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Inflammation is something of a catch-all problem when it comes to the human body and the human mind. There are so many conditions that are either the direct result of inflammation, or at the very least considerably exacerbated by it. If we were ever able to do away with inflammation altogether, in fact, it would mean that the vast majority of human illness would be solved forever.
This might sound far-fetched, but the truth is that there are practices that can reliably reduce inflammation quite considerably, and it’s definitely worth at least being aware of these. In recent years, the practice of grounding or earthing has become quite popular and is often touted as a means of improving one’s general health and wellbeing.
But the question is: does grounding specifically reduce inflammation? Let’s take a look.
What Is Grounding?
First of all, it will be helpful to have some basic idea of what grounding is, so that we know what the practice entails and can better understand how it might be helpful. Essentially, grounding is when you carry out certain activities that are designed to ‘ground’ you to the earth in some way or another, usually as a means of gaining electrical charges from the ground. While it is an area that could be researched more than it has been, there have been some studies on it, with some of the most recent focusing on topics of health, and specifically inflammation.
Inflammation
Inflammation, as we briefly discussed above, is a natural thing that the body does. It is actually a normal and essential part of healing. When there is something wrong in the body, the immune system sends lots of white blood cells to the affected area, resulting in inflammation cells. On the outside of the body, that can be visible, with raised skin and redness and so on. And when it occurs on the inside, it can lead to a feeling of pain or discomfort, and cause you to operate less well, especially when it becomes chronic inflammation, which can happen more than you might think.
So as well as being an essential and useful bodily process, it is also a very potentially harmful one in itself. The more inflammation you have in the body, the less healthy you are likely to be in general, so it’s a good idea to make sure that you are finding some way to keep it down. Could grounding be an effective way to do that?
Grounding To Reduce Inflammation
Does grounding reduce inflammation? Yes, there is evidence to suggest that grounding can reduce inflammation in the body. The simple act of walking barefoot has been shown to help in this regard, and the way it works is really quite simple and straightforward. Grounding is shown to generate noticeable differences in the amount of white blood cells concentrated in one area, which as we have seen above is what inflammation is. On top of that, it has been shown to decrease pain in those problem areas too, and to improve markers of inflammation following injury, like redness, heat and raised skin and so on.
Another main way in which grounding reduces inflammation is by actively thinning the blood. It does this through an increase of the zeta potential, which is the term for energy exchange between red blood cells. Some studies have shown this potential increasing by as much as 280%, leading to significant thinning and therefore a noticeable improvement of inflammation in the body.
Starting To Ground
As you can see, grounding can indeed be used in this respect to reduce inflammation, and it’s something that more and more people are trying out for that reason as well as many others. Getting into grounding is quite simple, whether you use grounding mats for the benefit of your immune system or you simply go out and walk barefoot on the ground. Either way, you are going to be getting these benefits, and you will find that you are much more likely to have a reduced inflammation, better immune system, a reduction in pain, and so much else.
If you are keen to get into grounding or earthing, try it out today and see how you feel. You might notice some results more or less immediately, and could find yourself being keen to try it again in the future. At the very least, it is worth giving it a go and you should find that the results are quite amazing. Grounding is the future.
