(Pseudo)Science Proves Hugging Trees Is Good for (nothing) Health

Yesterday I saw an article from a website called Earth We Are One that claimed that hugging a tree can be good for our health (read the article here).

Obviously I am skeptical of this, and with a very good reason.

First, the title alone makes it sound like trees can affect your physical health, but in the third paragraph it clearly states that all it affects is your mental health (with the exception of headaches), particularly mental illnesses, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), concentration levels, reaction times, and depression, and that they can do all this through altering your "vibrations".

While being around and touching a tree might affect you mental health and help you with all the things stated, the effects are only temporary and can be achieved through other means, such as meditation or listening to soft music.

In other words hugging a tree is nothing more than a placebo, and doesn't alter your vibrations because the vibrations that are being talked about do not exist.

As for being able alleviate headaches, headaches tend to go away on there own, but a person can make a headache go away faster if they put themselves in a relaxing situation, which I imagine being near a tree and away from other stresses can do for a person, but the tree itself is not doing anything to help you, it's all you.

Second, there are only two references in the entire article, and neither one are even close to being reliable.

The first one is a site called Blinded By Science, which is a website created to sale a book that is nothing more than a bunch of New Age woo coupled with pseudoscience.

The author of the book, Matthew Silverstone, is not a scientist. It clearly states so in his "about" section, and that he has no scientific or medical degrees, just ones in economics and international business.

The second reference is from Natural News...

Besides the fact that the part that the article is referencing Natural News is talking about water vibration, which has nothing to do with what is being discussed, the Natural News article itself is pretty much just a rewritten version of the article from Earth We Are One, and it also only has links to two other sources: Natural News and Blinded By Science.

Plus, it's Natural News, the worst "science" website out there. Referencing it in any way other than to show why you shouldn't reference it would for most people automatically invalidate whatever it is you're talking about.

The third and final thing that stuck out to me is that the article talked about how other studies confirmed that hugging trees are good for you.

While this sounds goods and makes it seem like there may be something to this tree hugging thing, the problem is that there are no links to these so called studies. There should be atleast a few on there because the article claims that there are "countless" studies confirming tree hugging is good for you, but the only two references on there are from non-reliable sources.

This is nothing more than a mixer of pseudoscience and New Age woo, and despite it's claim it has no science proving that tree hugging does anything for you beyond the placebo effect.

Breatharianism: One of the dumbest (and most dangerous) things of the New Age Movement

Breatharianism. It's a belief in the New Age Movement that people can live off of air and sunlight alone, and do not need food (and for some, water) to live, and that people can convert air and sunlight into prana, or life energy, with according to practitioners is all a person needs to live.

Now many skeptics are in debate about breatharianism. The debate of course isn't about whether it works or not, as all agree that it doesn't. The debate is about whether it one of the dumbest things to come from the New Age Movement, or if it's one of the craziest. The one thing that all skeptics will agree upon is that it is definitely one of the most dangerous.

No organism on the planet can live off of sunlight and air alone, be it either animal, or plant, or microbe. All lifeforms on this planet require at the very least water and nutrients in order to live. In fact for many lifeforms sunlight and air isn't even required in order to live, just water and nutrients.

Now we of course need air to live (although sunlight isn't really needed, it is a good thing to get, so as soon as you finish reading this, I recommend you go outside and get some sun) we can not live on air alone, because air does not contain any nutrients and other substances we need to live other than oxygen. Sunlight has the same problem with not having any nutrients and substances either, and thus cannot be used as a source of energy for the human body. The only the way to get nutrients and substances into our bodies that can be converted into energy is through food.

The amount of energy we can get from food (via digesting it) is measured in calories. The amount of calories a person needs is on average is around 2400 (this of course varies from person to person, depending on the person's size, how active they are, and their metabolic rate). Of course what you eat is also important as well, as a well balanced diet is necessary for a healthy life (getting 2400 calories a day in just cake and ice cream is not healthy no matter what). Air and sunlight does not contain anything that can be measured as calories, thus it cannot be converted into energy inside the human body.

Of course there is the claim that air and sunlight can be converted into prana, but there is a major problem with this claim: There's no evidence what so ever that humans can somehow convert air and sunlight into prana (or any other type of energy necessary to live). In fact there's no evidence at all that prana even exists, more or less that we humans can live off of just prana alone.

Some of you might be asking "if breatharianism is impossible, then how come some many people claim to be successful at it?" The answer is simple: they are lying, and they eat as much as we do.

Several high profile members of the breatharian movement have in fact been caught cheating (i.e. eating). Probably one of the most famous breatharians to get caught cheating is Wiley Brooks, who does admit to occasionally having a Double Quarter Pounder with cheese from McDonalds, and a Diet Coke.

One high profile member, by the name of Ellen Greve, a.k.a. Jasmuheen, actually did try to prove that a person could live off of air and sunlight alone, and agreed to do so under controlled conditions (i.e. she was being watched 24/7) after accepting a challenge from the Australian version of 60 Minutes (whom also filmed her) back in 1999. The test was stopped after four days after she began experiencing life threatening conditions due to dehydration.

