't even try to have any sort of valid background.
Their premise on page 1 is that the planet has a negative charge which transfers to people that touch it from "free electrons". That "earth is a battery".
The earth actually has a positive charge and we've known that for centuries. A battery has a negative and positive charged component. Electricity as current is transferring across those sections, from negative to positive, in the form of electrons. Lightning strikes the earth as a built up negative charge in clouds which strikes the positively charged earth. Free electrons don't really exist in the earth. Free electrons need a material conducive to their flow- a metal. The planet is almost entirely nonconducting or semiconducting materials. Their premise can be disproven as easily as rubbing a balloon on your head and seeing if the static charge discharges when you touch a pile of sand."
Bottom line- Some books should be thrown in the trash rather than shared or given away bc the "information" in them is that wrong and/or dangerous.
I tried the technique with a copper cable that had a 100,000 ohm resistor in it and connected to a non-electrified ground rod in my back garden. I got a really bad back that was followed by heart arrhythmia. I had to stop in the end as the heart arrhythmia was getting really bad. I tested the earthing cable by plugging it into my radio antenna connection and found that it was filled with radio frequencies! The effects of connecting yourself into a bad grounding connection are documented as "Stray Voltage". Search "Stray voltage cows", as it is well documented in the diary industry for the harmful effects that it can have on the farmers, their families, and their animals. I gave the book 5 stars as it does a good job of talking about how uncontaminated ground can improve your health. The problem is, finding uncontaminated ground is very difficult in modern society. Be careful!
This is an important book. Implementing its suggestions could vastly improve your health, perhaps be life-saving.
Earthing/grounding is a natural method by which we can prevent or relieve many, perhaps all, health challenges.
When we connect with the Earth, our body “becomes suffused with negative-charged free electrons abundantly present on the surface of the Earth.� Our modern way of life has created an electron deficiency in our bodies, thus disturbing both our immune system and all other body systems.
The benefits of Earthing include:
1) defusing the cause of inflammation and improving or eliminating the symptoms of many inflammation-related disorders 2) reducing or eliminating chronic pain 3) improving sleep 4) lowering stress 5) thinning blood, thus improving blood pressure and flow 6) increasing energy 7) relieving muscle tension and headaches 8) lessening hormonal and menstrual symptoms 9) dramatically speeding healing and helping to prevent bedsores 10) reducing or eliminating jet lag 11) protecting against health-disturbing electromagnetic fields 12) accelerating recovery from intense athletic activity
All would be well if only we wore shoes that did not separate us from the “energy and feeling� of the ground, but this is sadly not the case. The only “shoe� that preserves our connection to the Earth is the original moccasin.
The book describes how Clint Ober, who worked in the cable-TV industry, discovered the benefits of Earthing, devised his own primitive Earthing products and tried them out on friends and acquaintances. Their healing effects were astounding. Sometimes dramatic improvement occurred after only 20 minutes or so.
Basic methods of Earthing presently available are: 1) first and foremost, going outdoors and placing your feet directly on the Earth for 30 minutes at a time 2) use of a ground tool or specially designed wall plug to connect to “conductive floor mats, chair pads, sheets, mattresses, and common electrode patches to earth individuals indoors while sleeping or sitting�.
The book includes numerous case histories of various formerly severely plagued individuals whose symptoms and ailments improved dramatically after being earthed.
Ailments/diseases documented as having been reduced by earthing include arthritis, autism, back pain, inflammation of the blood vessels, electrosensitivity, fibromyalgia, jet lag, mixed connective tissue disease, MS, sciatica, sleep apnea, stress, varicose veins and bad circulation, arrhythmia, high blood pressure, menopausal problems.
There are chapters devoted to the feminine connection, the sports connection, earthing and indoor pets (pets too can of course derive considerable benefits from earthing), while appendices address technical notes on grounding and earthing methods and the physics of earthing.
In conclusion, this is an extremely well-written, exciting, absolutely readable, ground-breaking (no pun intended), scientific, health-improving, potentially life-saving book.
One of the co-authors, Steve Sinatra, is a cardiologist, so the chapters penned by him present a medical approach.
I personally have been grounded for a couple of months or so, and my sleep instantly became much deeper, and I feel more rested when awakening.
