Grounding Reduces Blood Viscosity

[drkelp]

Earthing (Grounding) the Human Body Reduces Blood Viscosity—a Major Factor in Cardiovascular Disease - PMC

Emerging research is revealing that direct physical contact of the human body with the surface of the earth (grounding or earthing) has intriguing effects on human physiology and health, including beneficial effects on various cardiovascular risk ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[Nelson Vergel]

The strangest study I have ever read!

"Subjects were grounded with conductive patches on the soles of their feet and palms of their hands. Wires connected the patches to a stainless-steel rod inserted in the earth outdoors. Small fingertip pinprick blood samples were placed on microscope slides and an electric field was applied to them. Electrophoretic mobility of the RBCs was determined by measuring terminal velocities of the cells in video recordings taken through a microscope. RBC aggregation was measured by counting the numbers of clustered cells in each sample."

“Erythrocytes have a strong net negative charge called the zeta potential produced by the scialoglycoprotein coat such that approximately 18 nm is the shortest span between two cells.”

 

[Guided_by_Voices]

I've been doing similar things for a few years...It is a classic example of something that makes sense and has no downside I can see, but with significant upside. A good intro is here How Earthing Can Zap Inflammation, Increase Deep Sleep & Much More!

 

[drkelp]

I tried a ground strap while sleeping for some reason years ago but after a week or so thought I might just be losing my mind haha. But, who knows...

 

[excelnelg]

Oh, brother.

 

[captain]

I read about this years ago. It all came down to the study that was funded by a company that sells Earthing Equipment.

 

[Guided_by_Voices]

I read about this years ago. It all came down to the study that was funded by a company that sells Earthing Equipment.

If you can find something wrong with the logic discussed in the podcast I linked, I'd love to hear it. Until someone can find something harmful about this I'm going to err on the side of doing it given that anything that can modulate excess inflammation is likely a good thing.

 

[tareload]

Not sure how this study made it through peer review.

Note this study does not state if the "before" / "after" samples were blinded to the analyst and it surely didn't demonstrate that "earthing" reduced blood viscosity in vivo or in vitro.


From the paper:

This statement is not supported by prior work:

Some Rheological Considerations in Ischemic Cerebrovascular Disease — Blood Viscosity, RBC Aggregation, and RBC Zeta Potential

It is well known that blood viscosity is one of the most important determinants of cerebral blood flow (CBF) in normal and diseased states. It is also well recognized that blood viscosity is mainly influenced by hematocrit (Hct), red blood cell (RBC) deformability,...

link.springer.com

Summary from the prior work:

Disclosure from the "Earthing" study:

Pertinent articles exploring the relationship of plasma fibrinogen and whole blood viscosity:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1600-0404.1992.tb04046.x

Blood rheology and aging - PMC

The flow properties of blood play significant roles in tissue perfusion by contributing to hydrodynamic resistance in blood vessels. These properties are influenced by pathophysiological processes, thereby increasing the clinical relevance of blood ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Frontiers | Blood Rheology: Key Parameters, Impact on Blood Flow, Role in Sickle Cell Disease and Effects of Exercise

Blood viscosity is an important determinant of local flow characteristics, which exhibits shear thinning behavior: it decreases exponentially with increasing...

www.frontiersin.org

 

[tareload]

http://edge.rit.edu/content/DRIL_Modeling/public/Nicole_Varble/Articles/Viscosity/Stuart%20%281980%29%20Blood%20rheology.pdf

The Role of Blood Viscosity in Infectious Diseases

Blood viscosity is increased by elevated concentrations of acute phase reactants and hypergammaglobulinemia in inflammation. These increase blood viscosity by increasing plasma viscosity and fostering erythrocyte aggregation. Blood viscosity is also increased by decreased erythrocyte...

www.cureus.com

 

[jackjohnson]

I have an earthing quarter sheet that I have had on my bed for years. It goes across the bottom quarter of my bed and has a wire that goes into an electrical outlet's ground. When I got it, I was using a sleep tracker and noticed improvements right away. It could have been a placebo, who knows. I still use it since you it isn't a big deal to have even if it's doing nothing. I got it from this company, and was a similar product, but much smaller and much cheaper. I think I paid like 100-150? I heard about it on a podcast years ago. For the price back then, I'd recommend one, at least to try. You can probably find a cheaper one.

Earthing Throw Kit | Earthing Canada

-1167

earthingcanada.ca

 

[jackjohnson]

This seems like exactly what I have and is much cheaper. $68.50

Earthing Flat Sheet for Grounding Made from Cotton with Silver Thread

Buy these sheets online, made from cotton with a pure silver fiber evenly sewn throughout the bedsheet. We offer a variety of bed sizes in the flat sheet.

www.gethealthyandgrounded.com