If you’ve read the PureGround EMF Filtering & Shielding Cord page put out by the Earthing Institute (sponsored by Earthing.com) first let me say that I’m so glad they put a link to the PureGround cord on their website for electrosensitive customers to be able to find the PureGround cord and have a way to mitigate exposures that a standard ground cord exposes them to.
If you have felt negative symptoms when grounding through a standard ground cord, I want you to know that you are not crazy — there are legitimate medical reasons you are feeling symptoms — and you are not having a “detox” reaction, as the Earthing Institute would like you to believe.
I find it sad that thousands (if not millions) of grounding customers that feel ill effects from the AC voltage that runs through a standard ground cord are being told that they are either imagining the symptoms or that if they allow the symptoms to persist, eventually they will get used to it. I don’t want my customers to get used to the dizziness, pain, fatigue, headache and irritability that an AC current running through a ground cord is causing on their physical tissues.
The human body is a beautiful, electrically sensitive system, and it is a medical fact that we can pick up on (and have symptoms from) a current that is introduced to the human body. You are not imagining it and it will not go away, unless you stop the current from running into your body (which is what the PureGround cord does.). In medicine, we have a collaborative mindframe towards health care, welcoming advancements and continually improving our understanding of how the human body heals.
If you are looking for more resources on how to diagnose and treat electrosensitivity, this page is a great place to start — it includes free self assessment quizzes, diagnostic suggestions you can print out and take to your physician, and other suggestions on lowering your EMF exposures as well as antioxidant supplements you can take to help mitigate the effect of exposures you can not reduce:
If you would like me to personally walk you through how to protect your precious body from EMFs throughout your living and working spaces, I created an online class just for you.
Click here to learn more and save your spot in the next class:
EMFs Are Harmful
While a standard ground cord will ground you and provide health benefits from grounding, if you are a customer who has tried grounding through a standard cord and feel worse, you know on a very real level that EMFs are harmful and there needs to be ground cords that provide additional protection.
As a physician who keeps on top of the medical literature, there are many studies now showing health effects from manmade EMFs and unfortunately grounding does not protect against these effects.
Here are some medical studies that may be of interest to you:
- The Pentagon Already Knows That EMFs Are Impacting Brain Function… Here’s Why (2020)
- Electrohypersensitivity as a Neurologic Disorder: How to Diagnose, Treat, and Prevent It (2020)
- Clinical Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Electrosensitivity (2020)
- Building Science and Radiofrequency Radiation (2020)
- Oxidative stress in electrohypersensitivity with comprehensive molecular analysis (2018)
- Effects of electromagnetic fields exposure on the antioxidant defense system (2017)
- Electromagnetic field induced biological effects in humans (2015)
- EUROPAEM EMF Guideline 2016 for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of EMF-related health problems and illnesses (2016)
- Electromagnetic hypersensitivity–an increasing challenge to the medical profession (2015)
- The implications of non-linear biological oscillations on human electrophysiology for electrohypersensitivity (EHS) and multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) (2015)
- Functional impairment of electrohypersensitivity (2010)
- The Medical Perspective on Environmental Sensitivities (2007)
The most prevalent EMF in our environment comes from the man-made electricity wiring in our walls; in North America they use 120 volts of alternating current (AC) that is cycled back and forth 60 times a second (Hertz, or Hz).
When you are subject to EMFs you can measure the voltage between your body and ground with a multimeter. This is called a ‘voltage potential’ because it would allow current to flow if a complete circuit was made.
Most people report 0.2-0.3VAC, but The Earthing Institute and others have done research and found locations up to 1.3VAC and even 17.0VAC! If you then connect your body to the ground through a standard ground cord with a 100k ohm resistor, the current that flows follows i = V/R. Thus, 17VAC would result in 0.0017 amps or .17mA.
Electrosensitivity
Studies show that human beings can perceive current flowing into the human body at very low levels. This alone should tell you that your “detox” symptoms are very real — you are literally feeling the AC current in your body.
Women tend to be more sensitive to current and can feel symptoms at even lower levels than men do, but men are also able to pick up on currents flowing into their body at the level that a standard ground cord allows.
- 0.7 mA is average perception in women
- 1 mA is average perception in men
- 10mA can cause muscle paralysis
- 75mA can cause ventricular fibrillation
- 100mA for 2 seconds is lethal!
These are averages and many studies have been conducted to determine these levels across many participants. Not surprisingly there is wide variation on perception, which means a decent amount of the population can perceive levels much lower than the averages. Experienced electricians could even detect at 0.1mA! Small cuts, punctures and breaks in the skin’s integrity drops this threshold even lower — so if you notice increased symptoms in winter when your skin is dry and cracked, this may explain a lot for you!
