4 ms·

There are so many things put together here almost randomly, because of that its easy to criticise the whole thing, but there are some reasonable things in it.

There are so many things put together here almost randomly, because of that its easy to criticise the whole thing, but there are some reasonable things in it. Having barefoot connection with soil is definitely good for you, so is any reasonable exposure to nature. The key here is exposure to nature, walking on asphalt or concrete is not nature. This is about walking barefoot so that your soles connect to the soil, earth, dirt, grass or sand. In the modern world of course you have to be careful and watch out for sharp objects, all kinds of garbage etc. People who have a piece of land, garden or park access can definitely use it for barewalking, running or just standing - it doesn't matter as long as feet touch the soil, without any fancy, minimal, shoes or anything like that. In many spiritual places they require you to remove your shoes and even your socks, there are certain benefits of doing that, but even the holiest of people would wear shoes when going on rough terrain, thats just a question of sanity.

lukan 2y ago
"In modern world you have to be careful and watch out for sharp objects, all kinds of garbage etc." Also in the pre modern world. Spikey plants are in many places and my feet regular hurt in summer. "but even the holiest of people would wear shoes when going on rough terrain" Unless when done with purpose. It is a good awareness training, walking through the bushes barefeet. One moment of distraction .. ouch.
iamacyborg 2y ago
> Having barefoot connection with soil is definitely good for you Citation needed
- sebastiansm 2y ago
  Not sure of any benefit of soil-feet connection. But make sense to being able to move our feets freely without any hard sole that limits the development of the foot musculature and joints.
- lukan 2y ago
  My recommendation would be to just try it out, to feel for yourself.
  - Retr0id 2y ago
    Just because something feels good, doesn't mean it is good.
    - lukan 2y ago
      Not always, yes. But in this case I can test it by general wellbeing and shape of feet. The more I walk barefeet on grass and rock, the stronger my feet are. And more sensitiv. With shoes, I don't really feel my feet, with barefeet I can now feel the grass on different parts on my skin. Feels good. Improves my mood -> is good for me.
      - scott_w 2y ago
        While that feels good for you, this does not constitute the evidence that "going barefoot is good for you." A sibling posted some studies that would be more interesting (I'll admit I've not read them). What "good for you" would look like to me would be longer life expectancy, better health outcomes at different stages of life, etc. "Strong feet," for example, doesn't meet that standard for me. I'd want to see a link that work to actively strengthen one's feet creates those better life outcomes.
        lukan 2y ago
        Do you need a study for every little thing? You body does provide you with a quite elaborate feedback system. And you can also objectivly meassure. (E.g. how long you walk without pain) And studies can be very misleading. For example it matters a lot, if and how often you walked barefeet as a child. If you didn't, your bones will be not so strong developed and then barefeet walking/running can be even dangerous. Trusting a general study that maybe did not take this into account (or did not mentioned it prominently) here vs trusting the feedback from your nerves in your feet would be not wise.
- franktankbank 2y ago
  Come on man. 1+1=2 citation needed?
  - paulcole 2y ago
    I don’t need a citation. Just a simple explanation why it is so obvious and so beneficial.
    - franktankbank 2y ago
      Do you need an explanation of why the touch of another human would be obviously beneficial? I find walking on bare dirt or earth to be similar. I think experiencing is believing.
      - haswell 2y ago
        I think the need for an explanation/citation scales relative to how common a given anecdotal experience is. I’ve spent plenty of time walking barefoot outside but apparently have not experienced what people here are claiming. Not saying no one can/does, but at the very least the experience doesn’t seem to be universal.
        mapcars 2y ago
        Definitely there are studies about that, for example: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11211751/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11211751/ >but apparently have not experienced what people here are claiming Or you did have experience it just did not notice. The problem with experiential comparisons is that different people have different levels of sensitivity and attention. So just because you didn't feel it consciously doesn't mean you did not benefit from it.
        haswell 2y ago
        > Or you did have experience it just did not notice. Exactly my point, and this is why personal anecdotes are just not sufficient for something like this. Life is full of people telling us to do <thing>, because they’re convinced that their personal experience with that thing indicates some universal truth. In the circles I grew up in, that meant growing up unvaccinated among many other highly questionable things. The point is that the burden of proof must be higher than “it feels good to me” or what amounts to the naturalistic fallacy. I have no actual opinion about the efficacy of walking barefoot other than to note that I didn’t knowingly experience what other people passionately describe. I also know there are many things that make me feel good that have no effect on many people.
- mapcars 2y ago
  There are studies you can find about it, for example: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11211751/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11211751/ The simple way to understand it is exposure to nature activates some internal mechanisms that evolved with us through millions of years of species living in nature. In a similar manner it feels so good to go to a beach on a sunny day - you have exposure to earth, water, sun and wind.
- NoImmatureAdHom 2y ago
  Yeah...I'm not saying he's wrong, but I am saying you can get hookworm that way. Choose your soil wisely.
  - protimewaster 2y ago
    Also plantar warts.
Xmd5a 2y ago
>even the holiest of people would wear shoes when going on rough terrain, thats just a question of sanity. https://medium.com/mr-plan-publication/natures-footprints-exploring-the-remarkable-feet-of-the-huaorani-tribe-32e100583a90 https://medium.com/mr-plan-publication/natures-footprints-ex...
NikkiA 2y ago
nod I grew up with access to a big back garden, so barefoot walked on it a lot, unfortunately it involved crossing a little bit of asphalt pathway to get to, and I still have nightmares of the feeling of small sharp stones digging in my feet. A similar late-teens habit I developed was going out and laying on the grass pretty much naked, when I couldn't sleep late at night, and just staring at the milky way. It was a peace I have no idea how I'd get back.

