Chronic disease: are we missing something?

Chronic disease is the no. 1 cause of death and disability in the United States. Treating patients with chronic diseases accounts for 75% of the nation’s health care spending, which surpassed $2.3 trillion in 2008. The most common and costly chronic diseases are heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, osteoporosis, and diabetes. Other significant conditions include Alzheimer disease, asthma, bowel disorders, cirrhosis of the liver, cystic fibrosis, lupus, meningitis, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, and arthritis. Many patients suffer from several of these problems simultaneously. Diabetes alone accounts for 10% of all health care dollars spent, with age-related osteoporosis affecting about 28 million Americans. A report in this issue of the Journal by two physicians, Pawel and Karol Sokal (301–308), relates to all of the chronic issues mentioned above. These authors point out that our preoccupation with treating symptoms may have distracted us from noticing that there is a common denominator to many diseases: Our contemporary civilization may be depriving us of something our bodies require if we are to be healthy. Perhaps this missing ‘‘something’’ is directly associated with all of the costly and uncomfortable chronic diseases mentioned above. The Sokals looked for universal regulating factors in nature that are related to the chronic diseases they see every day in their clinics. They concluded that interaction of the human body with the electrical charge of the earth is such a factor, and they present evidence that a connection to the earth (sometimes referred to as Earthing or grounding) is essential for normal physiology. Our shoes, with their insulating soles made of plastic or rubber, and our contemporary homes and buildings have disconnected us from a vital ‘‘nutrient’’ in the form of electrons from the earth. The Sokals measured parameters that are used routinely to diagnose many of the diseases listed above. Specifically, diabetes, osteoporosis, hyperthyroidism, and related metabolic, endocrine, and regulatory disorders produce characteristic changes in blood chemistry. The Sokals studied the effects of connecting the human body to the earth on various aspects of blood chemistry and urinary excretion, using wellcontrolled double-blind study designs. Earthing or grounding during sleep resulted in statistically significant changes in the concentrations of minerals and electrolytes in the blood serum: iron, ionized calcium, inorganic phosphorus, sodium, potassium, and magnesium. There was also a statistically significant reduction in renal excretion of both calcium and phosphorus during a single 7or 8-hour night of sleeping grounded or Earthed. The observed reductions in blood and urinary calcium and phosphorus directly relate to osteoporosis. Specifically, Earthing for a single night reduced the primary indicators of osteoporosis. Diseases affecting bone and mineral metabolism encompass a wide range of skeletal and soft-tissue disorders. Recent research is documenting regulatory interactions between the skeleton, fat tissue, and energy metabolism. Leptin is a hormone produced by adipose tissue that regulates bone metabolism; bone cells secrete another hormone, osteocalcin, which appears to influence energy metabolism, including both insulin secretion and adipose cell metabolism. Diabetes lowers bone density by an unknown mechanism. Hyperthyroidism speeds the cyclic bone remodeling process, resulting in a steady decline in bone density. Digestive disorders interfere with intestinal absorption of calcium and phosphate. Asthma, multiple sclerosis, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis can be comorbid with osteoporosis because those conditions are often treated with steroids, which interfere with bone deposition. Multiple sclerosis, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis also slow bone deposition because those afflicted with those disorders are less mobile and get less exercise. The point is that the chronic issues identified through studies of blood chemistry interact with one another. Of increasing significance is a set of conditions termed metabolic syndrome, the name given to a group of risk factors that can occur together and increase the risk for coronary artery disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. The Sokals also found that Earthing the human body during rest and physical activity has a direct, beneficial effect on the regulation of blood glucose. Recall from above that diabetes currently accounts for 10% of all health care expenditures in the United States. The Sokals also discovered that thyroid function is influenced by Earthing, as documented by a significant decrease of free tri-iodothyronine and an increase of free thyroxin and thyroid stimulating hormone. Through a series of feedback regulations, thyroid hormones affect almost every physiologic process in the body, including growth and development, metabolism, body temperature, and heart rate. Finally, the Sokals studied the classic immune response that takes place following vaccination. Earthing accelerated the