I would strongly recommend that everyone read this book. Earthing will (perhaps greatly) improve your quality of life, unless you are one of the few who constantly walk barefoot, and it is about time that we all become informed of its gifts.
Solved every problem I’ve ever had. My chronic back pain, arthritis, inflammation, sleep apnea, and alzheimer’s disappeared the moment I started grounding.
Earthing is life changing. I discovered this book because a friend moved away and left two new earthing pillow covers that came with 2 copies of “Earthing: The most important health discovery ever!�. I was skeptical at first and pushed these books and products away at the bottom of my closet. Now, I started decluttering my house and I found them stored away and thought I had nothing to lose to try them out and give the book a read. I am pleasantly surprised by the research conducted by Clint Ober and his colleagues, in addition to how effective the Earthing pillow cover has been. I have been suffering from a stomach illness for over a year now. I have changed my diet because I’m intolerant to many foods and it’s relieved a great deal of the pain. Despite this, I’m still not cured. I’m supposed to do green juicing every morning but it’s starting to get too high maintenance.
I tried Earthing and I instantly started feeling nauseous and dizzy, the same feeling of detoxing and my stomach acid getting regulating itself. After Earthing for 3 nights I have been able to drink orange juice (which would cause severe stomach pain) that I hadn’t tried in more than a year. I’m excited to keep Earthing. One downside is that for Earthing to be effective you have to do it constantly, it’s kind of like a diet. If you eat bits of salad but your main diet is junk food then don’t expect to be healthy. Same goes for Earthing. If I only Earth for a few hours a week it’s only going to do so much. Nevertheless, I’m feeling empowered and I’m starting to understand that there are greater forces at play here, some that, if we keep ignoring our true calling and essence, can back fire on us fatally.
BY THE WAY YOU DON’T NEED THE PRODUCTS TO TRY EARTHING JUST GO INTO THE RIVER (OCEAN or SEA IS BEST BECAUSE SALT IS CONDUCTIVE), BE BAREFOOT IN THE GRASS or SAND, GO HUG A TREE IF ANYTHING! Trust, your body will thank you.
All the same, because our detrimental system pushes us to be encased in a graveyard you can try Clint Ober’s products (sheets, mats, patches) here:
If you don’t have access to the book (which explains thoroughly the science and a whooping +100 testimonials of relief from different ailments) then here’s the documentary (I have yet to watch it though):
Earthing institute (More technical/scientific claims):
Memorable Quotes:
“Look at what you put on your feet on a daily basis. Most of you wear one form or another of footwear that evolved from simple foot coverings designed to protect against chilly and challenging ground conditions. You are likely wearing something much more elaborate, a statement reflecting your culture, fashion, behaviour.. etc.. You habitually wear shoes even when they do not serve any practical purpose.�
“A natural gait is biomechanically impossible for any shoe-wearing person.. the plantar surface of the foot is richly covered with some 1,300 nerve endings per square inch.. to keep us in ‘touch� with the Earth. The foot is a kind of ‘radar sonic base� that serves to extract energy from the Earth, similar to a plant root extracting moisture from the ground for nourishment. Such ground to root vibrations may thus be an important energizing power helping to serve the body’s life forces.� - Dr. William Rossi
“The bottom of our footwear are virtually ‘deadened�. A cross section of a shoe reveals several layers: outsole, midsole, insole filler material, footbed, cushioning, sockliner. An almost total blockout of sensory response.� - Dr. William Rossi
“Dr.Rossi’s lament describes in a few words the post- World War II overhaul of shoe making. New materials entered the manufacturing scene: rubber, plastic, and petrochemical compounds. They have slowly squeezed out leather as the historical source of shoe soles. Nowadays, even makers of fancy men’s dress shoes are increasingly switching to rubber, plastic, and other nonconductive material, just as casual and work shoes before them. Leather (processed from hides), a conductive material when moist, has been the traditional source of shoes and sandals. The original lightweight, softsole, heel-less and simple moccasin- a piece of crudely tanned leather that envelops the foot and is fastened on with rawhide thongs- is possibly the closest we have ever come to an ‘ideal� shoe. It dates back more than 14,000 years.�
“For the most part, the modern structures we live in and do business in- our houses and workplaces- are also nonconductive and separate us from the Earth’s healing electrons. Think about where you spend most of your day: in an apartment, house, or office elevated from the ground, with a layer of wood, synthetic carpeting, or vinyl covering the floor. Unless you live on a dirt, cement, marble, or stone floor, it is unlikely that you are receiving any good vibes from below. Like shoes and houses, beds, to, have (d)evolved.�
