Grounding the human body...

Thread Starter

cmartinez

Joined Jan 17, 2007
8,218
This article raises a few red flags, at least to me. But the source seems respectable, and it's also an interesting read, nevertheless:


... 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.
 

nsaspook

Joined Aug 27, 2009
13,081
This article raises a few red flags, at least to me. But the source seems respectable, and it's also an interesting read, nevertheless:

Their hypothesis seems scientifically dubious. No free electrons are moving from the earth and spreading over and into the body. The tiny amount of charge imbalance might cause some tiny redistribution of existing charge near the point of contact but normal rules of electron drift speeds apply here with any possible exchange of electrons being very tiny. Even if electron exchange did happen the odds of it having some therapeutic effect is also dubious.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4378297/
Our main hypothesis is that connecting the body to the Earth enables free electrons from the Earth’s surface to spread over and into the body, where they can have antioxidant effects. Specifically, we suggest that mobile electrons create an antioxidant microenvironment around the injury repair field, slowing or preventing reactive oxygen species (ROS) delivered by the oxidative burst from causing “collateral damage” to healthy tissue, and preventing or reducing the formation of the so-called “inflammatory barricade”. We also hypothesize that electrons from the Earth can prevent or resolve so-called “silent” or “smoldering” inflammation. If verified, these concepts may help us better understand and research the inflammatory response and wound healing, and develop new information on how the immune system functions in health and disease.
G Chevalier and JL Oschman are independent contractors for EarthFx Inc., the company sponsoring earthing research, and own a small percentage of shares in the company. Richard Brown is an independent contractor for EarthFx Inc., the company sponsoring earthing research. The authors report no other conflicts of interest.
 
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Thread Starter

cmartinez

Joined Jan 17, 2007
8,218
Their hypothesis seems scientifically dubious. No free electrons are moving from the earth and spreading over and into the body. The tiny amount of charge imbalance might cause some tiny redistribution of existing charge near the point of contact but normal rules of electron drift speeds apply here with any possible exchange of electrons being very tiny. Even if electron exchange did happen the odds of it have some therapeutic effect is also dubious.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4378297/
Agreed ... an additional study involving the differences in inflammation rate of recovery between people who like to be barefooted most of time vs people who can't spend a minute without wearing shoes would probably make or break their case.
 

MrSalts

Joined Apr 2, 2020
2,767
Posting articles like this and saying
But the source seems respectable,
just gives oxygen to smoldering bad science and scams.

if you are so easily convinced to change your mind, don't post it in the first place. Google search engine rankings count the number of cross posts on other websites to add credibility and raise The position of an article. If all it takes for you to doubt the article is for another member to say, "the results are scientificallydubious" before you say...
Maybe next time you can ask yourself, "is this scientifically dubious?" before you post weird articles with unlikely "science". Don't give them oxygen. .
 

nsaspook

Joined Aug 27, 2009
13,081
Full text
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1550830719305476

It has many red flags.

The "Clinical observations" section is just basically an ad.

It doesn't actually report any statistics, just a few observations.

Some of the observations sound like a placebo: "Those with pain report less pain.1 Even mood improves.2"


So I'd say that this fits into the category of "theory without data".
Self-Promotion of made-up crap to sell a product.

Typical 'energy medicine' quackery.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_medicine#Earthing

"typical of the kind of worthless studies designed to generate false positives—the kind of in-house studies that companies sometimes use so that they can claim their products are clinically proven."
 

Thread Starter

cmartinez

Joined Jan 17, 2007
8,218
Maybe next time you can ask yourself, "is this scientifically dubious?" before you post weird articles with unlikely "science". Don't give them oxygen. .
You're right ... but sometimes the weirdest of articles turn out to be true in the long run. If you don't like it, feel free to not participate in this thread if it offends your intelligence ... OTOH, if you have reasonable arguments against said "study", you're very much welcome to share them here. Some of us don't know everything there is to know about bio-galvanism, you know.

My point: some of us post questions with the goal of finding facts and truth. What might seem to some a kindergarten-level question about natural electro-chemistry can very well be a complicated issue to the rest of us.

It's not about giving a quack idea "oxygen", but rather about putting it out before it gathers steam. IMHO.

It has my red flags.
Thank you, that was my main motivation when I posted this article ... the best way to fight ignorance is to counter it with reasonable arguments.

NSA: Thanks for the info, it's thoroughly appreciated, as usual.
 
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MrSalts

Joined Apr 2, 2020
2,767
Some of us don't know everything there is to know about bio-galvanism, you know.
I can't believe I go to work every day. Now that people assume idiot science and conspiracy theories are true until proven false, I could make a fortune making up fantastical claims of how I can solve all non-specific health "problems". Fatigue, morning aches and pains, lethargy, tardiness, distraction, ugliness - Just buy my book.

read the analysis that @click_here posted above, feel the silliness / shame of not immediately doubting the barefoot science. Also read the comments that show the author's of your "science direct" link to the book author's storytelling business.
 
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Delta Prime

Joined Nov 15, 2019
1,311
Hello my friends :)The theories in science are always being reconsidered and scrutinized people, who have the feeling they know how to be "right" but have no idea at all how to be "less wrong," & for whom the whole thing sounds defeatist, to be settling for second best. .Not only science, but life itself, stands as testimonial to the reality that there is nothing at all either defeatist or second best about becoming " less wrong." That is precisely what science is about, and is the very core of all social and technological "progress." More importantly, being " less wrong" is the very essence of the biological concept of evolution, whose capacity to generate enormously complex and effective organizations has yet to show a limit, and still far exceeds anything of which humans are capable of doing alone.
 

Thread Starter

cmartinez

Joined Jan 17, 2007
8,218
Total Male Bovine Excrement.
I have no problem with an opinion such as that. The reason I posted the article is because I'm not sure I fully understand the phenomena. And as I mentioned in my first post it does raise big red flags. I would just like to know this formum's member's opinions as to why. I am definitely not trying to promote pseudoscience in any sort of way whatsoever. I'm just asking a (possibly) stupid question so as to not stay stupid.

That organisms are affected by electric fields is no news to anyone. For instance, this article gives some very interesting info on its effects on crabs:


"We found that exposure to higher levels of electromagnetic field strength changed the number of blood cells in the crabs' bodies. "This could have a range of consequences, like making them more susceptible to bacterial infection."

And considering that electric fields do in fact affect organisms, it made me wonder about the effects (or lack thereof) of complete shielding and/or grounding on the human body.
 

click_here

Joined Sep 22, 2020
548
My biggest problem with the study was that there was not enough data.

A lot of time was spent putting together a case as to why it might be plausible, but it hasn't been sufficiently demonstrated.

The paper is riddled with problems, for example "Just as vitamin D in our body is produced by energy and frequencies generated from the sun, 93 million miles away, the Earth right under our feet provides unique energy and frequencies that directly influence our body" - What energy is that? Vitamin D levels can be measured, but the paper does not say what they are measuring in the body. Assuming that there is something there with no proof is an argument from ignorance logical fallacy. I should also say that comparing Earth and the sun is a false equivalency fallacy.

This is a theme throughout the paper which would take a very long time to go through.
 
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