grounding

i was trained in science and i appreciate the scientific method of finding out about the world as a powerful tool. but, i don't think it's right that many times, common sense and indigenous knowledge are dismissed as anecdotal evidence or other such demeaning term, until certain people or organizations finally come around to "prove" it. then, it becomes a "scientific discovery". there are many examples of this, like this article on PubMed on the benefits of grounding, or being in contact with the earth, on health. to me it's obvious that it is healthy to be outside and in contact with nature, haven't we evolved that way? aren't animals living that way? but i guess over a few generations we've become more and more insulated, afraid of getting dirty and so on, and now it's a big discovery that being in contact with the ground is of great benefit to our health.

Abstract

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4378297/

Abstract

Multi-disciplinary research has revealed that electrically conductive contact of the human body with the surface of the Earth (grounding or earthing) produces intriguing effects on physiology and health. Such effects relate to inflammation, immune responses, wound healing, and prevention and treatment of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The purpose of this report is two-fold: to 1) inform researchers about what appears to be a new perspective to the study of inflammation, and 2) alert researchers that the length of time and degree (resistance to ground) of grounding of experimental animals is an important but usually overlooked factor that can influence outcomes of studies of inflammation, wound healing, and tumorigenesis. Specifically, grounding an organism produces measurable differences in the concentrations of white blood cells, cytokines, and other molecules involved in the inflammatory response. We present several hypotheses to explain observed effects, based on current research results and our understanding of the electronic aspects of cell and tissue physiology, cell biology, biophysics, and biochemistry. An experimental injury to muscles, known as delayed onset muscle soreness, has been used to monitor the immune response under grounded versus ungrounded conditions. Grounding reduces pain and alters the numbers of circulating neutrophils and lymphocytes, and also affects various circulating chemical factors related to inflammation.

Keywords: chronic inflammation, immune system, wound repair, white blood cells, macrophages, autoimmune disorders

 

read the full article here

peace