Earthing_ The Most Important Health Discovery Ever? Part 12

Jim Schmedding, sixty-three, Solana Beach, California, real estate broker: "I started sleeping grounded in the beginning of 2008, a time when I was coping with many health issues, high blood pressure being one of them. My pressure was up to 160/90, and there were times when the systolic pressure (top number) was. .h.i.tting 185 and 190. The doctors had me on a bunch of medications to pull down the blood pressure to a level they could deal with. "I started sleeping grounded in the beginning of 2008, a time when I was coping with many health issues, high blood pressure being one of them. My pressure was up to 160/90, and there were times when the systolic pressure (top number) was. .h.i.tting 185 and 190. The doctors had me on a bunch of medications to pull down the blood pressure to a level they could deal with.

"I was also taking Coumadin for an irregular heartbeat I had developed over the years. I could feel it racing at times and other times pausing for maybe five or more seconds. That obviously creates quite a lot of concern. You tend to get lightheaded or pa.s.s out when that happens. I've had moments where I had to pull off the road. To help prevent this situation, my doctors gave me a pacemaker.

"After the first month of grounding, my requirement for Coumadin changed significantly, to the point where the medication was cut in half. The doctors have kept me at that level as a stroke prevention strategy.

"Even with the pacemaker I would still have heart rhythm incidents about once a week. After I started Earthing, the incidents dropped off to maybe once a quarter. I think my whole cardiovascular system has been affected by it. I'm more relaxed. There's not as much tension in the system.

"My blood pressure also improved after grounding. It went down to about 140/80 or so. Then I went on a diet and started losing a lot of weight. Much of my problem with blood pressure is related to weight. I have always been big. I played professional football when I was younger. After my playing days, I added a lot of fat. I went from a playing weight of about 265 all the way up to 340 at the peak. Over the years I tried to lose weight many times but always had difficulty. I was dealing with stress in my life and the weight just kind of kept creeping up, no matter what I tried to do. My new diet emphasizes fruit and vegetables, with a little bit of protein, and that has helped me steadily get my weight down. It's now around 245. My blood pressure is 120/70. I've been able to reduce the blood pressure medication quite a bit. Ever since I became grounded, I'm much more relaxed and calmer than I have ever been. That's made a lot of difference, including I believe helping me to lose weight. My body reacts differently.

"I've had anemia over the years. My hemoglobin counts have always been kind of stressed. After grounding, the red blood cell count is still low, but the doctors are surprised at the size of them. My red blood cells are about twice the size of what normal guys have. The doctors found that quite unique and said it allows me to process oxygen better and deliver nutrients as if I had a higher hemoglobin count. The blood cells are seemingly functioning better.

"These doctors have been treating me for thirty years, and they were never really optimistic about my chances. Now I've become the new book for them. There's no protocol for me. They don't know how to explain any of this. The changes in my blood really threw them off. I told them the only thing that's changed in my life is sleeping grounded. I gave them some information on it. Their response was: 'Whatever you're doing, keep doing it, because it's working very well.'

"One other health issue I have been dealing with is lymphoma. I've had it for thirty years. Before I started grounding myself I underwent chemotherapy and then soon afterward I received a bone marrow transplant. I spent a lot of time recovering and sleeping on grounded sheets after the procedure. My blood tests looked very good. The doctors were really surprised that I responded as well as I did."

Note: Earthing has no effect on a pacemaker other than that which would occur naturally when standing barefoot on the Earth.

EARTHING-A NATURAL "BLOOD THINNER?"

In the fall of 2008, I invited a group of colleagues to my home in Connecticut to partic.i.p.ate in an unusual experiment. There were twelve of us. We were clinical physicians, Ph.D.s working in the medical field, nurses, an attorney, two artists, a personal trainer, and Clint Ober.

The experiment involved taking a drop of blood before and after forty minutes of grounding via electrode patches, and then examining the fresh, unstained blood under a darkfield microscope. These microscopes, used by many doctors, particularly in the field of alternative medicine, divert light through the optical system so that details appear light against a dark background. This technique allows viewing of "live time" cellular dynamics and conditions of blood not normally a.n.a.lyzed through routine tests.

The pictures shocked me and all my guests. The after-grounding pictures showed that people's blood dramatically changes within a short period of time after an individual is in contact with the Earth. Specifically, there were considerably fewer formations of red blood cells a.s.sociated with clumping and clotting. The blood appeared to be thinner.

