There are more answers than questions

Last time around we discussed the question of what are the benefits of magnetic bracelets. We even have expanded this to a full blown page in our Knowledge Centre.

We didn't reach any definitive answer because the question has so many dimensions. There are an awful lot of different areas to cover. For example, do magnetic bracelets really help with pain?

Now of course, if you ask a hundred people, you'll get a hundred answers. So for example, if you ask a doctor or medical researcher, what helps arthritis pain, he'll probably tell you that painkilling drugs can reduce the pain but nothing can cure the underlying ailment. That is the view of conventional medicine and it is only natural- and proper - that it should take a lot to change it.

There are of course exceptions like Albert Roy Davis a doctor (PhD not medical doctor) who studied the effects of both charged electricity and magnetism on human cells and organs in the 1970's. He concluded that magnetic energy could even go as far as to kill malignant cells, as well as the lesser - but medically relevant - effect of alleviating arthritis pain. Even suggested that such therapies could be use to treat infertility. Needless to say he was in a minority.

But what about arthritis sufferers? In at least some cases, they tell a very different story. Quite a few of them wear magnetic arthritis bracelets‎ and most of these will tell you that magnetic bracelets 'ease aches'. This view was in fact supported by a study by Dr. Tim Harlow of  Penninsula Medical School  published in the British Medical Journal in 2004. The study involved some 194 patients suffering from osteoarthritis over a 12 week period. To screen out the placebo effect they used a mixture of strong magnets, weak magnets and non-magnetic bracelets. They found that the weak and non-magnetic bracelets produced the same results, but that the strong bracelets produced a statistically significant reduction in pain as scored by the patients themselves, using a recognized scale of pain self-measurement.

So magnetic bracelets DO work, say researchers. But naturally, not all researchers and orthodox doctors would accept these results as conclusive. 

However, even the most hard-headed healthcare professionals must conceded one thing and that is that magnetic bracelets cannot do any harm. Obviously, an exception to this is that they can do indirect harm if people with illnesses believe in such alternative therapies to such an extent that they fail to seek treatment where necessary.  But aside from that obvious and indirect exception if there is any upside to things at all, there is no direct down side.

So what are the health benefits of magnetic bracelets - safe alternative medicine is only useful if it is really medicine. That is, it must actually work. Safety is the minimum standard for offering it to human patients, not the maximum for signing off on it as an effective treatment. And this applies to any ailment and indeed any type of treatment, be it curative or palliative.

But what about other ailments, besides arthritis? Do magnetic bracelets work for headaches? Certainly a study by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) concluded that there was enough evidence to approve the use of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to Migraine sufferers. But this treatment involves high strength magnetic pulses from a machine, not an item of jewellery that is merely worn. The study showed that the treatment was not a cure for migraines, but it did reduce the severity and duration of the attacks. So if you ask does magnetic therapy work, the answer could well be yes. But it does not follow that magnetic bracelets also work.

And then there is copper. Copper has also been considered by some to have healing properties going back thousands of years. Indeed that might even have been the inspiration for fashioning copper into jewellery. But what are the health benefits of copper? Perhaps that question is best asked of those who have experience - in other words those who wear copper bracelets. If that is you, maybe you'd like to write in and tell us. Why do you wear copper bracelets? That at least is a question that can be answered by ordinary people, not on the basis of some scientific study, but backed only by personal experience.

But that still leaves us with the broader and deeper questions of what is a healing bracelet?

As we said before, if you ask a hundred different people, they'll each have their own answer. Like we said before, there are more answers than questions. The hard part is knowing which answers are right.

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Magnetic bracelets do they work

The question one hears quite a lot in discussing magnetic therapy from jewellery is how do magnetic bracelets work? The issue was raised a few years ago by Karen Hellesvig-Gaskell and her answers are well worth considering. She noted the somewhat broad range of ailments which proponents claim magnets can cure. But then, she more or less put the damper on the whole thing by stating that "the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says magnets have no medicinal value."

Strictly speaking this is not true. The FDA does not and cannot state that magnets lack medicinal value. The most they can state - and what they actually do claim - is that there is no conclusive evidence that such objects have therapeutic or palliative value. The reality is that millions of people wear these bracelets and many of those individuals take a different position to that of the FDA. But the question that won't go away is do the magnetic bracelets really work at all?

This might seem like a step back from the earlier, bolder question about magnetic bracelets - how do they work? The answer most commonly given to the more specific inquiry, is that the magnets affect the iron (hemoglobin) in the red blood cells. But this suggestion has been scoffed at by physicists as well as physicians. The scientists point out that even the stronger magnets in the best bracelets are too weak to do this. Indeed if it were otherwise, then MRI scanners would be dangerous - as would going to the North Pole. Because the magnetic forces involved in these examples are even stronger. The "field" would (presumably) do some terrible things to our blood!

But in practice, it is often the case that medicines are identified as working, without the actual mechanism being understood. Aspirin, for example, was first created in 1853 and first used medically in 1899. Yet it wasn't until 1971, the underlying mechanism of how it works was discovered, by British Pharmacologist John Robert Vane. At the time, he worked for the prestigious Royal College of Surgeons. Moreover, it wasn't until eleven years later that his achievement was recognized and he shared the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine with two others.

