Negative is good when it's ions

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Saturday, 30 October 2010 16:35

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Negative isn't bad

Negative is great!

The penny dropped recently while trail running in a magnificent natural forest in Durban. The air was moist and much cleaner and cooler than outside. It tingled with health and goodness and reminded me of a techno-babble self-review from one of the newfangled magnetic power bands. It praised the power of negative ions to prevent every bad thing and enhance every good thing. Forests had especially high levels of negative ions, it said. Apparently, science proves that in nature we have positive and negative ions, which are simply electrons that have gained or lost their electrical charges.

This time round, the negative ones are the good guys. "Generally speaking, negative ions increase the flow of oxygen to the brain; resulting in higher alertness, decreased drowsiness, and more mental energy," says Pierce J. Howard, PhD, author of The Owner's Manual for the Brain and director of research at the Centre for Applied Cognitive Sciences in Charlotte in the USA.

Website todayshealthbuzz.com says ions are created in nature when air molecules break apart due to sunlight, radiation, moving air and water. Beaches, waterfalls, forests, lakes and mountains - they're beautiful to look at and amazing to experience... and not only for their views. At these places, you're being exposed to high concentrations of negative ions - in the tens of thousands per cm3 compared to the average home or office, which contain mere dozens or hundreds. Some register a flat zero, which is why we perceive them to be unpleasant and lifeless.

Little wonder that we multisporters love nature so much. Spare us the gym, unless it's absolutely essential to make us faster in the outdoors.

One place that certainly had an off-the-scale negative ion reading was the Hi-Tec Otter African Trail Run. We were there and you can read the rave reviews on page 10 of our Nov/Dec 2010 issue. I hope that you'll enjoy the epic journey through the magnificent Tsitsikamma National Park as much as we did.

Oh. Now that you've read this, put down your mag, get out there, experience nature and get your daily dose of good negativity!

Deon Braun aka the Oxymoronist