Of course Ellen Greve got lucky. Many people who have tried to live the breatherian lifestyle (including followers of Greve) have either given up because they found out pretty quickly that it can't be done, or they died from severe malnutrition and/or dehydration. This of course is why so many skeptics (and doctors and scientists) consider breatharianism to be so dangerous.

People simply can not live off of air and sunlight alone. Everyone needs food in order to survive, including immobile people in vegetative states (which is why they are often times hooked up to feeding tubes). If you try to live off of air and sunlight, you are going to die.

Debunking Earthing

A few days ago I was alerted to a short video on Youtube about something called "Earthing", which is something to do about humans getting energy from the Earth (and I'm not talking about geothermic energy either).

Here is the short video that I watched:

Now the first claim in this video says this:

• So we all know the sun's energy is crucial for good health.

This is true. The sun's light is necessary for the production of Vitamin D inside of our skin, which is necessary for our bodies. Of course to much exposure can also led to the production of skin cancer too...

The video then goes on to claim this:

• But did you know that the Earth's energy is also crucial for good health? When we make direct contact with the surface of the Earth, our bodies receive a charge of energy that makes our bodies feel better, fast. This is called "Earthing."

Now this is where we get into the pseudoscience part.

Human beings do not receive energy from the Earth, and there are no studies that show this. In fact, other then from eating and drinking food, we can't receive energy by any actual means.

If you are outside and you "feel" like you are receiving energy from the Earth, what you're experiencing is not the receiving of energy from the Earth, but a placebo effect in which you only think you're receiving energy from the Earth.

The next claim in the video states that:

• Throughout history people were always "naturally" absorbing the Earth's energy, but in today's world we live most of our lives inside, and even when we do go outside, we usually wear shoes, which prevent us from connecting.

Back in the "good old days" working outside was far more common then it is today. This is because most people tended to have jobs that required working outside. It was also far more common for people back then to die in their 40's and 50's than it is today as well.

People simply didn't live as long in the past as they do today. The reason for that is because of a combination disease and the occasional lack of food. While a lack of food could be a hard thing to prevent back then, one of the things that helped prevent some diseases then (and now) however is shoes. Shoes help prevent us from cutting our feet on things like sticks and rock, and then getting infections from stepping in bacteria and parasite infested water and animal droppings.

Besides all of this, there is still no proof what so ever that we have ever been able to absorb energy from the Earth through our skin.

This claim makes it appear that we better off in the past when more of us were barefooted, when in reality the exact opposite is true.

The next claim then goes on to say:

• So of course we often feel drained and achy, because we go for days, or even years, without ever touching the Earth.

This is implying that people back in the "good old days" didn't get tired at the end of a work day. This is not true at all. In fact people tended to work themselves to death back then.

Besides that, all people have varying amounts of stamina. Some people can work from dawn to dusk and not get tired, some people can only work for a couple of hours before they feel like they need a nap. Touching the Earth has nothing to do with how we feel during the day.

The following claim made says this:

• But it doesn't have to be this way. You can start receiving the benefits of Earthing by going barefoot outside. The more time, the better! This alone can be life changing, and it's free!

Really?! Because I've gone outside barefoot many times, and it's never been life changing to me...

Standing out in your yard barefoot for a few hours is not going to change your life. That's just wishful thinking. It takes a lot more then just standing outside barefooted for a person to change their life.

The final claim made states:

• And if you love feeling great while Earthing outdoors, now you can start Earthing indoors too! Simply connect your Earthing product into the third hole of an outlet, which directly connects to the existing ground rod of your home. This connection lets you safely and conveniently receive Earth's energy from where ever you are, whether that be working, or playing, and especially while you're sleeping, because while Earthing you'll sleep deeper, feel more refreshed in the morning, and wake up looking terrific! And the best part, any one can benefit from this life changing discovery!

It figures. Ultimately they are trying to sell you something.

Feeling refreshed in the morning isn't going to result from sleeping on some special "pad" that's suppose to send energy from the Earth into you body (in fact I imagine if that was to actually happen, it might keep a person awake). It actually has allot to do with your comfort level, which can be affected by multiple factors (the mattress, room temperature, noise, how dark it is) and also much sleep you actually get.

I've checked out the website listed at the end of the video (Earthing.com), and the only things that they are selling are some (in my opinion) over priced "Earthing" pads, some over priced grounding rods (which most people won't even need in first place, as most of the time the grounding holes in the power outlets tend to be grounded), and of course a book on Earthing.

Now also on the website itself there is a lot of inform in the FAQ section about how Earthing (and the products being sold) allegedly works, along with a testimonials section. What the website does not provide is a peer reviewed, scientific study stating that Earthing itself even works, more or less that the products being sold will give you more energy.

The only thing that Earthing in itself seems to be is a bunch New Age woo and energy woo.