So maybe it will yet be a while before we understand the mechanism behind magnetic therapy. So if we were to boldly disregard the skeptics and provisionally treat magnetic therapy as having a scientific basis - albeit an unknown one - then the question we would then focus on is "what do magnetic bracelets help with?"

Over the course of human history, different users have offered different answers. But if we adopt a cautious approach regarding claims of curative properties, that still allows us to ask boldly and plainly: Do magnets really help with pain? For if indeed magnetic bracelets ease aches - even if they cannot cure the underlying illness - then they surely have some value in the real world, to ordinary human beings who need them.

And if they work as palliative medicine, then let us not forget that one of the ailments that subjects many people to chronic pain is arthritis. If you doubt this, you need only do some market research into the sales figures for arthritis bracelets.

But do magnetic bracelets work for arthritis? For that matter, should we even limit the question to bracelets. After all a bracelet is simply an item of jewellery worn on the wrist. But arthritis itself can strike at other parts of the body, like the neck or even lower limbs. And alternative therapists (including inquisitive doctors) have tried magnetic therapy targeted at each and every one of these areas. So, perhaps instead we should ask, more generally, do magnets work for arthritis?

Furthermore, as we'e writing about alternative health here, why stop at magnets only? Why not copper? After all, copper is also said by some to have therapeutic properties. Such beliefs were held even in ancient times. And if a belief has been held since time immemorial, then it is surely perfectly legitimate to ask the question "do copper bracelets really work?" It may offend medical purists to raise the issue. But raise it we must. Scientific inquiry is all about asking questions.

We cannot say that the answer is in the affirmative, for we are not medically qualified. But  some people think it does and so we might then well ask why does copper help arthritis? What are the causal factors? Is it something to do with atoms migrating through the skin? We know that harmful chemicals can migrate through the pores of the epidermis. So why not helpful ones?

But how can copper help the body? Is it a chemical reaction or - as the skeptics would argue - a psychological one? Whatever the answer may be, we can be sure that what helps arthritis pain will be a boon to millions of people who suffer from the disease all over the world.

In the meantime, these are nagging questions that won't go away. Attempts by mainstream medicine to shut down the discussion have failed. What we have instead is a lively, vibrant debate, but one with more questions than answers.

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Magnetic therapy works on rats

A study from less than a decade ago gave an unexpected boost to magnetic therapy, reversing the trend of many previous studies that purported to undermine the scientific basis for such treatment, by showing that it can shrink tissue inflammations. Whilst the study will be appreciated by the the sellers of magnetic jewellery, whose market now exceeds £4-billion, it won't be so easy for orthodox scientists to dismiss.

The study, which was published in the American Journal of Physiology was conducted by Thomas Skalak of the University of Virginia and involved lab rats. Using proper double-blind comparative methods with controls, Skalak established that ferromagnetic devices could halve (on average) inflammation in the animals surveyed.

The problem of conducting such studies in the past has been one of assuring the double-blind nature of the studies. It is relatively easy for a layman to test whether or the magnet they have been assigned is real or fake. A secondary difficulty arises out of the difficulty in classifying pain objectively, so that the palliative effects of magnets cannot be effectively studied. For this reasons such studies are rare, according to what is now called the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (or NCCIH).

However, they did find the Skalak study that circumvented the subjectivity issue by using the objective phenomenon of inflammation. However, the real genius of his study was the way in which he held constant for the placebo effect. By using rats rather than human beings, he ensured that the subjects didn't know what was being tested or which of them were the subjects of the study and which were in the control group. Indeed it is unlikely that any of them even know what a control group is.

Using methods that would know doubt raise the hackles of animal rights activists, he inflicted swelling at different levels in the rats and then placed a 700 Gauss strength magnet over the wound at various times. The inflammations subjected to the magnet reduced more quickly than the controls, especially when the magnet was applied soon after the swelling began.

However, neither Skalak nor his colleague Cassandra Morris have any explanation as to the causal relationship. The connection is statistical and is valid to a statistically significant degree. One possible explanation that Skalak offers is that the magnets affect the "calcium  channels in muscle cells, which could cause arteries to dilate."

Whatever the causal relationship, the statistics suggest that magnetic therapy works on rats. The question is: does it work on lawyers?

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Fixing the problems - quickly and easily

Whilst every online retailer aims to ensure only the best customer experience for all customers, there will inevitably be times when something goes wrong. For example, in the case of magnetic bracelets with links, it is possible - even with the best will in the world - for some people to estimate the size of their wrist wrong. (I nearly wrote "misunderestimate".) Of course this can particularly be a problem if you are buying the bracelet for some one else.

Now in the case of under-estimation of course, there is not much you can do except get a replacement. However, if you overestimate the wrist size, then it is a relatively easy problem to solve. All you have to do is remove one or two links. In fact MPS makes this particularly easy, by providing a free links removal tool with each order for a links bracelet. However, including it is all very well, but how do you use it?

