If you can plant trees all the time you can stay healthy. OK, not a perfect recipe, but it is better than sitting at the computer all day for me. Over the years my health has gone downhill. But when tree planting season comes around, health picks up. Over the last winter I picked up gout on the right foot to add to my health problem list. If I liked gardening that is good exercise too, but I don’t. I just like fruit trees.
Another problem is I do not get any earth grounding anymore. Before covid I used to go to St. Martin for a couple weeks every year. I could walk on the beach and have some earth contact. I grew up in L.A. and had lots of earthing beach time in polluted Santa Monica Bay. When I moved to the Rustbelt, earth contact was limited when it came to beaches.
With earth contact, one thing you got to be careful with is plantar warts. I got a couple of them from my beach days and had trouble getting rid of them. Finally, after many trips to the dermatologist they got them. But that was decades ago. Now the doctors are a crapshoot with quality of service. I would just make sure to wash my feet well with a loofa if I spent time barefoot on the dirt.
I don’t even know if earth grounding is real or BS. But when I look at my life, I am never in direct contact with the earth. Car is insulated with tires. Feet are insulted with rubber shoes, hands are insulated with double pair of nitrile gloves. When kneeling, bare knees on a rubber pad. When digging, the metal shovel is insulated with wood or fiberglass handle.
I just bought an earthing sheet for my bed and 100% I believe it works, I have more vivid dreams ever since I started using it and I am sleeping better and feel more rested.
If that happens again use a pill cutter to split an aspirin into four pieces and use athletic tape to hold one piece in place on top of the head. After a few weeks of showering the piece will have crumbled, so put a new one on. The salicylic acid will kill it in time.
I have walked barefoot on earth and pavement over many years. The concrete sidewalk that I was walking helped abrade and reveal the head for easier treatment but since it was a five mile loop I would still carry my sport sandals on a shoulder strap in case the bottoms of my feet wore out.
I don’t personally subscribe to feeling more connected as a result of earthing but I do recognize that the support muscles in my feet and lower legs become more developed as a result of increased involvement. Walking barefoot for miles on the beach is inadvisable until ones lower legs become accustomed to the use.
anytime outdoors is good for you. i live in crocs from late Apr. until Oct. I’m constantly dumping dirt and sticks out and rinsing my feet off with the hose before going in the house. my feet get pretty dirty. i believe it’s why i rarely get sick or infections. my brothers’ kids are 5 and 2 and they are outside barefoot sometimes in the snow in early spring. those kids never complain about being outside no matter the weather.
*Corrections follow
I’ve got three pairs of Chacos that need repair so I’ve been in the Crocs more than normal for a minute. Crocs have a couple of styles that don’t have the holes in the forefoot area so our feet wouldn’t get so dirty and debris wouldn’t get in so easily. Those would have come in handy this last January when we got snow. I went walking in shorts and a t shirt to see if the neighbor’s sheep were out. The wintry mix got into my Crocs, wet my socks and turned them miserably cold. I ended up kicking off my [wet socks] and proceeding [in Crocs] on the edge of the road and had no issues the rest of the walk. No sheep were out of the barn but there were turkey tracks that I snapped a picture of!
[*Corrected picture from a different phone]
I believe quite strongly that being “out in the dirt” is extremely healthy.
Around here, the barefoot part, would not only not be healthy, but dangerous. Mesquite and catclaw love raw flesh.
and tires! reg. all season radials are no match for mesquite thorns. i learned that the hard way. seems everything in the desert southwest has thorns or is poisonous. backed into a yucca once out quail hunting in N.M. hurt for a month.
even here i run 10 ply tires on my Ram due to the shale they use to make the woods roads around here. if you are unfortunate enough to go down those roads after they have been graded , you’re almost certain to suffer sometimes more than 1 flat.
I wear sandals in the shower if it is a public place or a gym, and unlike some others I have seen () I don’t kick off my shoes in restaurants or a house of worship.
Some soil-based bacteria, particularly those from the Bacillus family, are used as [soil-based probiotics] SBOs are considered spore forming probiotics because they can form a protective spore structure that allows them to survive harsh conditions in the gut.
same here. those public rugs never get washed and get all kinds of nasty stuff spilled on them. i wont swim in a public pool either, i rather swim in a lake or river. my wife thinks I’m weird.
I am a huge proponent of going barefoot to the point when I’m in shoes it’s even barefoot shoes. Everyone needs shoes with a wide toe box to allow their feet to not have muscular deterioration. I would recommend you don’t immediately walk 10k+ steps in barefoot shoes as it’s exercise for your feet but I’m in about 4 years so my feet are strong as can be now. I use vivobarefoot shoes exclusively, they are expensive but they last and imo are the best shoes you can buy. If you need work boots this doesn’t apply as they don’t make a steel toe yet. They have nice hiking boots tho, I’d encourage everyone to give them a try.
I have planted 8 trees in the last 2 days. Don’t think I need to go to the gym for a few days. I did wear boots though, since I was using an axe to get thru some roots. I can’t believe how many rocks we have here.
For the last 10 years or so I’ve only barefoot shoes, even to my office. They have helped my foot and back pain tremendously. I have extra wide feet so I haven’t been able to find any mud boots, though.
) I don’t kick off my shoes in restaurants or a house of worship.