In my informal home experiment, all of us present except one person in the room had various degrees of red "ketchupy" blood before Earthing. The sole exception, the one with the best blood of anyone present, before or after grounding, was Clint Ober-someone who has been consistently Earthing himself day and night for years!

To all of us, the results suggested that individuals with heart disease and inflammatory thick blood (typical in cardiovascular disease and diabetes) may reap huge health benefits from simply Earthing themselves on a regular basis. From a cardiology standpoint, if you can thin the typical ketchup-like blood of heart patients and people with diabetes in the direction of the consistency of wine, as our simple experiment showed, you remove a colossal risk factor for heart attack and stroke.

"Blood is thicker than water" is an old saying, expressing the importance of family ties. But in the medical world, you don't want thick blood. Earthing may be a natural way to keep it nice and thin. Cardiologists use the term viscosity to describe blood thickness. Blood viscosity, an overlooked element in blood tests, has become an emerging major marker for identifying the risk of arterial disease. The thicker your blood, the slower it flows through your circulatory system to bring oxygen and vital nutrients to the cells of your body, and the greater the risk of forming clots. Coumadin is a widely used medication for thinning the blood and helping prevent clotting. Figure 11-1) [image]

Figure 11-1. The reproductions above represent darkfield microscope images of blood taken from three individuals in attendance at Dr. Sinatra's house just before and after forty minutes of grounding. The before images are on the left, the after on the right. The pictures clearly show a dramatic thinning and decoupling of blood cells.

Note: Because of Earthing's effect on blood viscosity, individuals taking Coumadin should first talk to their doctor before grounding. Although we have no evidence for it, it is possible that the combination of Earthing and Coumadin could excessively thin the blood. For this reason, heart patients taking Coumadin should ground themselves only with the knowledge and approval of their physicians. With such approval, grounding should start minimally, with perhaps a barefoot walk in the park or for an hour or two while watching TV in the house while in contact with some kind of an indoor Earthing device. Patients' blood should be monitored more frequently than normal to determine whether at some point, because of the Earthing, the medication dosage can be safely reduced. Earthing sessions can be increased slowly, and if safe, individuals should consider sleeping grounded. I urge any patient taking Coumadin to exercise caution in this manner.

More Fascinating Evidence The informal experiment in my home inspired a study in 2009 to investigate further whether Earthing can indeed influence red blood cell clumping as we saw in the darkfield images. I was particularly intrigued to find out if the results were reproducible. With this goal in mind, I set up a study with Gaetan Chevalier, Ph.D., the California electrophysiologist who has been involved in other Earthing research. We designed an experiment to measure not only blood clumping but also something called the zeta potential. You've likely never heard of zeta potential. Most people haven't. It relates to the degree of negative charge on the surface of a red blood cell.

We selected ten healthy individuals-none of whom took any medication-to partic.i.p.ate in the study. They came individually to a health clinic in Southern California and sat comfortably in a reclining chair while they were grounded for two hours. Grounded electrode patches were placed on their feet and hands, just as had been done in previous studies. Blood samples were taken before and after two hours of continual grounding.

When the blood was a.n.a.lyzed, we were quite surprised. We had been expecting a small improvement in the zeta potential, perhaps by 30 percent. Instead, we found an improvement of 270 percent on average!

Just what does this mean to you? The results strongly suggest the discovery of a natural solution for blood thinning, an option of great interest not just for cardiologists like me, but also for any physician concerned about the relations.h.i.+p of blood viscosity and inflammation.

According to the scientific literature on the subject, the healthy range for the zeta potential is between 9.3 millivolts (mV) and 15mV, with an average of 12.5mV. In our experiment, two hours of grounding improved the average zeta potential of the ten partic.i.p.ates from a rather depressed level of 5.28mV before Earthing to a healthy 14.26mV. My understanding is that blood low low in zeta potential is more apt to be sludgy and thick, flow less freely, and have a greater risk of clumping and clotting. By comparison, a higher zeta potential translates to a higher negative charge of the particles in the blood, such as the red blood cells. That means they repel each other more readily, creating more elbow room between them, and better flow. Blood vessels are like highways. You want the traffic moving smoothly and fluidly. You don't want traffic jams. in zeta potential is more apt to be sludgy and thick, flow less freely, and have a greater risk of clumping and clotting. By comparison, a higher zeta potential translates to a higher negative charge of the particles in the blood, such as the red blood cells. That means they repel each other more readily, creating more elbow room between them, and better flow. Blood vessels are like highways. You want the traffic moving smoothly and fluidly. You don't want traffic jams.