Fortunately that is not a problem for Magnetic Products Store customers, because the MPS website has a whole set of Troubleshooting pages and one of these explains clearly and concisely how to use the tool. And the explanations are supported by equally clear pictures and diagrams.

So how would you go about removing links from your MPS bracelet? first of all, please note that it has two extra push pins stored in the base. The push pin is the pin that is used to push out the pins that hold the links in place.

The next thing to do is identify the correct side to place the tip of the push pin. The picture below illustrates the wrong side and the right side for this operation.

After aligning the push pin with the pin you are trying to remove, you turn the handle slowly to push the pin out gently.

When the pin is partially out - enough to get a grip on it - you can of course pull it the rest of the way.

Obviously you have to repeat this process on the other side of the link or group of links that you want to remove. Then the next step is, of course, to reconnect what is left. This is shown below.

Then, finally, the same tool is used to push the pin the rest of the way, thereby completing the process.

And that's really all there is to it. Happy resizing.

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More mythical monsters

Okay so last time around we talked about vampires, zombies and werewolves and how they could be kept at bay by wearing the appropriate MPS bracelet. But there's more to mythical monsters than those. I feel kind of bad banging on about such negative vibes just after St. Valentine's Day. However, mythical monsters - like time - wait for no man. Moreover they show no special deference to the blessed saints. Neither, for that matter, do they show an iota of respect  for the Church, the Queen, the Pope or the Chief Rabbi.

And of course they like to slip in when our guard is down - like Trojan viruses - or when we're distracted by the great festivities around us. In the case of Britain, "great festivities" means not so much religion but more like the venerable sporting events of the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race and the Grand National at Aintree, both of which lie ahead in the not-too-distant future.

So what might these nasty little beasties get up to while the distracted punters are staking wads of cash on the G-G's and the ladies are swooning over the muscle-bound rowers who happen to  have caught their eye?

Well first of all, they might unleash a ghoul upon us. Now, to be honest, I've never really been entirely sure just what a ghoul actually is. I remember a friend of mine in my primary school wandering aimlessly around the playground saying "Let's have a war - the boys against the ghouls." But I'm not quite convinced that he actually meant it the way it sounded.

Then there was my pompous friend from Eton - fresh from a visit to the College of Arms where his father was a herald - telling me that his family crest included Gules Argent. I asked him if that was any relative of Rod Argent, but he was not amused. (In fact he was more than a little confused.)

But I digress. My point here is simply that whatever these gulies might do - no I don't mean THOSE gulies ladies - it's important to have a good defence against them. So, to this worthy end, Magnetic Products Store is offering an anti-Ghouls magnetic bracelet to keep them old monsters at bay!

OK that's as maybe, but what about the Golem? Well bear in mind that there are two types of Golem. There is ancient Golem of Jewish legend and mythology on the one hand, who is actually not so bad. But there is also the more recent Golem from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings who really is an evil so-and-so. But have no fear: MPS also offers a Golem defence.

Finally if you're worried about warlocks - which means not "male magician" or wizard, but rather "deceiver" - then you're in luck too because MPS also offers a magnetic bracelet that repels warlocks.

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Keeping vampires, werewolves and zombies at bay

At this time of year - peace to earth and goodwill to all men - we still have to worry about all those who wish to do us harm: vampires, werewolves, zombies, etc. Did I detect a skeptical raised eyebrow Roger Moore? Well don't be so surprised. We can argue over whether these creatures exist but they fall into a category known to risk-managers as "low-probability, high impact." That means it's unlikely to happen but likely to be devastating if it does. A bit like a nuclear war. And we DO have nuclear bunkers, even if they're only available to the rich, the royals and the senior politicos and their civil service minions.

But why should the rest of us be deprived of the necessary level of protection? I don't mean nuclear war. There's precious little we can do about that. Magnetic bracelets can't stop radiation. And they can't stop politicians from being stupid. (Can anything?)

But at least we should have some basic - and affordable - protection against the un-dead, the creatures that come out when the moon is full and - most important of all - nocturnal bloodsuckers. (No I don't mean the taxman!)

Well now - thanks to Magnetic Products Store - you can. They are offering affordable magnetic bracelets that can repel  vampires. Yes Vampires. MPS can absolutely guarantee that if you re wearing one of these bracelets, you will never be attacked by a vampire. (We make no representations regarding vampire bats, but they are usually found in South America.) But actual vampires? We absolutely promise that if you wear this bracelet, you want be attacked by a vampire!

But what of Zombies and Werewolves. Well the accused creatures only come out when there's a full moon. Nevertheless, to give you all-month-round security. MPS offers a magnetic bracelet that wards off werewolves.

And finally zombies. What can is say? You may think these are just a teenage obsession. But can be sure? especially when the insurance is so affordable?  So if you want a bracelet t protect you against zombies, this is the one.

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For eight days you shall dwell in booths

Living out of doors is not what most people aspire to. I mean nobody wants to be homeless. Yet a lot of us love camping. See this touching story about a father bonding with his two-year-old on an overnight biking, fishing and camping trip. Then after I read that, I found another.