This means there are many people who can perceive current flowing through their bodies even when the EMF induced voltage reads below 1VAC. This is called electro-hypersensitivity today. Even Earthing.com, the sponsor for the Earthing Institute, understands that many people literally feel the electrical fields that man-made appliances and wiring cause, and that this presents as tingling and stinging while grounding, as described on their website here. They further agree with me that this tingling can be the result of manmade EMFs. Earthing.com first tries to pass this uncomfortable sensation as a detox reaction, but them admits on their FAQ page: “Continued tingling could mean a person is electro-hypersensitive and/or has a significant level of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) in the room where he/she is grounding. In both cases, limiting exposure to EMFs is recommended.” I could not agree more. Obviously even Earthing.com is aware that a standard ground cord presents an issue for electrosensitive individuals. I encourage them to consider embracing updates and improvements to a standard ground cord by stopping AC current from running through the body while grounding, as well as suggest removing or reducing manmade sources of EMFs in living spaces, and using shielding materials for any EMFs that can not be eliminated.
As a medical professional I have a collaborative approach to health and healing, and instead of insisting that we not make advancements in grounding technology, I prefer to optimize, collaborate, and continually upgrade my customers experience. I am not ok with a customer experiencing negative sensations from a current running through their body and telling them they are “detoxing” when what they are feeling is man-made alternating current.
PureGround Cords Stop Alternating Current
Instead, we have created a cord designed to stop alternating current from running through a ground cord, thus enabling the body to be grounded without direct exposure to manmade AC currents. Stopping an AC current does not mean you are ungrounded, as the Earthing Institute seems to suggest here. In fact, the grounding tester that the Earthing Institute sponsor (Earthing.com) sells verifies that the PG cord is indeed grounded, as you will see below. That is because what grounds you is actually a DC current, which remains fully intact through a PureGround cord. AC current and DC current is completely different. The PureGround cord allows natural grounding exchange (DC current) while blocking and shielding the cord from interference by manmade EMFs (AC current.)
I recommend you do not use AC voltage to try to determine if you are grounded or not, as this does not show grounding at all. The Earthing Institute is trying to use AC current to show “grounding” but an AC voltage drop is only establishing the fact that a manmade current is now running into the human body. This is something both the Earthing Institute, Earthing.com, and my company agree on: an AC voltage dropping to zero during grounding means a current is now running through the body. The difference is, they say this is proof of grounding and say that resultant symptoms are a “detox” from the AC current. As a physician I know this is proof of a customer feeling the AC current reaching them and that they are experiencing real symptoms as a result of being electrosensitive, and that this does not equal a DC mediated grounding experience.
The whole point of the PG cord is to PREVENT man-made alternating current from flowing through your body. Ideally, if you don’t want exposure to AC current than you are looking for no change in VAC when connected through a ground cord. We cannot believe Clint and Applewhite allow up to 17VAC to flow through their body! That must have tingled, to put it lightly! Intuition Physician strongly encourages you to reduce the EMF and resulting VAC on your body by reducing sources of exposures and shielding, as outlined on this page, NOT by allowing that current to flow through your body.
Grounding Does Not Protect You From EMFs
Scientists agree — grounding through a standard ground cord allows AC current to travel into the human body.
For example, LessEMF states here that “Grounding {through a standard ground cord} will make a {body voltage} meter read zero, but in reality, the electric field is now traveling through your body to get to ground. Less EMF does NOT suggest grounding your body to remove Body Voltage. The true and best way to mitigate body voltage, is to locate the sources and shield the electric fields. Each source will need to be shielded directly.”
To help assist you in shielding from EMF exposures in your home, I have a collection of my favorite, tested, eco-friendly and all natural shielding home care tools including shielding blankets, clothing and much more, all waiting for you in my Shielding Boutique.
Man-made alternating current results in electrons being forced on and off your body 60 times a second and at voltages often much higher than the DC voltage your body needs from the earth. Do not be fooled by measurements showing the VAC is being ‘reduced’ when you are using an unfiltered cord that is simply allowing that current to flow through your body.
How To Make Sure You Are Grounded With PureGround
If you can’t verify grounding through AC current, how can you verify grounding?
It’s simple. Use a ground test meter. If you are using a PureGround cord, you will want a PureGround ground test meter, because the direction of electron flow is important. Some grounding testers test the connection by sending electrons one way through the cord, while other testers send electrons the other way. Obviously to test the PG cord we need to use testers that send electrons the correct way.