Numbers aside, the impression we have is that Earthing apparently alters and normalizes blood voltage rapidly, improving the zeta potential and viscosity. Technically, we exposed small amounts of blood to an electric field and observed, with the use of a darkfield microscope, how much red blood cells moved in a certain period of time. We did this before and after two hours of grounding. The red blood cells barely moved in our observations of blood taken before grounding. After grounding, they moved in a rapid manner. In addition, there were considerably more clumps of red cells in the before pictures than in the after pictures.

Taken together, these results suggest better circulation, blood flow, and viscosity-thinner, more mobile blood. That's what any cardiologist likes to see.

Research on zeta potential is limited, but it seems to me that this concept has the potential to serve as a new gold standard for determining inflammation in the blood, and by extension, provide a superb and accurate yardstick for measuring the overall health of an individual. This concept was unknown to me until only recently. Cardiologists are by and large unfamiliar with the bioelectrical nature of blood. So due scientific diligence must be done in the form of careful study. We can't say much more at this point, but the implications are extremely promising and certainly warrant more research. We are planning a bigger study to confirm our preliminary findings.

As Dr. Chevalier told me, if Earthing affects blood as we have seen in this pilot investigation, that means Earthing really affects the metabolism of the entire body at the cellular level. This further supports our hypothesis that grounded people have a different physiology than people who are ungrounded. As more research rolls out, we may find that we need to rewrite physiology books!

MY BOTTOM LINE.

During more than several decades in medical practice, I have witnessed firsthand how broadening my treatment options into an integrated approach-using effective combinations of conventional and alternative medicine-has dramatically improved the health of patients. Pharmaceuticals and surgery are so often lifesaving in acute situations. So, too, the use of key nutritional supplements and mind/body techniques can powerfully influence both failing hearts and failing cardiac function. For me, it's a no-brainer to use the best of both worlds. For more than twenty years, I have been routinely prescribing supplements-such as CoQ10. Most of that time, my colleagues in cardiology chided me for doing so. It wasn't the accepted way cardiology was practiced, they implied. I told them that many of my patients were still alive and thriving because I did.

I feel the same way now about grounding, a simple and safe remedy that seemingly and surprisingly addresses so much of what ails us. It is perhaps the most natural prescription we can recommend to any patient-a perfectly natural adjunct to any clinical strategy. I am totally comfortable telling someone to go barefoot and/or sleep grounded. I do it myself. It's almost amusing to think that in our pursuit of expensive high-tech solutions, we all have access to a low-tech solution right there on the ground we walk on. Just connect to it one way or another, and heal yourself.

Electromedicine and the use of healing energies have interested me for many years. I feel this is the future of medicine. How appropriate that our very own planet may give us-the planet dwellers-the most basic healing vibe of all. What a gift!

CHAPTER 12.

The Feminine Connection: Earthing and Women Women seem to get it.

They seem to respond intuitively and immediately to the "barefoot connection" and to the healing and energy of Mother Earth. This is not in any way a criticism of the masculine mind, but simply an observation based on years of demonstrating and explaining the concept of Earthing to thousands of people.

"Connect to the Earth and heal" was the way one group of women, in chorus, described Earthing some years ago.

Women seem to enjoy kicking off their shoes at the desk or at home, something you will rarely see a man do. It's not so much that the shoes are uncomfortable, but rather more of a primordial and harmonious connection to the Earth that women may feel more intimately than men.

Women are caregivers by nature. Clint Ober has found that after experiencing the benefits of Earthing, women want to go out and tell everyone in their circle of family and friends. By comparison, men generally want to know how it works.

There is also an appearance factor here. One woman with multiple sclerosis who partic.i.p.ated in a one-day Earthing study visited the restroom at the end of the day and then rushed back to the testing center all excited. "I look different," she said. "Like I used to look years ago." Other women have made this comment, even after just a half hour of grounding. And after sleeping grounded for a period of time, women often say they feel better and look better. They say their skin has more radiance, their eyes are brighter, and they have more vitality. The impact on feeling and appearance is likely from a combination of things: elimination of an electron deficiency, better sleep, reduced stress and pain, and more natural and balanced functioning within the body. The feedback suggests that these factors work to help normalize many ongoing health issues and may even be helpful in the struggle against weight gain.

Earthing may contribute on the weight front in part by making you feel more relaxed and normalizing your level of cortisol (the stress hormone). People under stress often have a hard time following a healthy diet. They will frequently eat the wrong things to fill an emotional need or because of lack of time to prepare something healthy for themselves.

