Magnetic therapy has been used by many civilizations throughout history to treat illness. Ancient Egyptian priests used magnetic therapy, well documenting their use of magnets, as did the Greek physician Hippocrates and the Swiss Chemist Paracelsus, who believed that magnets could attract disease out of the body. Since the 1950's, Scientists in the US have been aware of the effects of the magnetic field on our coordination and overall health. Immune deficiency syndromes, such as chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia, were first identified as magnetic field deficiency syndromes. Russians successfully used magnetic therapy during and after World War II, specifically to treat pain from amputation, and magnets have since been approved in countries throughout the world as a treatment for a wide variety of conditions that affect our health and well being.

MagneticTherapy balances our positive and negative energy which is so important to normal body function. Since our blood is composed of positively and negatively charged particles including iron, magnets increase blood flow and produce more oxygen to be used by areas of the body that require healing. Magnets can also balance the blood pH, help release toxins, and are probably best known for reducing pain, with dramatic, measurable results in terms of recovery from injury.

Americans have been, perhaps, the most enthusiastic about magnetic therapy. According to one report, health conscious Consumers, combined with Medical Professionals, are spending in excess of one billion dollars a year on magnetic devices, a rise from 500 million in 2007.

Magnets are thought to modulate the pain receptors and/or reduce the neuron activity which causes pain, improves circulation and blood oxygen, alkalinizes body fluids, decreases toxin buildup in blood vessel walls (such as cholesterol plaque) relaxes blood vessels and muscles through increased cellular calcium and stimulates endorphins which naturally elevate our mood and kill pain.

NYU, Yale and John Hopkins University confirm that pain from venous ulcers, arthritis and tendonitis are reduced through magnet therapy. The Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation state that pain was reduced significantly for post-polio patients when certain points were exposed to magnets. Menstrual cramps and low backache are relieved with magnets applied to the pelvic area, and whiplash, head and knee injuries all showed marked relief in various studies. These are just a very small sampling from the ongoing research on magnetic applications in the context of health and longevity.

The earth is a huge magnet, but experts claim that the earth's magnetic shield has declined by 50 percent over the last 100,000 years, and in only the last 100 years it has declined a full 5 percent. Some experts say the Earth has lost up to 90% or its original magnetism and that life on earth will become impossible if this decline continues much further. Other researchers indicate that a polar shift is eminent on earth which would cause the magnetic north to become south and vice versa, a shift that has happened many times before in the Earth's history, a shift that is likely to totally obliterate the earth's magnetic shield for a time, exposing all life on earth to dangerous levels of space radiation and other unknown dangers, even possible extinction.

Compounding this natural decline are other factors that interfere with our natural connection to the earth's magnetic field which is so vital to our health and well being. According to the US Surgeon General, EMF fields from television, radio, household appliances and power lines can be harmful, which is why Colorado has undertaken the huge project of burying power lines in an attempt to mitigate their negative effect on our environment and health. Buildings made of iron and steel are also thought to deplete the Earth's magnetic field, just as our magnets are made less powerful over time when they are used repeatedly to attract metal objects.

Dr. Nakagawa, the Director of Tokyo's Isuzu Hospital, verified that this "Magnetic field deficiency Syndrome" interferes with normal body functions. Japan's equivalent of the food and drug administration has approved magnets in the treatment of injuries and magnets have long been used for a variety of applications there, as well as in the majority of countries.

Magnetic field generators have been installed in all manned spaceships after finding that bone marrow and cell production decline sharply and eventually cease, and the immune system is quickly and severely depressed without the normal magnetic field. So you can see why the experts place so much importance on magnetism.

Could it be that by simply supplementing the earth's natural energy field, many discomforts and health concerns could vanish by using magnets to approximate what the earth's geometric field used to be? Well experiments in the laboratory have started to indicate a longevity factor in mice who are daily exposed to a stronger magnetic field, and the Taoists have believed this for thousands of years, favoring flat lode stones or naturally magnetic rocks for their chi kung and tai chi practice. In this day and age, kung fu and martial arts magazines advertise rare earth magnetic plates for use during chi kung and other marital arts practice to increase strength and coordination.

Magnets have long been thought to affect brain function and it is said that Cleopatra wore a magnet over her third eye to magnify her intuition and mental acuity. Magnet therapy is now being studied and used as a treatment for severe depression. This treatment, called Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) consists of electro magnets applied to the left, front part of the head for about 5 minutes, inducing an electric current that stimulates mood enhancing neurotransmitters in the brain painlessly. As with anti-depressant medications, TMS affects brain functions and chemical activity, effectively "jump -starting" mood regulation structures in the brain, resulting in dramatic improvements in depressed patients. Vitamin and mineral supplements containing magnetically charged mineral particles are also being sold to enhance brain function, memory and concentration.