But the reason I mention all this is because, at the time of writing, we are in the midst of the Jewish festival of Succot, when Jews, the world over, commemorate their wondering in the wilderness for 40 years, during which time they dwelt in improvised shelters. Now, whether or not you believe ancient religious texts, is up to you. But one thing we should all recognize is that we don't know everything. Not in science, not in nature, not in medicine.

Nature has its own way of dealing with things. That is why some people like to live close to nature, as the above examples illustrate, even in our brave new world of advanced science and technology. And that is why some people rely on alternative medicine and natural healing even in a world of laser surgery, antibiotics and the vast repertoire of high-tech machinery to be found in a typical western hospital.

That is not to say that we should not make use of every weapon in our arsenal in the war against disease. Just that we should remember that even in an age of laser-guided missiles and nuclear warheads, soldiers are still trained in the art of unarmed combat. Even though cities and entire countries can be obliterated at the mere touch of a button, soldiers are still expected to be fit- and fitness training form a major part of any modern-day military training regime. 

The same, of course, applies to medicine. We have NMR and CTI scanners. We have X-ray machines. We have heart-lung machines, robotic, long-distance, surgery. We have advanced prosthetic limbs made out of resilient composite materials. We have air ambulances that can carry patients from mountaintops to hospitals. We have decompression chambers for divers suffering from the bends. And yet...

And yet...

There is still room for alternative medicine. Whether it is the Jewish penicillin of chicken soup, or an FDA-approved magnetic band to prevent acid reflux. Natural medicine is here to stay.

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Magnetic Bracelets for Rio 2016

If you're interested in buying magnetic bracelets, what is the first thing you do? Quite likely, it is simply to look on the internet. Right? But when you do a search for the term "magnetic bracelets" in any of the leading search engines, you are greeted by a plethora of sites selling a vast range of magnetic therapy products from which to choose.

However, what is interesting is that the biggest such site in Europe - and the second biggest in the world - only appears at the very bottom of the list. Clearly, that is not much help if you are suffering from arthritis or looking for something to protect you from sports injury. 

This is more to do with the way search engines work and there is pretty much nothing you can do about, except scan down the page to make sure that you are finding the best site. Unlike sport - or rather exactly like sport - coming first doesn't necessarily mean that they are the best. In fact, this analogy is very apt, because, for the last few decades, the Olympic games and other sports have been plagued by the scourge of cheating, in the form of athletes using anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs.

In the same way, some online retailers are able to bump up their search results by all manner of illicit means. These means go by the name "black hat" and they are to the online world what steroids (and bribery/gambling rackets) are to sport. And the analogy goes even further, because, in the face of these almost insurmountable problems, there is a grave temptation to embrace the philosophy known as: if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!

However, I myself do not espouse this particular view. I would rather be the last man standing in the realm of honesty (perhaps that should be the first man falling!) that embrace the dishonest approach of those whom I despise.

But if you are interested in taking up sport and inspired by the current spectacular of Rio 2016 - and let's face it, the Olympics always inspire us couch potatoes to take up sport - then you'll find that Magnetic Products Store has a fine collection of sports wrisbands and bracelets for men and women.

This includes the excellent ionTopia Range that has set the magnetic therapy world buzzing with its wonderfully diverse range of magnetic bracelets, bangles and wrist bands with powerful sets of magnets (3000 Gauss).

Just take a look at these and you'll see what I mean:

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Play up and play the game!

Well, the sporting season is now really upon. Even as I speak Serena Williams is smashing her way to an almost certain victory in the Ladies Singles final at Wimbledon. And later today Portugal meets France in what promises to be an exciting Euro 2016 soccer final. Yes, the sporting season that began with the Grand National and the Oxford-Cambridge boat race is now well and truly upon us.

But as you know, sporting events invariably have one effect on the population: they encourage us to take up sports... at least for a short while. And with all these unfit but well-meaning amateurs taking up sport, comes the inevitable spate of sports injuries. Now I'm not talking smashed faces in boxing and rugby or people being burnt or crushed in formula 1 motor racing. I mean more like those sprained wrists in golf and twisted ankles in running and tennis.

These are endemic to sport and although it is possible to reduce the risk, it is virtually impossible to eliminate it entirely, unless one gives up sport, which would rather defeat the purpose. I say this not to worry you, but only to make you aware that where this a problem there is usually - if not always - a solution. So now is the time to consider getting a sports bracelet like the AUGUSTA BIO Golfers Magnetic Therapy Bracelet with Leather Strap on the left or the Super Prime Silicon jet black wristband on the right.

These are just a small sample of the sports bracelets available from Magnetic Products Store and the one above has the distinction of having the most powerful magnet in the MPS range - coming in at a whopping 6500 Gauss. It is also in the MPS sale and is currently available at £10 off it's normal price.

The one on the right is one of several colours of these magnificently strong hi-grade silicone wristbands that are guaranteed not to break. Now wearing a sports wristband does not make you good at sport. But it can be a step in the right direction. And it can motivate you to put it to good use.

So buy the wristband now. And then take up the racket or club or bat and get out there and start practicing!