The body produces excess cortisol in times of physical and psychological stress. The hormone revs up fat and carbohydrate metabolism for fast energy. Too much stress and too much cortisol in the system can boost the appet.i.te and, according to some studies, promote weight gain. What's more, stress and cortisol can promote fat deposition around the middle, a highly unhealthy and unsightly buildup referred to as abdominal adiposity. The problem with this form of belly fat is that it produces inflammatory chemicals and is a paramount feature of the metabolic syndrome that leads to cardiovascular disease and diabetes. We haven't specifically researched Earthing's effect on weight yet, but quite a few people have remarked about finding it easier to lose weight and keep weight off.

Hormones are a central-and often confusing-concern to women throughout much of their lives. No research has been done to date regarding hormones and Earthing other than a pivotal study on cortisol that we described earlier in Chapter 4. It is well known that hormones work in harmony with each other, even though we are far from understanding all the complex give-and-take and up-and-down interactions. Often, when the body's production of one hormone is off, others are affected, kind of like a domino effect. Cortisol is a close steroid relative of progesterone and more distantly to estrogen. So there could be some impact here that has not been measured yet. Something positive is happening, though. We have received feedback from many women describing relief from debilitating symptoms of PMS and menopause, sometimes quite rapidly.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS.

In the original cortisol study published in 2004, the partic.i.p.ants provided comments on their health issues prior to and after eight weeks of sleeping grounding. Following is a summary of feedback from five of the female partic.i.p.ants. Their responses represent a vision of possibilities from Earthing after just a short period of time. Keep in mind that each person is an individual and is likely to respond differently from the next person. However, the feedback is fairly typical of many other observations made over the years.

Partic.i.p.ant No. 1, fifty-three years old, menopausal Pre-Study Complaints *Difficulty going to sleep.

*Wakes up two to three times a night for last three years.

*Muscle cramps in legs.

*Chronic muscle pain throughout body.

*Hot flashes.

End of Study Feedback *"Fall asleep faster and easier."

*"Neck pain lessened."

*"Leg and foot cramps have lessened."

*"Arm and lower back pain gone by the very first week."

*"TMJ (temporomandibular joint disorder) problem significantly improved."

*"Reduction in hot flashes."

Partic.i.p.ant No. 2, twenty-four years old Pre-Study Complaints *Trouble sleeping for seventeen years; takes a long time to fall asleep; wakes up after several hours and can't sleep again; wakes up exhausted.

* Daily headaches. Daily headaches.

*Migraines one week before period.

*Menstrual cramps, mood swings, bloating, irritability, depression, and weight gain.

*Digestion: bloating, nausea, diarrhea, gas, and constipation.

End of Study Feedback *"By the third night, decreased time to go to sleep and slept through the night."

*"Able to fall back asleep within a few minutes after waking up, and no more nightmares."

*"Wake up refreshed instead of exhausted."

*"No more daily headaches."

*"Decreased PMS, including food cravings, bloating, and depression."

*"Digestion improved with less bloating, constipation, and nausea."

Partic.i.p.ant No. 3, fifty-two years old, menopausal Pre-Study Complaints *Sleeps very lightly.

*Wakes up feeling tense several times during the night.

*Wakes up feeling tired in morning; feel tired all day.

*Pain in left hip, sporadic for several years.

*Allergies (food and airborne) since age thirteen.

*Digestion: gas.

End of Study Feedback *"Have felt more rested and feel like I need an hour less sleep per night."

*"Deeper relaxation."

*"Stopped having any pain at all in my left hip."

*"First few days, I experienced tingling and heat in areas of my previous physical injuries-similar to an acupuncture treatment. After about three days, these vague feelings subsided."

*"Allergies have definitely lessened."

*"Better digestion."

*"I noticed that I stopped clenching my jaw at night."

*The partic.i.p.ant reported that her husband, who was not part of the study, but who was sleeping grounded next to her, "began sleeping fewer hours, has more energy, and has stopped snoring."

Partic.i.p.ant No. 4, forty-two years old Pre-Study Complaints *Trouble falling asleep; light restless sleep.

*Wakes up feeling tired; also, trouble waking up from naps.

*Fibromyalgia since 1992 car accident; a lot of joint pain in arms, legs, ankles.

*Gastrointestinal upset; gas.

End of Study Feedback *"The general quality of my sleep improved; not immediate, but a gradual change."

*"Sleeping much deeper."

*"A lot less fatigue because of less pain."

*"My fibromyalgia has improved considerably because of diminished pain and fatigue; the joint pain is gone, with occasional pain in the left arm."

*"I am feeling much better, I haven't been sick at all."