There is a new kid in the block. A new UK website selling magnetic therapy jewellery was revealed lately: IonTopia magnetic bracelets. It is a very tidy and clean website and offer a very clear page view. The photos of the products are clear and stunning, the descriptions are easy to read and provides a lot of information, and the prices are not bad also. 

The customer also get a very good deal all around, with an amazing return policy that states that you can return a product for a refund in any condition for the first 30 days. That is effectively a trial period when you can test the product and if not happy just return it. Wow. 

The best way to navigate the new site is by going to the page that displays all the product and use the very efficient filtering system on the left to locate the products you want to see.

The site's biggest product group is magnetic bracelets. You can find titanium, stainless steel and pure copper of all sizes, shapes and colours. Go and try it out.

The effectiveness of magnetic bracelets

It is often the case, in practice, that the medicinal properties of certain organic compounds are discovered by laboratory observation - or even clinical trials - long before the underlying causal relationship is discovered. Thus, Alexander Fleming observed the effects of a type of mould called Penicillium notatum on bacteria in a laboratory dish, some time before Howard Florey and Ernst Boris Chain were able to use it in patients. The problem was making it in sufficient quantities. It also had to be purified, because in its impure form it was toxic to human beings.

Similarly, the commonly taken medication Aspirin, originated as far back as 1853. But it wasn't until 1899 that is was used in the medical context. Moreover, only as recently as 1971, did John Robert Vane, a British Pharmacologist doing research at the Royal College of Surgeons, identify the underlying mechanism of how it worked. This achievement was recognized by the Nobel Committee in 1982, when Vane and two others were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine. This was noted in a recent blog.

So if it is a still quite while before we can answer the question, how do magnetic bracelets work or why does copper help with arthritis, no on should be at all surprised. And if we leave these unanswered questions to the specialists, then we the ordinary people are free to focus on more practical questions. For example, we might ask what do magnetic bracelets help with?

The answers have shifted over time, rather than stayed constant. So we should be careful not to assume that today's current state of knowledge is final or certain. And we need to be particularly careful about claiming any curative properties of magnetic bracelets. But if even if we are careful not to go so far as to claim that magnets or magnetism can actually cure diseases, there is still another question we can ask. Do magnets really help with pain?

And if the answer is in the affirmative, that means that magnetic bracelets ease aches. And what would certainly be of tremendous value to millions of people all over the world.

This leads on to the next – and perhaps most relevant – point. And if magnetic bracelets work ‘ease aches’ – in other words, if magnetic bracelets DO work, say researchers, in pain relief then the next question is do magnetic bracelets work for arthritis? For is so, then there is such a thing as an arthritis bracelet. This does not mean a healing bracelet. After all, one may ask, what is a healing bracelet?

But should we, for that matter, limit the question solely to the bracelet. Don’t forget that a bracelet is worn on one’s wrist. But arthritis is a more indiscriminate disease. It can attack not only the hands but any of the limbs and also, of course, the neck and - most important – the back. This is discussed in more detail on the MPS Facebook page.

In practice practitioners of alternative therapy, as well as the more open-minded members of the “official” medical community, have attempted to use magnets to relieve pain in all of the areas of the body that can be affected by arthritis.

So the real question we need to ask, then is not about particular items of jewellery. Instead we should simply be asking, do MAGNETS work for arthritis?

How to remove links from a magnetic bracelet

Whilst there are many retailers of healing bracelets with therapy magnets for health etc, not all of the are equal. Some have bigger ranges than others. Some have faster delivery and some have better customer service.

The one that comes out on top in all of these areas is  Magnetic Products Store. Aside from having some of the best bracelets on the market, they have the biggest range in Europe and the second biggest in the world. They deliver fast and have excellent customer service. But the feature that stands out most is the way in which they anticipate customer problems and take a pro-active role in resolving them, instead of waiting until after the fact when the customer is already - understandably - frustrated.

One of the ways in which they do this is by having a series of troubleshooting pages addressing many, if not all, of the issues likely to affect customers.

So let's say that customers buying magnetic healing bracelets for arthritis get the sizes wrong (maybe they were buying for other people) - what do  they do without having to send it back? Well for a start whenever you by a links bracelet from MPS they send a free links removal tool with it. But that only helps if you know how to use it. The good news is that one of their very nicely illustrated Troubleshooting pages explains exactly how to use the tool.

Let's go through those simple instructions now.

You start by finding the side where you need to put the tip of the push pin (i.e. the pin on the device that is used to push the holding pins in and out of the bracelet.)

Then you align the push pin and the pin you want to remove from the bracelet. Next, you turn the handle of the device very slowly. This pushes out the pin.

When the pin stars to come out, use your fingers to pull it the rest of the way.

Do the same on the other side in order to remove the link or links completely. Then reconnect the bracelet as shown in the picture below. To insert the pin, push it part of the way with your fingers.

Then push it the rest of the way using the too and that's it!

See you next blog.

There's nothing like a happy customer

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a business without customers is not a business, but merely a hobby. However little known the feelings or views of the customers may be, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of business gurus, that it is considered as the rightful test of whether the business is a going concern.

It would be a useful exercise therefore to look at what the customers of Magnetic Products Store are saying. A customer called Paul wrote:

We have used Adva Trading on four occasions over the years and always find their products excellent value, good looking and effective in their use. Delivery is prompt and they are safely packed. The introduction of the link tool is an added bonus for the customer. Have recommended to friends and will continue to do so.