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The biggest range in the world

A lot of people may be unaware of the fact that Magnetic Products Store has the biggest range of magnetic bracelets and magnetic bangles in the world - in addition to a whole host of related products, like magnetic necklaces, anklets, wraps and supports for athletes and golfers.

I don't just mean the sizes. I mean the actual range. Take, for example, copper magnetic bracelets. MPS has 46 items on these pages alone - and copper is not even their main business! Of course, these include bangles, links bracelets and expanding bracelets. But that is still only one range within the MPS pantheon of magnetic products.

But what about titanium? They've got a whole load of those. Try 102. That's right, 102 different types of titanium magnetic bracelets. This includes jet black, double strength, 4-in-1 Bio elements bracelets... and  titanium bracelets incorporating Swarowski elements, like the one on the right, below.

And then there are the stainless steel bracelets. They got some beautiful ones in their collection. Then there are the energy pendants and the gemstone collections.

The big question is, why don't we see more magnetic bracelets on the high street? After all, there must be a market for such beautiful products. Ah yes, there certainly is. But going to the high street is expensive. And it is surely better, at this stage, to use that money to offer a wide range of magnetic bracelets to the public.

Remember that even in the online world, not everything is equal. Some magnetic bracelets are better than others. Some lines are better than others. And some vendors are better than others. Magnetic Products Store is very much top-of-the-range in terms of both quality and variety.

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Energy pendants

One of my favourite types of item in the very extensive range at Magnetic Products Store is the energy pendants. I just can't get enough of them - literally. The thing I like about them is that they are all so wonderfully different. There's love, like the Nested Love Lock on the right. There's a music theme. There's playing cards (the ace of spades). There's a butterfly. There's a flame. There's stainless steel with its shiny silver finish. There's gold plated.

I love them all. No wonder I am waxing poetic and lyrical as I sing their praises. Variety is the spice of life, as they say.

Now you're probably thinking that I've gone a bit over the top. After all, they're only pendants after all. But that's my point. They are nice to look at and they have magnets and if I love them then I am free to say so. To make a really bad pun, I am IndiPENDANT.

Ha ha!

Okay, I got carried away there.  But I do like all of them. I admit that I have my special favourites. But this seems to change over time. At one time it might be the gold-plated butterfly (right), at other times, it might be the ace of spaces (below).

My older sister would no doubt like the Lover Never Dies pendant, because she likes the musical of the same name. While at other times, I might favour the Dual Plates Flame. That's my point, you see, it fluctuates. Just like my energy levels.

Just like most people's energy levels in fact.

Of course, not everyone likes them. In my internet searching, I found one site that set out to "warn" people against these pendants, claiming that they are the devil's work! Don't you just love a good bit of paranoia, once in a while.

Anyway, my own view is that they are the work of skilled designers and good manufacturers or craftsmen. And I will continue to wear them if, as and when the fancy grabs me.

Another type of product that I like is the steel bangle. I have said this before and I make no apology for saying it again. What I like about them most is their futuristic appearance.

But if one is really worried about the devil, then the bangle below ought to keep "old horny" away.

For the rest of us, buy an energy pendant... or a few...

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Getting the bracelet to fit

One of the problems people who buy magnetic bracelets sometimes have is that the bracelet is the wrong size. Even with the best will in the world, it is possible for people to make a mistake about their wrist size. If you are one of those who manages to under-estimate their wrist size, your only recourse is to send the bracelet back and get a bigger one.  If on the other hand, you over-estimate your wrist size, Magnetic Products Store provides all customers who buy links bracelets - free of charge - with a remedy that takes minutes, instead of the days that go by with a return and replacement.

That remedy comes in the form of a free links removal tool that comes with your links bracelet.

Magnetic Products Store also very helpfully provides you with clear, step-by-step instructions on how to use the links removal tool. And it is dead easy.

MPS has,in fact, several links removal tools. But they all work in the same way.

The automatic supplying of the links removal tool for customers who buy links bracelets from Magnetic Products Store is all part of MPS' commitment to giving you the highest quality customer service. But there is another way to ensure that you get a magnetic bracelet that fits and that is to buy the kind of bracelet that fits many different wrist circumferences.

No that isn't something out of Harry Potter (the enigmatic "every-size bracelet") nor even a rip-off of Tolkien ("one bracelet to fit them all"). Rather it is simply an expanding bracelet like the one in the picture below.

These bracelets are also very easy to put on and take off. They have no fiddly little clasp to open or close. They expand tp slip over your hand and then snap gently back to place around your wrist.

This convenience, makes them very popular items.

And remember that if you have any questions, queries or problems - Magnetic Products Store has five-star customer service to help you. You can make our day, just by letting us know that we have made yours!

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Sports injuries

Although it is only the beginning of March, some of us are looking forward to April and those two great sporting events the Grand National and the Boat Race. Not being a horse lover (how profoundly unBritish) I will concentrate on the Boat Race. Yes THE Boat Race - because those of us of a certain age know that there is only one: the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race. Like the Eton-Harrow cricket match, this event is something of an annual institution.

