By Dr. Mercola Dr.

James Oschman is an expert in the field of energy medicine, with a Bachelor's Degree in Biophysics and a PhD in Biology from the University of Pittsb rgh. !s an a thor of a n mber of boo"s, he is widely recogni#ed as an a thority in the biophysics of energy medicine. $n this interview he disc sses the practice of %earthing,% or gro nding. &very modern school of alternative medicine tal"s abo t %energy,% altho gh they may se a variety of words to describe it. B t what is this f ndamental %energy% yo "eep hearing abo t' !s Dr. Oschman went abo t to investigate, he fo nd there is very good science that can help demystify this neb lo s term. (e wrote a n mber of articles for a )o rnal p blished by *h rchill +ivingstone on the s b)ect, and after some enco ragement from the p blisher, those articles event ally res lted in two boo"s, Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basisi, and Energy Medicine in Therapeutics and Human Performanceii. Dr. Oschman was also introd ced to earthing, or gro nding, and his research in this area has t rned p some very interesting and compelling information abo t how the energy from the &arth can help yo live a healthier life. (e has recently written the -oreword for a new boo" by *linton Ober, Dr. .tephen /. .inatra and 0. 1 c"er, entitled Earthing: the most important health discovery ever?iii p blished in 2343 5Basic (ealth P blications, $nc., +ag na Beach, *!.6. $f yo 're li"e most people, yo probably wear shoes with r bber or plastic soles for the better part of each day. 7ead on to learn why shoes might be one of the banes of modern existence.

The Emergence of "Earthing"

/he concept of earthing, also "nown as gro nding, was initially developed by *lint Ober. .tated in the simplest terms possible, earthing is simply wal"ing barefoot8 gro nding yo r body to the &arth. Oschman was introd ced to Ober via Jeff .pencer, the chiropractor for +ance !rmstrong's cycling team and an expert in treating professional athletes. " hen !lint descri"ed the earthing phenomenon to #eff, #eff immediately called me and had me fly out to !alifornia to meet !lint and tal$ a"out %hat $ind of research could "e done to find out %hat is going on," Oschman explains. "People have $no%n for a long time that %al$ing "arefoot feels good& There are places in the %orld li$e 'ermany and (ustria and S%it)erland %ith communities %here there is a tradition of getting up in the morning and going "arefoot&" 0y own introd ction to the concept of earthing was also thro gh Jeff .pencer, some five or six years ago. $ fo nd it very intrig ing, altho gh $ initially approached it with some s"epticism. !s yo will soon see, it's a simple concept9 to some it may appear too simple.

-ort nately, Dr. Oschman is now able to provide the scientific gro ndwor" for nderstanding what act ally occ rs. $n fact, his team has now p blished abo t a do#en papers on this topic.

What Happens to You When You Walk Barefoot?

:o r s"in in general is a very good cond ctor. :o can connect any part of yo r s"in to the &arth, b t if yo compare vario s parts there is one that is especially potent, and that's right in the middle of the ball of yo r foot8 a point "nown to ac p nct rists as ;idney 4 5;46. $t's a well<"nown point that cond ctively connects to all of the ac p nct re meridians and essentially connects to every noo" and cranny of yo r body. $nterestingly, gro nding9or rather the lac" thereof9has a lot to do with the rise of modern diseases. (ow is this' =ell, Dr. Oschman's research into gro nding has led him to better nderstand inflammation. $'ve disc ssed before, chronic inflammation is a primary ca se of virt ally all disease, from diabetes to cancer. !nd by loo"ing at what happens d ring gro nding, the answer to why chronic inflammation is so prevalent, and what is needed to prevent it, is becoming better nderstood. =hen yo 're gro nded there's a transfer of free electrons from the &arth into yo r body. !nd these free electrons are probably the most potent antioxidants "nown to man. /hese antioxidants are responsible for the clinical observations from gro nding experiments, s ch as, Beneficial changes in heart rate Decreased s"in resistance Decreased levels of inflammation