A man called Ron wrote:

Have deal with this company for several years now, and have bought a number of bracelets during that time.The orders were always processed very quickly and arrived within days.The quality of the product is excellent, I have no complaints at all. Have never had to send anything back.I would highly recommend them.

While Diana commented simply:

Professional and efficient service with quick delivery

Ian mentioned a variety factors that met with his favour:

Excellent range of bracelets at good prices, speedy delivery and a very courteous and helpful gentleman whom I spoke to on the phone.

While Ruth was more succinct:

Very pleased with bracelet quick delivery

Similar brevity characterized David's:

Great service from start to finish, Thank you

While Neil took pains to point out that it was an:

Amazingly quick delivery. Great quality. My old bracelet had lost some of its magnetism. After 24 hours with the new dual magnet one am feeling better

With Lynda, brevity was again the order of the day:

Nice bracelet good quality arrived very quickly

Richard emphasized the speed of the service and the packaging:

Very speedy service. Seemed as though it was delivered before I finished ordering! Well packed and packaged.

Elaine, on the other hand was more concerned with the effect of the bracelet on her condition:

Very pleased with the bracelet. After a week I really notice the difference.

So top marks for MPS for quality products, fast delivery and customer service.

Warlocks and health - a fresh persepctive

Some people dismiss magnetic health care products as superstitious mumbo jumbo - along with witches and warlocks. But the reality is that even dismissing warlocks is a bit of an oversimplification. Warlocks - at least of the self-styled variety - certainly exist. Whether they have magic powers is another matter.

But remember that magic is simply magnetic without the net. Take away the net - be it the internet or the safety net - and magic certainly exists.

Okay, you say, but real or not, what is the problem with warlocks? Are they bad? Surely we have gone beyond the old-fashioned bigotry of hating them on principle. Have we not entered the  Harry Potter age, when warlocks are recognized as being like people - in the sense that they can be good or bad?

The answer is yes and no. Warlocks may be good as well as bad, but it is all about the balance of power. A powerful friend and neighbour can also be a bigger pain in the arse than an outright enemy. Just ask Canada!

And that is why it is a good idea to keep the warlocks at bay with a warlock-repellent bracelet from Magnetic Products Store.

Although winter hasn't quite hit us just yet, the weather has turned distinctly autumnal - and that is bad news for people who suffer from arthritis. There's actually a debate about whether the weather actually does affect arthritis sufferers.

In fact I've covered this before. According to Philip Conaghan, professor of musculoskeletal medicine at the University of Leeds:

'Many claim that arthritis gets worse when the atmospheric pressure falls, just before it rains,' says Prof Conaghan. 'But scientific trials have failed to prove this. There is no evidence to show weather or climate has any effect on arthritis. OA occurs all over the world, in all types of climates.'

Maybe, but in what numbers or percentages, to what degree and does it fluctuate according to the weather? The professor doesn't say. But real world experience tells us that it does indeed get worse in the cold weather!

However, one of the ways that one can alleviate the pain is with copper and magnetic bracelets. It is a well-known fact that copper arthritis bracelets and therapy magnets for healing can make a difference. There is, in fact, a huge range bracelets for arthritis.

And now with Christmas coming up, this would seem like the perfect time to buy such a bracelet as a present. Indeed, you could do no better than to buy some of the best healing bracelets around from Magnetic Products Store.

To encourage this, and make it easier on your pocket, they are running a special three-for-one promotion. All you have to do is buy any three bracelets from their site - come on, you must have at least three friends - and you get the copper magnetic bangle shown in the big picture above. For more details, or simply to visit their website, just click on the highlighted link earlier in this paragraph and you will be instantly transported there - in a new tab - faster than you can say: "beam me up Scotty!"

I've noticed lately that I've been banging on too much about the weather and sport. Both are quintessentially British, even if our weather is lousy and our sporting success always falls short of our expectations - pace our recent Olympics successes.

So I promise, today, to find something else I'd like to talk about. And what I'd like to talk about is the magnetic bracelets from MPS with gemstones. The reason I mention these is because in my opinion they are nothing like what one might expect from a medical product. They are not like knee braces or insulin pumps. When you look at them, what do you see?

The answer is that you see an item of jewellery every bit as beautiful as you might see in the windows of Tiffany, Cartiers or House of Garrard - who were the Crown jewellers for 164 years until they were replaced by G Collins and Sons. Collins, for their part, have now apparently been replaced by Mappin and Webb.

But to get back to my narrative. Why does jewellery have to be expensive?  Diamonds are not rare - despite the efforts of certain interested parties to make us think otherwise. Nor are they necessarily any more attractive that Swarovski. They are not even a good "investment" because of the huge "spread" between the price that jewellers will charge you for them and the price you would get if you tried to sell one.

In short, diamonds are a pig in a poke... a naked emperor... bordering on a scam. And they have the nerve to question the ethics of selling magnetic jewellery as alternative medicine!

What hypocrisy!

So let us cast both the hypocrisy and the prejudice aside and judge not by what the experts tell us but rather by the evidence of our own eyes. And that's telling us one thing. These bracelets are good. And when you think about, you are the final judge.