A so-called “PureGround EMF Filtering & Shielding Cord” is being promoted and sold for $54 (as of January 2021) by Laura Koniver, M.D., a South Carolina physician, as an advanced type of Earthing cord for “smart people” who want “the pure healing energy of connecting with Mother Earth.”
The cord and the multiple claims made for it have been analyzed by the Earthing Institute. Contrary to claims about the PureGround cord, our findings to date show that:
1) the cord actually has a very high resistance to electrons flow (possibly an open circuit) making electron flow very small or inexistant and
2) it offers much less protection from electromagnetic fields (EMFs) when compared to the standard Earthing® cord used successfully in research and by consumers worldwide for more than 15 years.
Here is a summary of our findings regarding the 2 points above:
- Using a multimeter in resistance mode to measure the resistance of the PureGround cord, one measurement configuration of the multimeter leads gave us consistently an open circuit. Doing the measurement in reverse, i.e. by switching the red and black leads of the multimeter on the PureGround cord, we consistently obtained a resistance > 1MΩ. This behavior is due to the PureGround cord having a diode in its filter.
- We made measurements similar to Applewhite (see Applewhite paper in the Research section of the Earthing Institute) comparing the PureGround cord with a standard Earthing® cord from earthing.com. First, we measured the AC voltage induced on a person’s body in a room while that person was far from any electrical device and that person was not grounded. The measured value was 0.18 VAC (Volts AC; see table below this paragraph, column entitled “Room”). Still not grounded, having the person touching the metallic stem of a foot lamp turned on with the left hand induced 17.0 VAC on his body and 1.35 VAC when his open left hand was one inch from the metallic stem (see T and 1” under NG tab). When grounded with both bare feet on a grounding mat connected to the grounding hole of a nearby power outlet through a cord with no added resistance (columns under the 0Ω tab), the AC voltage on his body dropped by a factor of 68 when touching the lamp stem (T) and 96 when his left hand was 1” away from the lamp stem. Using a cord with 100KΩ added (such as those sold by earthing.com), the AC voltage on his body dropped by a factor of 29 when touching the lamp stem and 39 when his left hand was 1” away from the lamp stem. When a PureGround cord was used, the AC voltage on his body dropped by a factor of 1.8 when touching the lamp stem and also 1.8 when his left hand was 1” away from the lamp stem. The table below shows the results of these measurements. Each VAC value represents the mean value of 6 measurements. We consider a person properly grounded when a grounding product decrease the AC voltage by 20 or more. So both the “no resistance added” and the “100KΩ” Earthing cords grounded the subject of the experiment as expected. That was not the case for the PureGround cord which was not even able to decrease the body voltage by a factor of 2!
As you can see from the two experiments above, the PureGround cord does not allow enough electrons to come into a person’s body to consider that person grounded and that cord offers minimal protection against low frequency (60 Hz) EMFs.
These experiments are easy to reproduce by anyone with a multimeter and basic knowledge of electricity.
Also, we have not found any peer-reviewed research articles supporting the marketing claims for the PureGround cord. We found that those claims are grossly misleading.
These claims appear on Dr. Koniver’s website
They include the following misinformation (as of January 2021):
● “This PureGround filter is absolutely crucial for anyone who is electrosensitive.”
Earthing Institute statement: How could that be since it does not even ground you!
● “and a smart choice for anyone who just wants the pure healing energy of connecting with mother earth, without any resonance manmade electrical activity around them.”
Earthing Institute statement: We think it is a poor choice since it does not ground you.
● “This patented grounding cord is absolutely the only way to get the purest ground connection through a cord.”
Earthing Institute statement: We have asked for, and not received, published studies or even basic tests backing up this claim and her other claims for her cord. By comparison, there are some 20+ published studies documenting the benefits and safety of established Earthing® products developed by Clint Ober, who pioneered the Earthing movement.
● “the only grounding cord in the world with a patented PureGround filter at the ground pin, filtering out dirty electricity from entering the cord and preventing any current from traveling up the line.”
Earthing Institute statement: She is admitting here that her cord is “preventing any current from traveling up the line”. Current is created by a flow of electrons. If no current can travel “up the line” then no electron can enter your body. This is a direct admission that her cable does not allow the Earth’s electrons to come into your body. So that cord cannot quench inflammation or give you much energy because those benefits are due to the Earth’s electrons coming into your body.
● “the entire cord is shielded 360 degrees around with EMF shielding wrap, so the pure ground connection traveling up the line is fully protected and stays pure, shielded from stray voltage and electrical fields in the room.”
