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The healing power of magnets
23rd October 2005
In The Good Life Letter, I often like to take a stroll off the beaten track of conventional thought.
I mean, if you wanted me to advise 8 glasses of water and bed rest for every ailment, you could just pick up the health pages of your daily tabloid, couldn't you?
There'd be no need for me or my strange facts!
So I hope you don't mind me taking you on a brief journey into a subject that makes sceptical scientists weep.
And yet many people believe in it... and, as I'm about to show you... some scientists are beginning to wonder...
Are people right about magnets?
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Can magnets cure aches and pains?
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Many, many people through history have claimed that magnets can help relieve muscle and joint pains, ease depression and cure insomnia.
It sounds strange, I know, but let's think about it rationally for a moment.
The earth is a huge magnet. There are magnetic fields all around us all the time. Many creatures, such as homing pigeons, butterflies, and bees can navigate using this magnetic field.
Even humans can roughly sense magnetic direction, (except for Lara when she drives around Bristol.)
One theory about how this works is based on a magnetic substance called magnetite, which has been discovered in the tissue of many living things, human brain included.
Researchers have found magnetite clusters near the brain's allimportant, magnetically sensitive pineal gland, which secretes hormones that affect your whole body.
Not only are we affected by magnetic fields but we also generate them, thanks to the chemistry of our cells and nervous systems. For example, scientists can measure the brain and heart's magnetic fields.
Think of your body as being built out of individual 'electrical' cells. Each cell has a positive charge at its nucleus, and a negative charge.
So by using magnetic energy, it may be possible to help the body regain the energy it needs to repair itself.
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An ancient form of healing reborn
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Ancient Greek, Egyptian and Chinese civilisations all used natural magnets to heal. Legend has it that Cleopatra wore a magnetic amulet on her forehead to preserve her youth.
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But now modern research is coming up with some interesting conclusions.
It seems that when magnets are held against the skin, your capillary walls relax, allowing your blood to flow to the painful areas more easily.
By interfering with the electrochemical reactions in your body, they can also stop your nerve cells sending so many pain messages to the brain.
So could they be a healthier alternative to over-the-counter painkillers?
Let's take a look.
- One study published in the British Medical Journal team looked at how magnets could relieve osteoarthritis pain. A group of sufferers wore a standard strength magnetic band. A second group wore a weaker one. The third wore a 'fake magnet' band. The group wearing the standard strength magnets reported the most reduction in pain.
- In a study at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston - they found that magnets eased the pain in 76% of patients with 'post-polio' syndrome (which involved leg pain).
- At New York Medical College of Valhalla, they found that magnetic footpads could ease foot pain in diabetics.
- Dr. Mark S. George, an associate professor of psychiatry, neurology and radiology at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, did a controlled experiment on the use of magnets to treat depression. He only studied twelve patients for two week, but further research seems to support his theory that magnetic pulses may help some patients with severe depression.
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How to use magnets
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Magnets are usually positioned at certain points on your body where the pain is.
For example, you can use magnetic insoles for foot and leg pain, magnetic headbands for your headaches, bands around the elbow or fingers...
If you'd like to see if magnets can help you, I'd suggest you try them out for yourself. You can buy them from various websites and stores.
While researching I found this one click here
There's still a lot of scepticism out there about magnets, but this weird and wonderful topic has certainly got me intrigued and, when I find out more, you'll be the first to know.
Yours as ever,
Ray Collins
The Good Life Letter
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