Page 52 Daily Mail, Thursday, August 29, 2019by Samantha
Brick
52 femailMAGAZINE
S
EVEN years ago, Iona Russell
had been diagnosed with
clinical depression and was
stressed from working long
hours in the court system.
Fed up with being short-tempered around her
nine-year-old son, she found the only way to
relieve her anxiety was to slip off her shoes and
walk barefoot around her garden.
It may sound bizarre, but Iona is one of a growing
number of women who say this helps them relax,
and even succeed, personally and professionally.
Advocates claim walking barefoot outside, known
as ‘grounding’, means negatively charged electrons
in the ground can neutralise positive particles in
our bodies that threaten our health. This has little
scientific support, however.
Perhaps predictably, Gwyneth Paltrow is a fan,
and her wellness site Goop suggests grounding
could alleviate the symptoms of arthritis, insomnia
and depression.
The wellness industry has seized on the trend,
marketing a glut of products that claim to help
you ‘ground’ indoors by creating a negatively
charged environment — from mats and bedding,
to wristbands, patches and conductive footwear.
Last week, actress Olivia Colman raised eyebrows
by accepting an award barefoot, having ditched
the red heels she wore to the London ceremony.
While she may simply have had enough of wearing
uncomfortable heels, should the rest of us consign
our shoes to the wardrobe more often?
Iona, 48, certainly thinks so. ‘Thanks to grounding,
I am more in control and no longer such a “shouty”
mum,’ she says. ‘My ex-husband even started
calling me Zen Iona. Grounding left me feeling
peaceful and it meant that, in home and work
situations, I didn’t react in the way I used to.’
Iona, who is single and lives in Edinburgh,
practises grounding in her garden. ‘I feel soothed
by the earth under my feet,’ she says. ‘I take deep
breaths in and out, imagining the air moving from
my head to my soles. While it can be cold, I’m lucky
to have a large garden with 200-year-old trees.’
Iona, who is now a life coach, adds: ‘When I’m in
London coaching, I often go to Holland Park, take
off my shoes and walk barefoot. It’s like recharging
your batteries. I’m often asked what I’m doing and,
when I explain, I typically get called a “hippy”!
‘One of my favourite pastimes is to walk bare-
foot around a labyrinth. The earth and energy feel
different each time. One of my favourites is near
the ocean on the west coast of Scotland.
‘The insights you get are amazing. If I ask a
question and walk without distraction, the
answer always comes through.’
Grounding has been around for more than 100
years. The benefits were first lauded by German
back-to-nature movements in the 19th century.
In the Twenties, U.S. doctors investigated the
practice of sleeping while ‘grounded’, after find-
ing that patients with insomnia were lying on the
ground, or using copper wires attached to grounded
pipes, to ‘connect’ to the earth. They believed that
charges in the air were stopping them sleeping.N
OW, some people sleep with ground-
ing wristbands, which Iona has tried.
‘I liked the idea of the bands,’ she
says. ‘They’re made from fabric and a
snap stud connects to a coil that can be “grounded”
by plugging it into electricity. But I didn’t get on
with them. I found them odd to wear in bed.
‘I have a friend who has set up a complex
grounding system from his bed, connected to a
pole in the earth outside. But I’ve decided just to
ground by walking on the grass. I look at the clouds
while feeling drawn to the Earth. I take a deep
breath and let Mother Nature do her work.’
Most modern devotees appear to agree that
walking outside daily is the most effective method.
And, while the scientific verdict on the influence
of negatively charged particles is lacking, there are
mental health benefits to spending time outside.
The NHS and mental health charity Mind
recommend grounding techniques, such as walks,
to help people cope with flashbacks, nightmares
or PTSD — though being barefoot is optional.
Mental health nurse Jo Hemming says: ‘Walking
outside (barefoot, if you want to) is one of a range
of strategies we recommend to ground yourself.
‘Others include stroking a soft, furry blanket or
pet, splashing cold water on your face, or holding
a warm drink and being aware of its taste. These
sensations connect you with the here and now.
‘Studies show grounding supports a reduction
in anxiety and increases wellbeing and resilience.
Practise and repetition is key, though, because it’s
not an overnight cure.’
Some wellness firms have encouraged the
notion that to properly ground ourselves, weWho’s for
a glass of
iceberg
water?
WE TRY
BEFORE
YOU BUY
by Alice
Smellie
D
O yOU drink water
purely to quench your
thirst? If so, perhaps
you’re missing a trick
— as various bottled
varieties claim they can also
boost levels of health, energy,
vitamins and minerals.
The UK bottled water market is worth
some £2 billion, so it’s no wonder these
products have been developed. And who
wouldn’t be seduced by the idea of on-
the-go swigging to a healthier new you?
ALICE SMELLIE sipped some of the more
extraordinary and asked nutrition
therapist Ian Marber for his verdict...ICY... BUT PRICEY
Svalbarði Polar Iceberg Water,
£74.25, svalbardi.com
WHAT IS IT? A water harvested
from polar icebergs that have
broken from the (shrinking) ice-
cap by an icebreaker: talk about
fiddling while Rome burns.
The maker says: ‘Svalbarði is
an award-winning, ultra low-
mineral, superior purity, still
Arctic iceberg water.