“One morning, during my long mending process, I awoke and looked outside and noticed the sky was a deeper blue and the trees were a more vibrant green than I had ever seen before. At that moment, I felt alive again but very much different from before. A stark realization came over me that I didn’t really own my home and the mountain of possessions I had. Rather, they owned me. My life had become all about taking care of my stuff. I’d spent my whole life accumulating, collecting, and taking care of it all, and trying to get more, perhaps to show off how big a success I was. I realized that I had become a slave to my possessions by my own making. At that moment, I decided to set myself free and find something to fill my life with other than possessions. ‘I don’t want anymore of this life�, I said out loud to myself. ‘I want to do something different. Whatever time I have left I want to dedicate it to something worthwhile and with purpose.’� -Clint Ober, during a turning point in his life before having the epiphany of Grounding/Earthing
“I found information about barefoot enthusiasts who have long championed the idea of going unshod because they feel better. Some enthusiasts have formed organizations, such as the worldwide Society for Barefoot Living that promotes the benefits of taking shoes and socks off and walking naturally on the Earth. Their experience, along with medical research in the field of biomechanics, strongly suggests that many foot and back problems are partly caused by stresses and strains created by wearing shoes that force us to stand and move in ways the human body was not designed for.� Barefoot runners get less “plantar faciitis, shin splits, and use less force on their joints�.- Clint Ober, discoveries he made in the early days trying to find evidence of Grounding.
I got this book in a kit along with a earthling "half sheet" a matching cord, a couple of outlet testers and a tester to check if the sheet is working...my mom found all of this at a garage sale for only $5! What a Deal!!! I had actual read a little bit about earthling and had found the website years ago online and loved the idea of connect to earth's energy to help your health and feel better... but at the time I had thought that the mats and sheets were a tad expensive and, so I figured I would just continue to do my earthling, as I had always done (before I even know it was good for you) by walking around barefoot outside in the summer.
The sad thing is many times the weather were I live does not permit this. Winters are long and cold and springs can be too sometimes. Often I just don't get the time outside to earth as much as I like. After having gotten this kit however I have been using the sheet every night to sleep on and I can say I really do feel much more energized!
The book kind of sounds like one big long positive review and explanation of how earthling works and all the many different ways it is good for you... in a way it makes it sound almost too good to be true; However it is an interesting read and after actually using the sheet for week or two I am having less trouble believing all the positive health stories about it! I am thinking I may even get the mat to go under the computer for my mom once I save up some money, as I think now maybe it is worth it!
Have you ever noticed how refreshed you feel after spending a weekend barefoot outdoors? This is a pretty revealing book about the role of electromagnetism on the body. Becomes redundant towards the middle. Content stays fresh if you are willing to skip about 50 pages through the somewhat repetitive testimonials. This book has convinced me how essential to good health electrically grounding humans and animals is. The general premise of this book is that most health problems stem from inflammation, and absolutely the best way to reduce inflammation is to have your body grounded to the earth - just as humans evolved for millions of years. Throughout the book there are a lot of interesting scientific studies mentioned which validate this premise, plus plenty of first hand accounts on the benefits of earthing aka grounding. I found the parts relating earthing to hormonal circadian rhythms, sports recovery, and Schumann resonance the most interesting.
For those who are not able to get outside much, you can ground yourself in the comfort of your own home via an electrical outlet ground wire, of course you will need a competent electrician to verify the outlet is really grounded first. A DIY grounding solution should cost you about $5, it's as simple as an old power cord, some copper wire and a 100kohm resistor (which acts as a safety fuse); conversely you can buy a fancier device like grounded bed sheets from one of the retailers mentioned in the book.
"Earthing" is a must read for anyone interested in optimal health. Don't wait for a health condition to pick up this book but if you are in a health predicament, spend as much time as possible on your bare feet connecting to the healing power of the earth.