/o better nderstand the science behind what happens d ring gro nding and how it impacts the inflammatory response, Dr. Oschman begins by explaining what happens when yo experience an in) ry. "Even the slightest "ump, if you "ump the door, your immune system immediately responds "y sending %hite "lood cells *neutrophils+ to the place of in,uryThe neutrophils secrete a .eactive /0ygen Species *./S+- called free radicals, in %hat1s referred to as an o0idative "urst&&& These are li$e Pac2 Man& They are very important molecules that tear things apart& 3f "acteria have gotten through your s$in, these free radicals %ill destroy the "acteria very 4uic$ly& 3f you have damaged cells, the free radicals %ill "rea$ them apart so that there is a space for healthy cells to move in and repair the tissues& That1s $no%n as the inflammatory response&

hat %e have discovered that is truly profound is this: %e no% understand %hy you get the inflammatory response, %hich has five characteristics: pain, redness, heat, loss of range of motion, and s%elling& (ll of those are the five hallmar$s of inflammation and it turns out that that doesn1t have to happen& 3nflammation, %hich in medicine is considered an important part of the healing process, is really an artifact caused "y lac$ of electrons in your tissues& hat happens is, the neutrophils deliver the .eactive /0ygen Species *./S+ to the site of in,ury, "ut in so doing, some of those free radicals can lea$ into the surrounding tissue and damage healthy tissue& That1s %hat creates the inflammatory response"& $nterestingly, gro nding research has now discovered that if yo place yo r feet on the gro nd after an in) ry 5or on a gro nded sheet, or place gro nding patches on the balls of yo r feet6, electrons will migrate into yo r body and spread thro gh yo r tiss es. !ny free radicals that lea" into the healthy tiss e will immediately be electrically ne trali#ed. /his occ rs beca se the electrons are negative, while the free radicals are positive, so they cancel each other o t. "So really %hat is happening %ith grounding or earthing is that you1re protecting your "ody from 22 3 call it, collateral damage," Dr. Oschman says& "5amage that %as not intended to ta$e place "ut does ta$e place "ecause %e have disconnected ourselves from the Earth "y putting ru""er and plastic on the "ottoms of our shoes&"

Earthing as an Anti Aging !trategy

One of dominant theories on aging is the free radical theory, which is that aging occ rs beca se of acc m lative damage to yo r body ca sed by free radicals. :o get free radicals when yo have an in) ry or chronic inflammation, from breathing, and from the food yo eat, among other things. =hile yo don't want to completely eliminate !++ free radicals, yo do want to maintain a healthy balance of antioxidant electrons in yo r body to ens re the damage from free radicals doesn't' get o t of hand. &arthing can help accomplish this delicate balance. /here are three "inds of s b< models of the aging process ca sed by free radicals. D>! damage and m tation d e to free radical damage /he mitochondrial theory. 0itochondria in every cell in yo r body carry o t oxidative metabolism and a byprod ct is free radicals. &vent ally the mitochondria wear o t or self<destr ct d e to excess free radicals /he protein cross lin"ing theory, which explains why yo get wrin"les in yo r s"in. /he proteins stic" to each other, red cing the efficiency of en#ymes "3t loo$s to me, from my study of "iophysics and cell "iology, li$e the "ody is designed %ith a semi2conductive fa"ric that connects everything in the "ody, including inside of every cell," Dr. Oschman says.

"3 refer to this system as the living matri0& Those electrons that enter the "ottom of your foot can move any%here in your "ody& (ny place %here a free radical forms, there are electrons near"y that can neutrali)e that free radical and prevent any of those processes: mitochondrial damage, cross lin$ing of proteins, and mutation or genetic damage& So the %hole fa"ric is "asically an antio0idant defense system that is in every part of our "ody& e have this material called ground su"stance %hich is part of the connective tissue& 3t goes every%here in the "ody& 3t1s a gel material and it stores electrons& So that if you go "arefoot, you %ill ta$e in electrons and your "ody %ill store them, and they %ill "e availa"le at any point %here you might have an in,ury, or any point %here a free radical might form&&&"