Boat racing is one of those events that puts a great strain not only on the biceps, triceps and shoulders, but also the wrists. Ignoring the wry smiles of some of you young gents out there, suffice it to say that rowing a boat four miles or more on the Thames creates a risk of Carpal-Tunnel Syndrome, and repetitive strain injury. People who spend a lot of time typing run similar risks. This is where magnetic bracelets enter the picture, because MPS has a wide range of sports wristbands - including silicone and the ionTopia range.

Sports bracelets are ideal for rowers, riders (remember that famous steeplechase mentioned above) and others who engage in sport. They're also good for people like me who spend a lot of time typing, although I can't, in all honesty, claim that typing is a sport!

These bracelets are funky and futuristic, cool and collectable. They contain strong rare earth (Neodymium) magnets: 1500 Gauss! They look nice and they feel  nice. If you've already been thinking of buying one, now is the time to do so.

And if you're like, and have been considering taking up outdoor sport as soon as the weather gets warmer, now is the time to take the plunge. Buy one of these cool and funky bracelets. Here are some of the key facts to help you decide about the silicone Super-Prime™:

• The band is ultra-soft
• The silicone stands up to all weather conditions and cannot corrode or tarnish
• It is hypoallergenic - no metal comes into contact with your skin
• The magnets are embedded in the silicone
•  No metal clasp to grapple with - just slip it over your wrist
•  Extremely strong - will not snap when putting in on. NEVER!!!

Remember that Irving Berlin song that has the line about being a couple of sports? Well now's the time to live the dream.

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And the winner is...

Those of us - of a certain age - will recognize the line in the title. It's the way they used to announce the results at the Academy Awards in Hollywood. Nowadays, instead, they say: "And the Oscar goes to..." Personally, I preferred the old way.

But in this case, I am referring not those shiny britannium statuettes that the Hollywood film industry gives itself in its annual display of narcissism, but rather to our giveaway of an even more shiny magnetic bracelet that we did last week through our Facebook page. The winner was DB (sorry that's all we can give you) who has been contacted and gets to choose whether to get the MPS™ EUROPE Titanium Magnetic Therapy Bracelet or the MPS™ VENUS' HEARTS Titanium Magnetic Bracelet.

We had 83 entries, which is not bad considering that it only had a limited amount of publicity. Next time we will get more. But maybe we'll even run two giveaways simultaneously.  No promises, however.

Valentine's day promotion - magnetic jewellery and copper bangles galore

But now we turn our attention to what's coming up. St. Valentine's Day - the day when people buy gifts for their wives, husbands, girlfriends, boyfriends and lovers, including (we hope) some magnetic jewellery, like men's bracelets, copper and magnetic bracelets, etc.

Most people think that St. Valentine was the patron saint of lovers. The truth is a little more complicated than that. There are actually about fourteen different Saint Valentines! And THREE of these are associated with February the 14th. In truth, not much is known about any of them - especially the ones commemorated in the middle of this month.

What we do know is that most of them were Christian martyrs and that none of them had anything to do with romantic love. So why the connection?

Well first of all, remember that in Christian tradition, marriage is a sacrament that symbolizes God's (and Jesus') love for humankind. Now I am not endorsing any sort of religious agenda here - Christian or otherwise - I merely make this observation by way of scholarship. (Yes, I can be a bit pedantic, without even trying!)

But what about the tradition of actually associating St. Valentine's day with romantic love? It all started when Geoffrey Chaucer (the so-called father of modern English literature) wrote a poem called the Parliament of Foules (his misspelling, not mine) in which he honoured the first anniversary of England's King Richard II to his betrothed Anne of Bohemia in a treaty signed on the second of May 1381. He wrote that: "For this was on St. Valentine's Day, when every bird cometh there to choose his mate."

Because February the 14th was Valentine's Day according to the Roman Catholic church, which held sway at the time, it was assumed that he was saying that February the 14th was the day when birds chose a mate. But some scholars have argued that 14th of February is too cold for birds to start mating and that Chaucer might, in fact, have been referring to the Feast of St. Valentine of Genoa, celebrated on May the 3rd. Others have argued that because all this took place in the days of the old Julian Calendar, Chaucer might indeed have meant mid-February, which would be the equivalent of he 23rd of February today.

But regardless of Chaucer's intent, a tradition developed that associates St. Valentine's Day with romantic love. This theme was later taken up by Shakespeare, in a melancholy speech by the tragic Ophelia in Hamlet (Act 4, Scene 5):

To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day,
All in the morning betime,
And I a maid at your window,
To be your Valentine.
Then up he rose, and donn'd his clothes,
And dupp'd the chamber-door;
Let in the maid, that out a maid
Never departed more.  

Later on, in the 18th century, a tradition developed of young men sending handwritten cards to the girls whom they loved. As the tradition grew, hand written cards gave way to printed cards.

There is some dispute as to when the tradition of giving presents developed. Some say that as early as the 18th century, men in England were giving gifts of flowers and confectionery to their the women they loved. However, the chocolate industry only really developed in England in the 19th century. But one things is sure, and that is that today there is a thriving St. Valentine's Day gift industry in the detail sector.

