Looked on by many today as a popular form of alternative medicine, magnetic therapy actually dates back more than four thousand years ago to the pharaohs of ancient Egypt and the oldest medical texts in China, India, Israel and Greece. Well-entrenched currently in China, Japan, India, Austria and Germany as a method for alleviating pain and promoting healing, magnetic therapy has only gained acceptance in the United States within the past few years.

To explain magnetic therapy in layman's terms: think of the body as a dynamic organism that consists of individual "electrical" cells. Each cell has a positive charge at its nucleus, and a negative charge at its outer membrane. When the polarities are equal, the body is able to function at its optimal level.

However, if exposed continuously to excessive static electricity due to weather fluctuations, household electrical devices and various environmental stimuli, the body becomes inundated with positive ions. This imbalance can result in tiredness and fatigue, headaches and migraines, insomnia, muscle and joint pain, varicose veins and other ailments of the circulatory, lymphatic and nervous systems.

Magnets can help the body correct this imbalance, as evinced by ample evidence suggesting that seven out of ten magnet users experience beneficial results. There are two types of fixed magnets: unipolar and bipolar. Unipolar magnets, such as those offered by MagicBelt.com, have a positive charge on one end (biomagnetic south pole) and a negative charge on the other (biomagnetic north pole). This "unidirectional", or concentration on only one direction, assures an optimal depth of penetration. Bipolar magnets, on the other hand, have repeated north and south polarities on the same side of the magnet, which can ultimately cancel out, or at least weaken, each other's magnetic fields.

Placing the magnet against the body is critical, both in terms of promoting healing and minimizing adverse effects. The newly increased blood flow now enables the body to begin the self-healing process which, in turn, can promote relief from chronic pain, discomfort and stress; decreased swelling and inflammation; energy enhancement; accelerated healing of fractures; increased immune function in warding off viruses; and the reduction or reversal of many of the ailments mentioned above. In a nutshell it allows the body to perform at its optimum level.

Note that magnets in and of themselves do not claim to heal the body. Nor should they be used exclusively for any major disease or medical condition. Rather, as an adjunctive therapy, magnets stimulate the body to heal itself by helping increase circulation, improve energy levels, and provide oxygen to body cells - thereby enabling them to exist at their ideal, natural levels. Results vary from person to person, and depend on the magnets used as well as the depth and duration of the individual's specific medical condition.

In general, the effectiveness of magnetic therapy hinges on four factors: magnet strength, thickness, number of magnets used and spacing. Here is how our Neodymium Iron Boron Rare Earth magnets compare to those used by our competitors, as evinced by independent studies recently conducted by Magnetic Instrumentation, Inc., of Indianapolis, Indiana:

· Magnet strength: The strength of a magnet is measured in units of gauss (a unit of measuring the intensity of magnetic flux). While the strength of a magnet transmitted to the wearer may actually be less at the skin's surface than at its core, one with a gauss reading of more than 500 and a penetration level of 4 inches is considered powerful. The magnets used in our MagicBelt.com belts and hats boast a tremendous 40,000 gauss reading.

· Thickness: Basically, the thicker the magnet, the greater the depth of penetration. However, you don't want them to be too thick, or they'll be awkward to wear. Our 1/8" -thick magnets comfortably permit a 5" penetration - the highest currently recognized in the industry.

· Number of magnets: For optimum results, magnets should be tightly grouped together - while not touching each other - for maximum field strength and penetration. The more magnets used, the greater their therapeutic potential. We place our magnets approximately ¼" apart, allowing us to use 20 magnets in the same area in which leading competitors can only fit 15.

· Spacing: There should also be a relatively thin (1/8" to ¼") pad between the magnets and the skin's surface. This spacing not only makes the magnet more comfortable to wear, it also levels out any bumpiness in the magnetic field. Our magnets have a 1/4 inch spacing.

Research studies within the past two years have supported the use of magnetic therapy. An article in the January 31, 1999 issue of USA Weekend revealed that four major medical institutions had conducted clinical trials in the field of magnetic therapy - with very promising results.

At the Baylor College of Medicine, placing a magnet over a pain trigger point in post-polio patients provided prompt pain relief, while 80 to 90 percent of patients at Vanderbilt University Medical Center found relief from pain due to sports injuries or accidents. Tufts University of Medicine discovered that magnets helped relieve fibromyalgia pain, and diabetics at the New York Medical College at Valhalla experienced a decrease in foot pain.

Since magnetic therapy is still a relatively new and as yet unproven form of alternative healing in the United States, further studies will no doubt be conducted. In the meantime, the general consensus is that magnets, if used properly, certainly can't hurt the body … and in most cases, can help.