lukan 2y ago

"In modern world you have to be careful and watch out for sharp objects, all kinds of garbage etc." Also in the pre modern world. Spikey plants are in many places and my feet regular hurt in summer. "but even the holiest of people would wear shoes when going on rough terrain" Unless when done with purpose. It is a good awareness training, walking through the bushes barefeet. One moment of distraction .. ouch.

iamacyborg 2y ago

> Having barefoot connection with soil is definitely good for you Citation needed

sebastiansm 2y ago
Not sure of any benefit of soil-feet connection. But make sense to being able to move our feets freely without any hard sole that limits the development of the foot musculature and joints.
lukan 2y ago
My recommendation would be to just try it out, to feel for yourself.
- Retr0id 2y ago
  Just because something feels good, doesn't mean it is good.
  - lukan 2y ago
    Not always, yes. But in this case I can test it by general wellbeing and shape of feet. The more I walk barefeet on grass and rock, the stronger my feet are. And more sensitiv. With shoes, I don't really feel my feet, with barefeet I can now feel the grass on different parts on my skin. Feels good. Improves my mood -> is good for me.
    - scott_w 2y ago
      While that feels good for you, this does not constitute the evidence that "going barefoot is good for you." A sibling posted some studies that would be more interesting (I'll admit I've not read them). What "good for you" would look like to me would be longer life expectancy, better health outcomes at different stages of life, etc. "Strong feet," for example, doesn't meet that standard for me. I'd want to see a link that work to actively strengthen one's feet creates those better life outcomes.
      - lukan 2y ago
        Do you need a study for every little thing? You body does provide you with a quite elaborate feedback system. And you can also objectivly meassure. (E.g. how long you walk without pain) And studies can be very misleading. For example it matters a lot, if and how often you walked barefeet as a child. If you didn't, your bones will be not so strong developed and then barefeet walking/running can be even dangerous. Trusting a general study that maybe did not take this into account (or did not mentioned it prominently) here vs trusting the feedback from your nerves in your feet would be not wise.
franktankbank 2y ago
Come on man. 1+1=2 citation needed?
- paulcole 2y ago
  I don’t need a citation. Just a simple explanation why it is so obvious and so beneficial.
  - franktankbank 2y ago
    Do you need an explanation of why the touch of another human would be obviously beneficial? I find walking on bare dirt or earth to be similar. I think experiencing is believing.
    - haswell 2y ago
      I think the need for an explanation/citation scales relative to how common a given anecdotal experience is. I’ve spent plenty of time walking barefoot outside but apparently have not experienced what people here are claiming. Not saying no one can/does, but at the very least the experience doesn’t seem to be universal.
      - mapcars 2y ago
        Definitely there are studies about that, for example: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11211751/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11211751/ >but apparently have not experienced what people here are claiming Or you did have experience it just did not notice. The problem with experiential comparisons is that different people have different levels of sensitivity and attention. So just because you didn't feel it consciously doesn't mean you did not benefit from it.
        haswell 2y ago
        > Or you did have experience it just did not notice. Exactly my point, and this is why personal anecdotes are just not sufficient for something like this. Life is full of people telling us to do <thing>, because they’re convinced that their personal experience with that thing indicates some universal truth. In the circles I grew up in, that meant growing up unvaccinated among many other highly questionable things. The point is that the burden of proof must be higher than “it feels good to me” or what amounts to the naturalistic fallacy. I have no actual opinion about the efficacy of walking barefoot other than to note that I didn’t knowingly experience what other people passionately describe. I also know there are many things that make me feel good that have no effect on many people.
mapcars 2y ago
There are studies you can find about it, for example: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11211751/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11211751/ The simple way to understand it is exposure to nature activates some internal mechanisms that evolved with us through millions of years of species living in nature. In a similar manner it feels so good to go to a beach on a sunny day - you have exposure to earth, water, sun and wind.
NoImmatureAdHom 2y ago
Yeah...I'm not saying he's wrong, but I am saying you can get hookworm that way. Choose your soil wisely.
- protimewaster 2y ago
  Also plantar warts.

Xmd5a 2y ago

>even the holiest of people would wear shoes when going on rough terrain, thats just a question of sanity. https://medium.com/mr-plan-publication/natures-footprints-exploring-the-remarkable-feet-of-the-huaorani-tribe-32e100583a90 https://medium.com/mr-plan-publication/natures-footprints-ex...

NikkiA 2y ago

nod I grew up with access to a big back garden, so barefoot walked on it a lot, unfortunately it involved crossing a little bit of asphalt pathway to get to, and I still have nightmares of the feeling of small sharp stones digging in my feet. A similar late-teens habit I developed was going out and laying on the grass pretty much naked, when I couldn't sleep late at night, and just staring at the milky way. It was a peace I have no idea how I'd get back.