Never one to be left behind, Magnetic Products Store is doing a big promotion for St. Valentine's Day. What is more, they have suitable bracelets for men as well as women, including copper bracelets for arthritis, cable bracelets and extra strong magnets for healing.

So if you want to buy a really beautiful gift that can also be healthy and invigorating, check out their St. Valentine's Day promotion and see for yourself.

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The great MPS Winter Giveaway

We're giving away a magnetic bracelet to brighten up someone's Winter!

Okay, so here's the deal: last week I was whinging and bitching about this miserable, depressing winter and how magnetic bracelets could brighten it up. Right? Well that's all very well, but in the absence of some act of extraordinary generosity, that all might seem like a come-on to sell you something... like, say, our wonderful magnetic jewellery. Now touting for business may be perfectly honourable in this free-wheeling, laissez-faire capitalist world, but wouldn't it be nice - I hear you asking - if once in a while those purveyors of shiny bracelets and copper bangles actually put their hands into their pockets and gave one away?

Well today is your lucky day. It's like it's Christmas all over again, because that's precisely what we're doing!

Yes folks, we're giving away either the VENUS HEARTS or the EUROPE bracelet to one lucky winner. The bracelets are both titanium and magnetic and we know you'll just love them. The giveaway is over at Facebook, if you Like the page there and enter the GIVEAWAY, you'll be in with a chance when we pick that one lucky winner on February the sixth! If you want to enter from a mobile phone and have any trouble with the above link, you could try THIS LINK instead.

We remind you that you don't have to buy anything to enter the giveaway. Just Like our page and answer the question. There is no right or wrong answer. Just say whatever you think.

Now I'm going to ask you to do something contra to your own interests: tell all your friends about our giveaway.

"WHAT!!!!! Are you crazy????" You're probably thinking. " Why should we do that?The more people we tell, the more entries there'll be and the lower our chances of winning!"

Well that's true. I can't argue with that. In this respect, it's not as good as the national lottery. But on the other hand, give us a break guys... and gals. After all, we're being generous with you, by giving away one of these beautiful bracelets. So maybe you can return the favour. After all, Christmas may come but once a year - on the other hand, the kindness of strangers should be all year round.

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Brighten up your winter

April, according to T S Elliot, is the cruellest month. But January is by far the most depressing. No matter how cold it gets in November and December, we always have Christmas and the new year to look forward to. But come the new year, and all that is gone and all we have left is the long, mournful wait for the break of spring!

And that is when the winter blues really set in. We can't even think about retail therapy because we are still paying off the credit cards from the Christmas extravaganza. Or can we?

Maybe we can permit ourselves a little bit of a dip into our pockets. 

Yes, just maybe we can treat ourselves to something small yet shiny and bright to  lend sparkle to our lives and brighten up the short days as we wait for those tedious winter days to get longer and the sun to shine brighter. After all, we can't hibernate like bears or migrate like birds. So why can't we spend just a little on an item that glitters even in the meagre light of a cold dark winter?

And one thing that makes this late winter indulgence a little more attainable is that wonderful invention the January Sale. The good news is that Magnetic Products Store has such a sale and it is now in progress.

They have some wonderful bargains and discounts - some up to a staggering 80%. And these bracelets are beautiful to look out. They are bright, they are shiny - and all this aside from potential therapeutic effects, etc. 

The Bard of Avon said "All that glisters is not gold." This has traditionally been interpreted as a warning not to over-estimate the value of something just because it shines brightly. But there is another way in which it could be interpreted. It could alternatively mean that something does not have to be expensive and made of "precious metal" in order to shine brightly and bring joy to those who set eyes on it.

And that I think is the real message that we should take from Shakespeare's words. Not "Things that glister might not be gold," but rather: "It doesn't have to be gold in order to glister!"

The word "jewellery" comes from the French word "Joie" meaning Joy. For jewellery was always something the purpose and raison d'etre to which was the bringing of joy - both to the wearer and to others who looked upon it. But even if happiness is not completely free, neither does it have to be an extravagance. And this is the message of that finest and most prescient of England's writers.

So if you want to bring yourself some joy this cold, dark January... treat yourself to  a magnetic bracelet.

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Look to the beauty - and let the functionality follow

One of the questions that we are often asked when it comes to choosing a magnetic bracelet or bangle is "Which one has the strongest magnet?" This is the wrong question. It is like buying a house based on floor space alone, without giving any thought to layout, design, location, access to transport, or any of the other myriad factors that a wise person takes into consideration when buying a house.

I am going to suggest something that might sound rather strange here: when buying a magnetic bracelet or bangle - or any magnetic jewellery for that matter - you should consider the look of the item first and foremost.

"The look?" I hear you mutter in disbelief. "Surely we should consider the utility and functionality first?"

"Well yes, that is true. Many people buy magnetic bracelets for their effects and not, solely, for their aesthetic appearance. Indeed, even in architecture, one does not judge solely by aesthetics. Indeed the architect Louis Sullivan - disciple of William LeBaron Jenney  and mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright - stated that "Form ever follows function." In other words, not only does function come first, but function actually determined the form and shapes the finished product.

So how then can I argue that you should choose a magnetic bracelet based on how it looks?