Ho" #roun$ing Affects Your Bloo$

!nother very important discovery, and one of the most recent, is that gro nding thins yo r blood, ma"ing it less visco s. /his discovery can have a profo nd impact on cardiovasc lar disease, which is now the n mber one "iller in the world. ?irt ally every aspect of cardiovasc lar disease has been correlated with elevated blood viscosity. Dr. .inatra has been coaching Dr. Oschman's team in how to meas re blood viscosity sing a method called #eta potential. $t meas res the potential on yo r red blood cells by determining how fast they migrate in an electrical field. $t t rns o t that when yo gro nd to the earth, yo r #eta potential @ ic"ly rises, which means yo r red blood cells have more charge on their s rface, which forces them apart from each other. /his action ca ses yo r blood to thin and flow easier. $t also ca ses yo r blood press re to drop. !nother obvio s implication of this is that by repelling each other, yo r red blood cells are less inclined to stic" together and form a clot. Blood clots don't have to be very big to form li"e a p lmonary embol s that wo ld "ill yo instantly, so this is a significant benefit. !dditionally, if yo r #eta potential is high, which gro nding can facilitate, yo not only decrease yo r heart disease ris" b t also yo r ris" of m lti<infarct dementias, where yo start losing brain tiss e d e to micro<clotting in yo r brain.

The Best !urfaces for #roun$ing

*learly, the simplest way to gro nd is to wal" barefoot o tside when safe to do so. B t what abo t rban or city dwellers who are s rro nded by asphalt and concrete' *an yo gro nd on those' !nd what abo t nat ral s rfaces9which ones are the most effective' /here are indeed significant differences between vario s s rfaces. /he ideal location for wal"ing barefoot is the beach, close to or in the water, as sea water is a great cond ctor. :o r body also contains mostly water, so it creates a good connection.

! close second wo ld be a grassy area, especially if it's covered with dew, which is what yo 'd find if yo wal" early in the morning. !ccording to Dr. Oschman, concrete is a good cond ctor as long as it hasn't been sealed. Painted concrete does not allow electrons to pass thro gh very well. 0aterials li"e asphalt, wood, and typical ins lators li"e plastic or the soles of yo r shoes, will not allow electrons to pass thro gh and are not s itable for barefoot gro nding.

Why %i&ing in a High 'ise (oul$ )e Detrimental to Your Health

!dditionally, there's a ma)or difference between standing o tside in yo r bare feet and standing o tside in shoes. !nd, how high p yo are, off the s rface of the &arth, witho t being gro nded also matters. =hy is this' Dr. Oschman explains, "The Earth1s surface is electrically charged and can push electrons up in your "ody& So from the top of your head to the Earth, there is a potential, %hich you don1t feel "ecause it doesn1t cause any any particular current to flo%, even though it can "e a couple of hundred volts& 3f it did, it %ould give you a shoc$& hat happens is %hen the %eather changes is that the potential can go up enormously& 3t can go from a hundred volts per meter to 67,777 volts per meter& That1s pre lightning& e1re tal$ing a"out the potential that causes lightning to come to the earth& That voltage is %ell $no%n and %ell understoodThis is the potential "et%een the surface of the earth and the ionosphere, hundreds of miles up, %hich is very electrically active8 charged "y the solar %ind, the charged particles that come from the sun& Those charged particles eventually reach the Earth "y lightning and electrify the entire surface of the Earth so that any%here you touch the Earth, there are electrons& They come originally from the sun, to the ionosphere, to the earth& There is no lightning happening right here right no% "ut some%here there is lightning, a constant current flo% from the ionosphere to the earth& Those are the electrons that your "ody needs for your immune system to function properly&" =hat this means is that the higher p yo are, separated from the s rface of the &arth, the higher this potential wo ld be, and the worse the implications for yo r health if yo 're not gro nded. -or example, if yo live on the 23th floor of a high< rise and yo 're not gro nded 5 sing gro nding technology, of co rse6, the conse@ ences to yo r health will be more significant than if yo lived on the first floor. +i"ewise, when yo wear r bber< or plastic<soled shoes, yo are effectively shielding yo rself from this beneficial infl x of electrons from the &arth. -or optimal imm ne f nction, yo %ant these electrons to enter yo r body, so ma"e s re yo ta"e yo r shoes off now and thenA

Easy Ways to *ncorporate #roun$ing *nto Your Daily %ife

&xercising barefoot o tdoors is one of the most wonderf l, inexpensive and powerf l ways of incorporating earthing into yo r daily life and will also help speed p tiss e repair and ease m scle pain d e to stren o s exercise. 'eferences+ http,BBarticles.mercola.comBsitesBarticlesBarchiveB2342B3CB2DB)ames<oschman<on< earthing.aspx