Earthing

Friday, May 21, 2010

Earthing and Medication

Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D., F.A.C.C.
Co-author, Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever?

Can Earthing products be used if you are on medication?  That’s a question I hear fairly often. The answer is yes, but with a prudent qualifier. Keep in mind that Earthing reduces inflammation in the body and restores natural internal electrical stability and rhythms. Any doctor would applaud such benefits and improvements. But because of such changes, as good as they are, it is possible with continuing grounding, such as sleeping grounded at night, medication dosages may become excessive, and perhaps even unnecessary in some cases. 

Years ago as a practicing cardiologist in Connecticut, I often found myself having to reduce the level of Warfarin (Coumadin) for patients coming back to their homes after snowbirding in Florida over the winter months. Their blood coagulability had changed. I thought it was simply a result of going from warm weather to cold weather. I was wrong. I didn’t know anything about Earthing back then. I now know that the reason for the change was because they were going barefoot for many hours during the day and swimming in the ocean or in concrete pools. They were grounding themselves!

There is something very special and healing that occurs in your body as a result of being in direct contact with the Earth. I regard it as pretty much the equivalent of being on a treatment table. Your body is absorbing the natural, subtle electric energies omnipresent on the surface of the Earth. There is an instant shift in your physiology.  We see that happening in laboratory studies that measure the electrical activity inside your body.

Logic tells us that the normal state of humans is to be grounded, that is, connected directly with the Earth. Most of us in the so-called developed societies function ungrounded, wearing plastic and rubber soled shoes, and no longer living on the Earth but above it and in structures that separate us from the Earth. For millions of years, our ancestors evolved in intimate connection to the Earth. We think that the evolving body adapted itself to the energies and frequencies in the ground and that by being ungrounded the body malfunctions in one way or another, or in many ways. Think of a flickering light bulb that is not fully connected to its energy source.

Humans have increasingly adopted unnatural lifestyles, causing self-inflicted stress and illness. We regard the separation from Earth’s natural energies as one example of an unnatural lifestyle, along with more familiar factors such as poor diet and lack of exercise. 

Reconnecting to the Earth, such as being barefoot outdoors and sleeping or working indoors while using Earthing systems, is extremely beneficial. However, our research is in an early stage and we have not completed any direct studies related to medication, including Coumadin, a commonly used medical blood thinner and anti-clotting agent.  In general, our experience suggests that some patients taking medication are able to reduce their dosage level. For that reason, we highly recommend that people on medication and considering Earthing should consult with their doctors first and then monitor their medication carefully.

Earthing helps balance the nervous system, lower stress, reduce inflammation and inflammation-related pain, and improve sleep and energy. The research also suggests that the electrodynamics of blood, a subject not very familiar to doctors, is also improved, and this effect may lead to a more desirable blood viscosity (thickness), reduced aggregation of red blood cells, and better overall circulation.

Your doctor is looking out for your well-being and will naturally be reluctant about something new that he or she has no knowledge about. If you are under a doctor’s care, we strongly advise you to consult with your physician before grounding yourself.  If interested, the doctor can read our book, Earthing:The Most Important Health Discovery Ever?, as well as check out the research we have posted elsewhere on this website. Keep in mind that Earthing is nothing more than the equivalent of standing or walking barefoot or sleeping on the ground. The same natural, subtle electric energy that your body would absorb from being in direct physical contact with the Earth outside is the same energy that you receive when sitting or sleeping indoors and using an Earthing product.  It is something totally natural.

For those of you on Coumadin or any critical medication, you should decide with your health care giver about grounding yourself.  If you decide to do it, it may be prudent to do so for shorter periods in the beginning, such as walking barefoot in the park or in your backyard, where it is, of course, safe and comfortable to do so, or ground yourself for a few hours while you watch television.  As you slowly increase your Earthing time, monitor your situation carefully, including how you feel, so as to determine if your dosage of medication needs to be lowered.  Ground with caution, and under the watchful eye of your physician.