The answer is because there are no major differences in the strength of the magnets. Yes, some have more magnets, but that is not so important. After all, with medicine, you wouldn't seek to take the highest dose: you'd aim to take the right dose. In fact, I  feel the urge to quote another famous architect here - the great Ludwig Mies van de Rohe of the Bauhaus school - who said: "Less is more."

Now I'm not suggesting that you should get a non -magnetic bracelet. (That would be like the joke about the patient who forgot to take his homeopathic medicine and consequently died of an overdose!) What I am saying is that you shouldn't get hung up on the number of magnets or their strength.

And as for what is beauty, that is, as ever, in the eye of the beholder. But at Magnetic Products Store you have the widest range of magnetic bracelets and other magnetic jewellery anywhere in Europe and the second widest in the world. Just take a look around the website to see what I mean. There is copper, titanium, stainless steel, ceramic, silicone, bracelets with gemstones, with swarowski, coloured magnets, hematite, for Him, for Her, personalised bracelets, for golfers, sports wristbands, expanding bracelets and even jewellery for pets!  With such a vast range to choose from, you should be thinking about the beauty of these bracelets  especially at this time of year, when the giving of gifts is uppermost in your mind.

And you can also give yourself a gift. After all, in the words of the great Rabbi Hillel the Elder: "If I am not for myself, who will be for me?"

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Flash Sale started

SALE - Massive sales - with up to 70% Off !!!

Check it here.

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Magnetic therapy for pain relief

The debate over whether magnet therapy works has been hard to resolve because the two “sides” speak in different terms. A classic example of this is the heavily biased Wikipedia article about magnetic therapy, which claims that such therapy is “pseudoscientific” and refers to claims of therapeutic benefit – or even pain relief – as “unfounded.

Now bear in mind that Wikipedia is meant to be the people's encyclopedia, so one supposes that there must be some proponents and supporters of magnetic therapy. How did they react to this one-sidedness?

One of the good things about Wikipedia is that one can check the history of an article to see not only what was added and when, but also what was removed. And a search of that history is revealing. For example, it was pointed out a few months ago, in an addition to the Wikipedia entry, that one of the articles cited as evidence that magnetic therapy doesn't work, in fact contains the sentence: “For osteoarthritis, the evidence is insufficient to exclude a clinically important benefit, which creates an opportunity for further investigation.” (Emphasis added)

Unfortunately, this attempt to give balance to the Wikipedia article was unceremoniously rebuffed. The qualifying sentence was removed from the Wikipedia entry by the person who controls the entry – even though the added sentence was only quoting from the same article that the main author of the Wikipedia entry had already cited! This too was pointed out, but the gatekeeper remained unmoved. There followed an amicable exchange in the discussion page in which the gatekeeper sought to bolster their case by citing a 2012 study on magnetic therapy in osteoarthritis.

However, if one looks carefully at the phraseology of the Wikipedia entry, it states that the articles cited found “insufficient evidence to conclude that magnet therapy is effective for pain relief.” (Emphasis added) And one of the reasons that the source articles cited for rejecting even the most stringent double-blind studies that supported the case for magnetic therapy was “difficulty with allocation concealment.” In layman's terms: the test subjects could themselves test to see whether they have a magnet or a placebo by holding it to an iron object or surface.

Now it is certainly true that the test subjects could do this. But how many actually do or would? Do the subjects of clinical trials normally try to find out if they are taking a placebo or a real drug/medicine? Has anyone in fact researched this subject. After all, unless the patient takes the pill in the presence of the tester (without switching it) there is nothing to stop him or her taking it to a lab for further analysis. But do the subjects of clinical trials really go to such lengths to thwart the results of trials in which they are taking part?

One assumes that they would have no motive to do so. It is not as if either they or anyone else stands to benefit from such behaviour. And yet the sceptics – or rather the cynics – would have us believe that people who have volunteered to take part in a clinical trial would rather go out of their way to sabotage the trial or undermine its results than simply cooperate and work with the trial to achieve its objectives. This is a fairly outlandish conclusion to draw – and surely an absurd misinterpretation of human nature.

But sometimes the scepticism gets downright desperate in its attempts to undermine the favourable evidence - if not downright silly. Another cited article suggests that: “Perhaps subjects with magnetic bracelets subconsciously detected a tiny drag when the bracelets were near ferromagnetic surfaces (which are ubiquitous in modern life), and this distracted or otherwise influenced the perceived pain.”

This is even more outlandish. It implies that the subject, in a double-blind study, initially presumed that they did not have a real magnet, subconsciously discovered that they did and then subconsciously felt better because of that discovery! And this is considered more scientific than straightforward acceptance of the trial data at face value?

And if one puts aside such outlandish conclusions, then surely it is reasonable to infer that the reason that so many studies have shown that magnetic therapy works for pain relief is for one very simple and obvious reason? Because it does!

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Wait no more!

Christmas is nearly here! Do not wait for the last minute.

*No time limit for refunds at MPS - no matter how carefully you pick a gift, you can never know...

*FREE resizing (in UK) - no problem if you do not know the perfect size you need to buy

 *Fast delivery - even next day shipping!

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