Earthing Institute statement: Such “wrapping” is unnecessary. Any grounded electric cord is shielded by the mere fact that it is grounded. The best shielding results from grounding.
● “includes built in 100k Ohm resistor to fully protect from power surges while still allowing powerful, pure grounding right through,”
Earthing Institute statement: The 100k Ohm resistor in Earthing® cords originated with Mr. Ober’s Earthing® product designs years ago for safety and protection against power surges and electrical shorts. The claim of “pure grounding” and “pure ground” by Dr. Koniver are meaningless terms, as already explained. When you are grounded, you are grounded, and this is what generates multiple benefits. No surges or “dirty electricity” or other unwanted currents can come up the cord to zap you, as this article describes.
● “If you are electrosensitive, this is a great option that will allow you to still have full connection with the earth, discharging inflammation and static charge, while preventing any current from running up the line from dirty electricity in the ground and EMF fields from the environment affecting the line.”
Earthing Institute statement: Electrosensitivity is a condition where people report adverse reactions to EMFs at intensities well below the maximum levels permitted by international radiation safety standards. Our experience is that electrosensitive individuals often have a high level of stress that has weakened their adrenal function. During 15 years of Earthing product use with a standard ground cord made by Clint Ober, there has been feedback reporting that grounding helps electrosensitive people. Several examples can be found here. As explained before, there is no scientific evidence that the PureGround is a “great option” for anybody, quite the contrary. She repeats here her claim that her cord prevents any current from “running up the line” and so no electrons from the Earth are coming into your body to quench inflammation, release your pain, or give you energy.
● “The PureGround filter cord requires a special ground test meter…”
Earthing Institute statement: We understand why, there is no electron coming up her cord so she needs to sell a meter that measures only field effects.
● In a video on her website (https://intuition-physician.myshopify.com/collections/grounding/products/grounding-cord), Dr. Koniver compares the loudness of a “hum” generated on a speaker when she touches ground cords (hers and a “traditional” cord) connected to conductive sheets on one end and connected to a grounded outlet or ground rod on the other end. The quieter hum heard when testing her cord represents a “nice pure ground,” filtered and purer, she says. She compares this to a louder hum produced when testing the traditional cord. The louder hum, she says, includes the Earth ground but with exposure to “all the resonant EMF fields” and a “stronger, higher, and more frenetic frequency” affecting the grounding product. With her cord, she’s grounded “with more protection,” she claims.
Earthing Institute statement: Our experiments have shown that in order to provide maximum protection against EMFs, the electrons in the cord need to be able to move back and forth freely. Their movement creates the “hum” in the speaker. The higher level of humming from a traditional cord, as heard through the speaker in Dr. Koniver’s experiment, is actually a sign that the cord works properly and will prevent EMFs from producing a voltage on the body. This is explained in more details in the Applewhite study. The PureGround cord contains a filter (composed of a 100k Ω resistance, a diode and a capacitor) that prevents electrons from moving freely, resulting in a lower “hum” but also significantly decreasing protection against EMFs. This lower “hum” indicates inferior, not superior, protection against EMFs.
● She claims that earthing.com had put misinformation about her cable. She wrote in an article “I find it sad that thousands (if not millions) of grounding customers that feel ill effects from the AC voltage that runs through a standard ground cord are being told that they are either imagining the symptoms or that if they allow the symptoms to persist, eventually they will get used to it.”
Earthing Institute statement: She is the one putting out misinformation about a cable that is expensive and does not work. If a healthy person is feeling ill effects from AC voltage that runs through a standard cable, that is because the grounding system they are using is not wired properly. No one that we know of is saying that those symptoms are imaginary except in her imagination. Also, no one that we know of is saying that if they allow the symptoms to persist, eventually they will get used to it. We would like to know who are the persons she knows that are saying those things. Using her cable does appear to solve the problem but that is because the person using her cable is not grounded i.e. not connected to the grounding system her cable is plugged in. If there is voltage on the ground wire, your house is miswired and should be checked by an electrician.
Earthing Institute Summary Statement:
Claims by Dr. Koniver about PureGround cord superiority are not supported by evidence. On the contrary, the first experiment presented here showed that the PureGround cord prevents electrons from coming into the body, eliminating the possibility for this cord to quench inflammation, removing pain and giving energy to the body. The second experiment showed that her cord is quite inferior in protecting against EMFs compared to other commercially available cords. The claims for PureGround superiority may attract customers in the short term but at the cost of potentially discouraging in the future these customers and people they talk to from grounding and blemishing the image of Earthing so painstakingly developed through research and consumer feedback over many years.
Featured Image by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