Read the book for the scientific understanding, for Clinton Ober's incredible story but ultimately it's simple, ground yourself as much as possible every single day. You will make the connection as to why you feel so much better when on holidays, constantly connected to the earth. You will understand how our technology, as awesome as it is, is a source of irritation for our bodies. You will be grateful to know how quickly the earth restores us. If you are unable to connect with the earth, Ober has also developed grounding sheets, mousepads and other items that can be used in our more modern world when touching the ground is not available.
I am especially grateful for this book because it gave me the go ahead to allow my daughter to be bare foot as often as she likes (where safety is not an issue) for 'scientific' reasons. Since so many people have been taught to keep their shoes on all the time, everywhere, seeing a child bare foot (and their mom!)can cause some internal confusion for them. Now I can give them a quick scientific statement as to why it's good for us while I'm bare foot, sounding smart and offering information that heals.
Thank you Mr Ober, for getting us all back on our feet.
"..a simple and forgotten fact: that the Earth beneath our feet contains great healing energy and that connecting ourselves to this energy is immediately beneficial as well as intuitively and remarkably simple.."
Through the years, on occasion, I'd ruminate memories of simpler.. healthier times. Times when I wasn't so physically bogged down with sickness after disease after malady.. times when I FELT good.
This book has made me realize how truly disconnected from Mother I have been for so many years. Who would have thought the difference was simply the missing 'skin-on-skin' connection with the Earth?
Convincing and interesting read. I like the concepts. Offered some studies that are pretty impressive and other theoretical connections that I could see being valid. Lots of testimonials, but didn't feel too preachy and sales-driven. I will definately be thinking more about this when the nicer weather rolls around.
Interesting idea but there isn't enough critical commentary about it for me.
Electricity is everywhere in our lives but we've lost connection to the ground and it's grounding effects by wearing shoes and walking on concrete, this book posits that we would be well served by grounding ourselves while sleeping in particular, and they cite many cases but it'z all anecdotal.
Jeg kom over konseptet med jording etter en mail fra The Mininalists. Han ble kvitt utallige plager med å være i mer kontakt med jorda eller via matter man kan koble i stikkontakter. Jeg ble nysgjerrig og tenkte faktisk ganske raskt at dette ikke var så wowoo som mange kanskje gjør; den ultraprosseserte maten er ikke bra for oss, vi sitter for mye, skjermer og sosiale medier ødelegger, meditasjon og yoga er "in" igjen - lista er ganske lang over at "gamle dager" faktisk hadde noe for seg..
Jeg googla så klart dette konseptet med Earthing (mens jeg satt med beina i gresset i parken her, de siste dagene av sommeren), men i kjent stil heiv jeg på og kjøpte en matte før jeg fikk boka fra biblioteket. Siden jeg ikke har smerter, det jeg leste mest om, så visste jeg ikke hva jeg kunne forvente av matta sånn sett. Nå har jeg brukt matta på dagen når jeg sitter, pluss en matte som passer bedre i senga, i ca 3-4 uker det jeg har merka er:
- Ikke noe stiv og støl på morningen (trodde lenge det var pga økt innsats på yoga, men nei) - Bedre søvn, våkner raskere på morningen. - Føler meg bare mer tilstede i kroppen, mer komfortabel, mer "lett på foten" - Økt energi på trening! Sykt forvirrende, øker på absolutt alt av vekter i raskt tempo og løper lenger og hardere uten å merke noe. Mer en mental jobb nå å greie pushe meg og stole på at jeg ikke blir straffa med utmattelse.
Jeg er 100% overbevist om dette! Boka gir masse inspirerende historier og bakgrunn. Dessverre er dette såpass space'a at ingen jeg kjenner vil bli overbevist om å prøve, noe som kan frustrere meg til tider siden effekten er så god, men får ta det som en anledning til å jobbe med å håndtere sånne ting haha, når man har "sett lyset" er det vanskelig å holde stillt.
call me a hippie cuz i know about earthing. i found this book from researching the concept of grounding and what it does to the body. the concept is recently new, but this book does a good job explaining from the authors perspective what grounding has done to his life and how it has changed the lives of ours. i found it interesting that a lot of diseases and illness can be prevented by natural sources like diet and exercise and earthing might be one of them.
Walking barefoot is good for you, but not for the reasons these snake oil salesmen claim.
The authors of this book conveniently have a website where you can buy rubber bedsheets for $300 to experience grounding in the comfort of your own home.