To be barefoot or not to be barefoot – that is the question?

Added July 9, 2009, Under: Exercise, Health

Today I received an email with a video link to David Wolfe and his barefoot and grounding technology and as I watched it extolling the virtues of going barefoot, it got me thinking.

First of all the video itself was very interesting and explained how the earth gives off electrons which are so beneficial to us.  To get the benefit of these electrons, we need to walk barefoot on grass, sand, earth or in water or swim in a natural body of water such as a lake or the sea so that our bare skin has the necessary contact.  Hugging a tree will work too!   The more contact, the more advantages to our general health and wellbeing.  The process is called grounding (or earthing) and it is even helpful to counteract jetlag.  If you can have an hour of grounding after a long flight or car journey, it takes away all that jet lag and those other effects of long distance travel.

I can see that there are definite advantages to going barefoot in your own home and surroundings but then I got to thinking about the down side of going barefoot in public places.

There are two conditions that can easily be picked up and these are athletes foot and plantar warts.  Although these conditions thrive in the inside of a dark, moist and sweaty shoe, they are initially picked up on bare feet from public places like pool surrounds, locker rooms, and gyms.  Fortunately, if you treat them early on, both conditions are easy to get rid of. Then there is the danger of pieces of glass, rusty nails, stepping on a bee and more.  It is wise to have a regular tetanus injection.  You might be worried too about stepping in human or animal waste.  But many pro-barefooters will tell you that you are not going to put your foot into your mouth (well not literally anyway) or on to your food, so no germs will be transferred that way.

When I was a child growing up in East Africa, we were never allowed to go barefoot outside because of the fear of “jiggers”.  These were tiny insects that would burrow into your feet and itch like crazy until someone was able to extract them.  I have since googled the word “jiggers” and discover that they are jigger fleas or chigoe fleas – parasitic arthropods found in tropical climates!  Another danger was down at the coast when, if walking barefoot on the coral reef, you could so easily tread on a sea urchin and end up with a whole lot of spikes in your foot.  Parents would then press half an overripe paw paw fruit to the foot which would gradually draw out the spikes.  It was safest to wear tackies (sand shoes) and then you were protected.  The very best place for walking barefoot was on the lovely white soft sand of the beach itself.  Nothing to beat it!

Sadly, Western society as a whole is against both adults and children going barefoot.  They feel it is unsanitary and uncouth.  Interestingly, there is no foot odor when barefoot and barefoot walking is a more gentle, quiet and natural way compared to the noise that many shoes make with clicking heels, slapping slipslops or stomping boots.

I think we have to find a middle road here.

We should make a point of going barefoot and encouraging our children to do so on a regular basis in a safe environment such as the home, the garden, the beach or a grassy park so that we can both feel nature through our feet and tune in to that grounding advantage.

I know that from now on, I am going to make a point of taking off my shoes and having a long walk on the beach every weekend.  I am lucky enough to live just a few miles from the sea, so I just cannot let all those electrons go to waste.