Grounding Article by Stephan Terblanche in TRAIL Magazine

Check out the grounding article below by Stephan Terblanche in TRAIL Magazine,
you can also check out the TRAIL Magazine here: https://trailmag.co.za/trail-magazine-issue-38/

(scroll down & enjoy the read)

ARE YOU GROUNDED?

What do we as Trail Runners have in common? Well for one, we like to run (obviously) spending time outdoors in nature, which makes us feel free and alive again. It allows us to temporarily disconnect from the never ending Technological Rat Race out there, to energize our mind, body and soul. Ironically in our attempt to escape from the ills of modern living we are actually still disconnected from Nature as we run in rubber soled shoes creating a nonconductive barrier between ourselves and the nurturing capability of Mother Earth, making us non-grounded!

So, grounding or earthing in essence means to have physical, bare skin contact, (whether the feet, hands or body), with natural sources of Earth, including sand, unpainted cement, ceramic tiles, bricks, green grass and especially the beach due to the conducive properties of sand and salt water.

Why do we have to ground ourselves and get connected? Well, Mother Earth is actually a giant battery that supports all life on the planet with the help of the sun. The Earth’s surface carries a subtle negative charge which might be due to an abundance of free electrons created by constant lightning strikes and thunderstorms around the world, or the fact that at the inner core of the earth, the temperature and pressure is so high, that the atoms there are ionized, making the inner part positively charged and the surface negatively charged.

Why is this so important?

Well, when you walk barefoot on natural surfaces you soak up these negative electrons that energise you and act like mega-antioxidants to reduce and neutralize the positively charged inflammation in your body resulting in improved pain and enhancing general well-being. Chronic inflammation is currently seen as the biggest threat to quality of life and longevity and is linked to most lifestyle diseases like diabetes, arthritis, cancer, cardiovascular and neurological conditions.

How will grounding benefit us trail runners?

Firstly, we need to investigate the disadvantages or negative side effects of running, especially ultra-trail running! Contrary to belief, exercise is not always that good for us when it takes place at high intensities over extended period of times as in ultra-endurance events (1,2,3,4). The reason for this is exercise-induced oxidative stress and muscle damage which leads to inflammation and a suppression of our immune systems. Oxidative stress is caused by the leakage of electrons at the mitochondria (the power house of the cell to convert energy from food: glucose, fat, protein) due to the incomplete breakdown of oxygen, leaving the atoms with an unpaired electron making them unstable free radicals. These positively charged free radicals will scavenge the body seeking out electrons from other atoms so that they can become a pair to nullify their positive charge and in so doing cause damage to the cell, protein and its DNA.

That is why we neutralise the threat of free radicals by eating antioxidant containing foods or pills (whichever you prefer or both) and standing barefoot on Mother Earth to soak up the free electrons she so unselfishly provides for us.

Another benefit of grounding is that fact that it acts as a natural anti-inflammatory that will target muscle soreness and pain after your trail runs helping with recovery (5,6) and accelerate the healing of running injuries by targeting acute inflammation in the injured muscles and joints (7).

All this can be achieved by simply taking off your shoes and running barefoot if you are a purest or masochist, but for us mere mortals we just have to take our shoes off after a run or trail event and stand or walk around, while mingling with fellow runners for an hour or less (8).

Even better would be to get a grounding or earthing mat you can sit or stand on at work and place it in your bed to get the most of your deep regenerative sleep, while you are recovering from a hard day’s work and play. You and your family can then share the abundance of health benefits that is completely natural as Mother Nature intended.

1) A half marathon and a marathon run induce oxidative DNA damage reduce antioxidant capacity to protect DNA against damage and modify immune function
2) Effects of Mountain Ultra-Marathon Running on ROS Production and Oxidative Damage by Micro-Invasive
3) Ultra-Endurance Exercise and Oxidative Damage: Implications for Cardiovascular Health
4) Exercise and Oxidative Stress: An Exercise Paradox?
5) Grounding after moderate eccentric contractions reduces muscle damage
6) Effectiveness of Grounded Sleeping on Recovery After Intensive Eccentric Muscle Loading
7) The Effects of Grounding on Bodyworkers Pain and Overall Quality of Life - A randomized Controlled Trial
8) One-Hour Contact with the Earth’s Surface (Grounding) Improves Inflammation and Blood Flow—A Randomized, Double-Blind, Pilot Study.

1) Earthing Movie: The Remarkable Science of Grounding (full documentary)
https://youtu.be/44ddtR0XDVU

2) Grounded (the documentary)
https://youtu.be/b8b_lg2z8Nc

3) Barefoot Earthing Intro part 1 of 2 - measuring EMF
https://youtu.be/GnZjY_q2WQk

4) Barefoot Earthing Intro part 2 of 2 - measuring EMF
https://youtu.be/EVDSzu9M9hw

Check out our Groundlive advert on Youtube. We host a range of grounding / earthing products that fit seamlessly into your lifestyle from bed sheets and pillow cases to yoga and desk mats for a versatile fit.