‘With no nitrates or pollutants, the
ultra low-minerality makes for a light
mouthfeel, with a slight bite and
sweetness. Svalbarði is an experience
for the palate, much like a fine wine.’
To most of us, it’s most notable for
costing well over £70 a bottle.
But this is a carbon-negative company
— for each bottle sold, it gives enough
money to preserve 100kg of icecap.
TASTE: The water has won a serious taste
award, however it’s impossible to drink
it without a wry grin. Pleasant — like
melted snow, which it is.
EXPERT VERDICT: Eating and
drinking locally sourced
produce is preferable. yet we
are drawn to products from
exotic locations, which have a
higher carbon footprint.
It’s great that the company
is carbon-negative, but this is
a tasteless concept.LIVE LIKE GWYNNIE
FLOW Alkaline Spring
Water, £12.74 for 12 x 500ml,
aqua-amore.com
WHAT IS IT? A
naturally alkaline
mineral water from
artesian springs
in a recyclable
carton. It is also
sold on Gwyneth
Paltrow’s lifestyle
website Goop.
‘Flow’s naturally
occurring mag-
nesium, calcium, bicarbonate,
and potassium are super-
hydrating and balancing for
your body,’ it says.
TASTE: Just like water.
EXPERT VERDICT: A drink
cannot change the body’s pH.
Suggesting a health benefit
from alkaline water shows a
lack of expert knowledge.ON-TREND CBD
Love Hemp Water,
99p for 500ml, holland
and barrett.com
WHAT IS IT: Bottled
water infused with 2 mg
CBD hemp extract.
CBD oil from cannabis
plants is a big trend at
the moment and has
been added to every-
thing from tea to facecream. Love Hemp’s website
claims that cannabidiol oil,
added to the water has anti-
inflammatory properties.
TASTE: It has a creamy, herby
aftertaste, which is pleasant.
EXPERT VERDICT: There is
some good emerging evidence
for CBD oil. I just worry that
it has become trivialised and
unmonitored. Just be mindful
of how much you consume.FIZZ WITH ENERGY
Virtue Energy
Water, Lemon &
Lime, £1.49 for
250ml, hollandand
barrett.com
WHAT IS IT? No sugar,
just a bright, spark-
ling energy water.
The energy comes
from natural sources
such as the yerba
mate plant, guarana and
ginseng and there is about
80mg natural caffeine — as
much as a cup of coffee.
TASTE: A pleasant fizzy drink.
EXPERT VERDICT: yerba mate
has caffeine, so no surprises
on the energy front.MAGNESIUM BOOST
Magnesia Still Water, £1.25
for 1.5-litres, halusky.co.uk
WHAT IS IT? A 1.5-litre bottle
contains 255mg magnesium— the recommended
daily amount for
women is 270mg and
for men 300mg. The
water comes from a
mineral spring in the
Slavkov forest in the
Czech Republic.
The website claims:
‘Magnesium influences
more than 300 meta-
bolic reactions in your
body. Its deficiency can,
therefore, easily lead to
health problems.’
TASTE: It feels like slightly flat
mineral water on the tongue.
However, it does have a
pleasant, smooth flavour.
EXPERT VERDICT: It’s better to
get magnesium through your
diet, rather than a drink.
Excess magnesium can also
cause diarrhoea, so I would
limit to just one bottle a day.GOOD FOR THE GUT
Press London
Water+ Probiotics,
£3.50 for 330ml,
press-london.com
WHAT IS IT? ‘Pink
Probiotic Water+
contains a special
strain of good
bacteria, baccilus
coagulans, which can
have a positive role on
gut health,’ it is claimed.
This water contains lemon,
agave syrup, strawberry juice
and dragonfruit juice, plus at
least one billion live cultures
in each bottle.
TASTE: Like melted raspberry
ice lolly. Truly scrumptious.
EXPERT VERDICT: Not a bad way
to take probiotics. It has mini-
mal sugars and flavourings.BLACK MAGIC?
Blk. Alkaline Fulvic
Black Mineral
Water, £2.12,
vitalifehealth.com
WHAT IS IT? Nutrient-
rich fulvic acid
compounds are found
in plants and the fertile
top layer of the soil.
When 77 naturally
occurring minerals
are added to spring
water, it turns black. The
website claims blk. will help
athletes ‘achieve and main-
tain optimal performance’.
TASTE: The black is off-putting,
but it tastes like any water.
EXPERT VERDICT: Athletes need
vitamins and minerals — but
not necessarily from water.QUICK COLLAGEN
WOW Hydrate
Protein Tropical
Water, £1.25 for
500ml, tesco.com
WHAT IS IT? Why have
an egg or glass of milk
when you can drink
tropical flavoured
water? This contains
20g collagen protein
plus 33 per cent of the
recommended daily
intake of vitamins such as
C, D and B6.
It ‘delivers the essential
ingredients, refuelling the
body without carbs or sugar’.
TASTE: The tangerine-coloured
water is incredibly sweet.
EXPERT VERDICT: This is like
having a multivitamin and I
don’t think there’s anything
wrong with that. But 20g of
collagen protein seems a lot.Picture: DIAMOND SKY IMAGESThat’s one of the
cool new bottled
varieties. Just
one problem:
it’ll cost you £75!