When a negative is a positive.
We are conditioned, with good reason, to think negatives are bad and positives are good. However, there is one exception to the rule. Negative ions are a positive to our health and wellbeing. (And positive ions are, generally, not so good for us).
“Ions are electrically charged molecules or atoms in the atmosphere” [1].
In simplistic terms, in many cases, negative ions are nature-made and positive ions are man-made. In Supercharged Food terms, we think of negative ions as ‘supercharged energy’ and positive ions as ‘draining energy’.
Remember the feeling you get being beside a waterfall? Or under the cool of a big, leafy tree? The charge of walking along the shoreline with waves crashing? It might just be negative ions doing their thing.
“The natural and artificial energy sources include radiant or cosmic rays in the atmosphere; sunlight including ultraviolet; natural and artificial corona discharge including thunder and lightning; the shearing forces of water (Lenard effect); plant-based sources of energy”. [2]
There’s also an energy about certain places. Lightning Ridge in remote, semi-desert Australia, is a prime example. Far from a large city (or any city), under a baking sun and rich in minerals and gems Lightning Ridge is a lightning rod for negative ions.
Lee Holmes, Clinical Nutritionist from Supercharged Food, visited ‘The Ridge’ and said of the experience:
“The very second we arrived it felt like I was shedding. Shedding stress, anxiety, ‘noise’. The air was beautifully pure with sunsets supreme. I could actually feel nature and the negative ions in the atmosphere. It’s a remarkable place. I often just go-back to Lightning Ridge in my mind and feel at peace.”
The positives of negative ions
A 2008 review [2] of over a 100 years of studies found evidence that negative ions could:
- boost immune system function
- help regulate sleep patterns and mood
- reduce stress
- increase metabolism of carbohydrates and fats
- kill or inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria, viruses, and mould, such as E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus
- unpleasantness
- acute respiratory irritation
- joint symptoms
The negatives of positive ions
Positive ions, while also occurring in nature, are oftentimes created by human-made sources. They are emitted from many technological and mechanical devices and anything that’s some distance from nature.
Some familiar sources of positive ions in our personal space.
- Computers and screens
- Air-conditioned environments
- Microwave ovens
- Pollution
- Concreted areas
- Processed food (the further from nature than organic whole foods)
The influx of positive ions into our lives and bodies goes some way to explaining common ailments like tiredness, stress and lack of sleep.
Lee Holmes, suggests “Many of us are surrounded and bombarded with positive ions in our environments and in our bodies through waste in the gut. It’s one of the many positive aspects (positive, in a good way) of switching off the screen to meditate or take a walk in nature or read a book.”
FACT: Opposites actually do attract.
It’s usually only in the realm of romance where the notion of the diametrically different being drawn to each other exists. No longer!
Opposites do attract in the ionic realm. It is thought that negatively charged particles ‘attract like a magnet’ the positively charged particles in our environment or in our bodies.
For example, negatively charged diatomaceous earth and fulvic humic in Love Your Gut products, as they pass through your digestive system, ‘attract like a magnet’ the positively charged waste build-up. It’s not a fast process as the waste is years in the making but slowly and surely the daily dose of negative ions from these minerals will help move and dispose of the waste.
Negative ions for gut health.
Wouldn’t it be nice to sweep away the positively charged waste, plaque and bad bacteria in our system? Like a cleansing, cool breeze through our guts.
There are ways to offer this kindness to ourselves, and it’s through the food we eat. The closer our food is to nature, ideally organic, the more it will negate the positive ions stored in our bodies.
Increasing our fibre intake through fibre-rich food will also help dispose of the gunk in our guts. This recent article talks about fibre and constipation.
Love Your Gut: a negative ion cleansing drink
Minerals are also a natural, stored source of negative ions. As noted above, the diatomaceous earth and fulvic humic in Love Your Gut powder and Fulvic Humic Concentrate are both negatively charged minerals. In fact, fulvic humic from the mineral Leonardite, is one of nature’s most negatively charged elements. Make yourself a negative ion drink with Love Your Gut powder and supercharge it with a few drops of Fulvic Humic Concentrate.
Space invaders. Creating negative ion spaces.
As ions are everywhere it’s a good idea to up the ante in our personal space.
A negative workspace. Our workspaces, whether they are at the office or, increasingly, at home, are where our personal space is invaded by positive ions. The stress of work, computer screens emitting positively charged radiation, air-conditioning and concrete buildings all facilitate the rise of positive ions.
A few tips to creating a more negative working or home-life atmosphere:
- Fling open the windows. Fresh, moving air is always preferable to manufactured air-conditioned air.
- Reduce microwave oven use (or, better yet, wean yourself off using one at all). The microwaves flung out to heat food fast are positively charged ions. Not cool.
- Indoor plants in mineral-rich soil. They not only look lovely, they send love via negative ions.
- Negative ion candle. Our Supercharged Food candle is a world-first Australian invention. A beautiful hand-made soy candle infused with flecks of fulvic humic mineral. It’s never been done before! Fulvic humic (the same fulvic humic found in liquid concentrated in Love Your Gut Fulvic Humic concentrate) is one of Earth’s richest sources of negative ions.
Look out!
Keep your eyes out for our next Supercharge Your Gut blog: “What on diatomaceous earth?. Please feel free to give us some gut topics to tackle.
Email your suggestions to admin@superchargeyourgut.com
References
[1] Goldstein N, Arshavskaya TV, Z Naturforsch C J Biosci. 1997 May-Jun; 52(5-6):396-404.
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6213340/
[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3598548/
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