Pulsed electromagnetic fields are used in hospitals and treatment centers to improve the healing of fractures that have failed to heal properly after several weeks. And Aetna reports that carpal tunnel syndrome, diabetic foot pain, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and tinnitus as well as all kinds of pain show promising improvement with magnetic therapy. Christiane Northrup M.D., in her book The Wisdom of Menopause details an electromagnetic stimulation therapy for patients with urinary incontinence (including both stress and urge incontinence) that incorporates a magnetic coil which emits electromagnetic pulses, to a seated individual, that induces contractions of the pelvic floor muscles. A course of therapy may involve up to two 20-minute treatments per day over eight weeks.

The pH of the blood is affected by magnets and when a person's magnetic field is not balanced, but is predominantly positive, an acidic condition can develop in the body which may create health problems like arthritis, dementia, insomnia, obesity and pain. A negatively charged field is said to encourage a more alkaline condition which can increase oxygen uptake, reduce swelling and fluid retention and relieve pain. A negative field discourages growth which allows it to act as an anti-viral, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial agent. But an imbalance to the negative side can cause spaciness and weakness in certain organs, while a positive field encourages growth which is thought to help bones grow, strengthen and heal faster, among other things.

Our diet and lifestyle can contribute to a magnetic imbalance which is just one aspect of a systemic imbalance that can lead to disease. Anger, rage, depression and sadness, as well as toxic chemicals and pesticides, air pollution, caffeine, nicotine and refined foods have all been shown to increase positively charged ions, contributing to an acidic condition. This concept of positive/negative, alkaline/acid balance is very much in alignment with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) which places so much importance on balancing the yin and the yang for optimal health. Healing diets and herbal remedies in TCM are gauged for their yin and yang balancing affect and prescribed accordingly. Many TCM Practitioners also believe that magnets affect the flow of chi, or life force through the body, especially when applied to certain acupuncture points and some regularly use magnets in their practice.

When magnets help balance the blood pH, the body becomes an unfavorable environment for disease, which promotes healing. Magnetic therapy has been found to break down scar tissue and to detoxify the body which accelerates any kind of healing. Magnets encourage the migration of calcium, which helps heal bones, but at the same time, can help eliminate excess calcium from the joints and other parts of the body.

This is important because calcification occurs throughout the body. The Mayo Clinic has published research that indicates that tiny nano-bacteria, no larger than a virus, inhabit these calcium 'reefs' that can form in any organ, artery or vein, as well as the joints. These nanobacteria, and their hard protective calcium shells contribute to a wide variety of health issues, from "hardening" of the arteries, arthritis to cataracts and hearing loss ("hard" of hearing). In fact they may be a factor in almost all chronic disease conditions.

But all researchers do not agree on the proper use of magnets. A newer field of research has identified a factor in water that is present in varying degrees in all living organisms that is being called "ormus" which might be likened to the Vedic/yogic concept of "prana". This ormus factor is thought to be closely related to Dr. Masaro Emoto's fascinating research on the effect of music, intention, speech and writing on water, as presented in his book Messages from Water. Ormus is very strongly affected by magnets, in fact ormus can be concentrated in water with a magnet "trap" that separates out the ormus concentrated water. Considering that our body is 55% to 78% ormus containing water, researchers in this field have varied greatly in their opinion of magnetic therapy, and have expressed caution about exposing the human body to magnetic fields until further research can better guide us in their proper use.

Nevertheless, there are a wide variety of magnetic devices available to us on the market, including massagers, magnetic sleeping pads, wraps, cushions, shoe insoles, shower magnets, adhesives, necklaces and bracelets. Quality magnets with a gauss strength greater than 400 will give the best results and very strong rare earth magnets are widely available for purchase as well. A controversial device called a magnetic pulsar is being sold as a healing tool which is proving effective in treating all kinds of health issues, but why it is so effective is not exactly known. Some have theorized that the pulsed magnetic field erases the "memory of the disorder" in the diseased or injured body part, allowing it to revert or reform back to its original wholeness, possibly by affecting the ormus molecules contained in the inter and extra cellular fluids of the area affected.

Magnets applied to drinking water are said to enhance it by helping to reduce the size of the water molecules, forming them into structures that allow the water to penetrate our cells and hydrate us better and faster. Research with live blood cell analysis show that red blood cells that are abnormally clumped together, separate into a healthier, free floating configuration within minutes of drinking mineralized water which has been put into a spin state with the help of magnets. And shower water will be noticeably softer and more effective for cleansing when a shower magnet is applied.

The majority of the Alternative and Holistic Health community, as well as most of the medical establishments of the world, agree that if you suffer pain, whether it is from arthritis, migraines, menstrual cramps, backaches, sports injuries and almost any kind of pain, magnetic therapy can offer a safe, effective alternative to drugs and invasive treatments. And as the Earth's magnetic field continues to decline, researchers may continue to discover further benefits from exposing ourselves to the strong magnetic fields that are so vital to our overall health and well being.

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