We are unsure why the Earthing Institute suggests the PureGround cord is not grounded when their very own Earthing.com continuity tester easily verifies that the cord is grounded. Here is the Earthing.com tester showing that the PureGround cord is grounded, and you can clearly see the green light on their tester lighting up, confirming the cord works:
And here is the same Earthing.com tester showing that a grounding product (such as my Organic Earth Touch Mini Grounding Mat, shown below) is properly grounded through a PureGround cord. You can clearly again see the green light on the tester lighting up to. confirm that the grounding mat is fully grounded:
I hope that Earthing Institute will update their page to confirm the PureGround cord is grounded, as their own testers serve to confirm what our testers show as well. You can verify this for yourself as well using any of these testers, that send electrons the correct way:
- Desco 19350 (the industry gold standard)
- Hakko 498 (and copies)
- Botron B8203
- Earthing.com’s new continuity tester
- and of course the PureGround ground test meter
Some testers that send electrons the wrong way:
- SL-035
- Aesops 32012
- old style Earthing.com continuity testers
“But It Sounds So Simple When A Voltmeter Reads Zero VAC”
Yes, it is tempting to connect with an unfitered wire and see AC voltage drop to zero. We think many grounding purveyors have been using this “trick” to sell cords to the unaware. But in reality we know it is simply allowing man-made alternating current to flow through your body, and those who are electrosensitive can feel that.
The Earthing Institute states that all ground cords are shielded, I wish that were the case (I think all ground cords should be PureGround cords!)
But in reality there is no filter to stop AC current and no shielding material around the outside of a standard ground cord, so this allows a standard ground cord to resonate with electrical fields in the environment and carry that up to the grounding tool.
I created this video for you to show this to you through testing with a multimeter and other testers. This will give you immediate clarification:
“But the Earthing Institute says the PureGround cord stops electrons from reaching you?”
If you are confused, that’s what other grounding companies are relying on. Until the Earthing Institute acknowledges the millions of folks that can literally feel the current running up a standard ground cord into their body, they will rely on confusion and misleading claims to hang on to your business.
The PureGround cord only allows current to flow in one direction, with electrons from the earth heading straight to your body as you need them. Ahhhh… that’s called a DC current, and is responsible for the healing relief of grounding!
What the PureGround will block, and block effectively, is an AC current. Your body does not need or want to have an artificial, man-made AC current running to it. To help you understand the difference between man-made AC current and natural, healing DC current, you might enjoy this free article I wrote for you here.
Despite what the Earthing Institute hopes you will believe, the resistance to electron flow through a PureGround cord to your body is virtually the same as their standard ground cord.
Let’s put this in perspective. The speed of electrons (the speed of light) is so much faster than the speed of biological systems (you) that it makes the resistance in either ground cord completely negligible to your body and health. Whether the resistance is from the 100k Ohm resistor found in standard cords or the variable resistance from a PureGround cord, both result in delays that are virtually unmeasurable. The speed of light is 3×10^8 m/s, which is crazy fast, so small amounts of charge passing through small resistors is still incredibly fast. Any delay is measured in microseconds. A microsecond delay has zero impact on the flow of electrons to the body and the resultant health benefits.
If a grounding company is trying to scare you, by using a microsecond difference in order to try to sell you a standard ground cord that allows an artificial, man-made current to run into your body, I think it’s safe to say that your health is not that business’s number one priority and instead, gimmicks and sales are.
The Pure Choice
It’s a trick to say that 0 VAC somehow is reflecting the EMF off your body. I believe that this is being touted by companies that only offer a standard ground cord so that they do not lose sales.
But instead of making this about sales let’s make this about improving health.
Stopping AC voltage and EMFs from reaching the human body while an individual grounds is an advancement that we ultimately hope all grounding companies will embrace. Until then, we will continue to provide our customers with both options. Because in the end, if you are happy using a standard ground cord as the Earthing Institute espouses, I offer this option as well. But if you are one of the millions of people who feels symptoms when an AC current is imposed on your body, then you may wish to use a PureGround cord for grounding.
Even if you want to stay with a standard ground cord there are many additional reasons to order that cord through my Grounding Boutique. As a female owned and operated small business, one run by a physician dedicated to healthcare as opposed to a mega corporation dedicated to profit, I offer the only eco-ethical grounding tools on the market.
Our grounding boutique offers hand sewn, handmade grounding tools crafted by artisans paid an ethical wage, uses only ground cords that are made right here in the USA, and selects all natural and organic materials that are biodegradable, so that we can be kind to the earth as well.. No vinyl “leatherette” products, no plastic “PU leather” products, and no polyester sheets that will sit in a landfill for 500+ years, no ground cords that are “Made In China” either.
Just simple, eco-ethically crafted items that give you the option of grounding through a standard ground cord, or, for the electrosensitive, an AC current free grounding experience.
Standard cord or PureGround cord, I’ve got you covered.
xoxox,
Laura Koniver, MD
