baltimore — A centuries-old habit is the latest health trend to take social media by storm.
It is called earthing or earthing. This is a therapy aimed at electrically reconnecting humans to the Earth.
This custom is widely accepted. Those who practice and study this say it promotes health benefits along with tranquility.
“People will say it reduces pain in areas where they might feel pain, in their legs,” Debbie Yell said via TikTok. “Some people say it reduces inflammation in the body.”
Some may remember the scene in Pretty Woman where Richard Gere's character walks barefoot on the grass.
That's common.
Some methods include walking outside barefoot, gardening, swimming, and bathing.
Think of it as Mother Nature's cure.
“Basically, it's contact with the Earth, and we found that contact with the Earth has health benefits,” said Gaëtan Chevalier, director of the Earthing Institute.
Chevalier said there's also proven science behind it.
“Earthing and grounding are really good ways to help reduce inflammation in the body,” he said. “What happens when you're not grounded is that you're actively regulating the positive charges in your body. For example, our food is processed, but if you eat food from your garden, When you eat it, there are electrons in it and you get antioxidant power.”
Earth's free electrons neutralize free radicals in the body that are known to damage tissues.
“Where we're seeing the most dramatic change is in people with arthritis, because most of them can't function and the drugs don't really help.”
