Detox Foot Pads are a big hit in the alternative medicine market as a way to remove toxins from the body, thereby improving circulation, digestion, energy levels, and a host of other claimed benefits. Most people just want to know if they work, or if they’re just fooling around with their feet and wasting time.
Overview
It’s easy to see that we live in a more toxic environment than our ancestors did. With over 7 billion people on the planet, less oxygen than at any time before, pollutants in the air and water, and artificial chemicals in the food we eat, there’s little doubt that our bodies are left in a toxic state. It’s a good idea to help the body flush out these toxins, and keep our insides clean, but are these foot pads the way to do it?
The Claim
When you first hear about detox foot pads it sounds reasonable, especially if its accompanied by before and after pictures showing pristine white pads at the start, and dark and dirty pads as the after image. That simply must mean it’s working, right?
It’s amazing how many all-natural ingredients they can come up with to act as drawing agents for toxins. Vinegar, salt, and other substances are said to be able to suck out toxins through your feet and out of your body.
The Hype
These pads get hyped up mostly by those that are trying to sell them. If it’s not the overstated claims of how great you’ll feel once you start wearing them, it’s the obligatory before and after shots designed to convince you that it’s working.
The Cost
There are several different types of detox foot pads, and the manufacturers will try to convince you that theirs is better because it contains higher quality materials, is organic, etc. Try not to get carried away by the idea that more expensive pads mean better cleansing effects.
The Commitment
This is where they rope you in, since you don’t really have to do anything, and the magic happens while you’re sleeping. Many of the pads are not very expensive as well, so there’s a low barrier to entry. The less work involved in a method the more people it will entice, that’s just human nature.
Evaluation
First, the idea of toxins seeping out of your feet is a tough one to swallow. The skin just doesn’t let things ooze out of it, or it wouldn’t be doing its job. Yes, sweat does exit the body, and there are sweat glands in the feet. What research has found is that many of the detox foot pads on the market contain chemicals or all natural substances in them that turn the dark color when they are introduced to moisture, such as the moisture that occurs from a wrapped up foot while you sleep.
But you have to ask yourself, what sort of toxins exactly is this supposed to be drawing out, why do the pads actually act as a drawing agent, and what makes the feet a particularly good spot on the body to have them come out of. Perhaps if you were standing up gravity might make it a good choice, but you’re lying down so there’s nothing helping the flow out towards the feet. The whole concept seems like snake oil salesmanship when you step back from it and get very objective about it. At some point many years ago someone discovered that certain pads placed on the sweat glands of the feet will turn color and got others to believe this was a healing method.
All evidence points towards detox foot pads not working at all. You can safely save your time and money on these and invest it in more reliable and proven methods. It’s good to want to do healthy things for your body, and it’s easy to get roped into the idea of having something work while you sleep. But true detoxification takes a bit more effort on your part, so you have to be willing to put in the time in order to reap the benefits.
Our Recommendation
It’s important to keep your body clean, and there are cleanses that can be performed in order to help your body rid itself of anything that doesn’t belong. But the time, effort, and expense involved means you’ll have to get into it more than simply wrapping your feet up before bedtime. There are ways to clean most organs and systems of the body, including colon cleanses, heavy metal cleanses, parasite cleanses including a candida cleanse, and a liver and gallbladder flush. Each of these is met with its own criticism and skepticism, so you’ll have to do further research before deciding how to proceed.
The feet are the best place to wear the pads. However, benefits may be obtained from wearing the
patches on several places throughout the body. The pads can also be worn directly over a painful and
swollen area. They tend to work best when applied over a blood-rich spot, like the extremities, including the hands, feet, backs of knees, temple, neck and spine.
Overall lymphatic detoxing through the feet may easily take 30 days or more for the average person, longer if you are chronically ill. Most people use the pads on the arches of the feet to start with. The pads start becoming lighter in color as less “gooey” lymph is extracted. At that point, other areas of the feet can be addressed – the balls of the feet, the toes, the heel, even the ankle. Some will see results in a day or two, while others may take several weeks to sense something positive is happening.
A few people don’t seem to get a lot of “stuff” coming out of the feet at night — maybe due to a sluggish
lymphatic system, and poor circulation. These people may do better to wear the pads during the day, to get a fuller benefit from the pumping of circulation through the feet, or to put the pads on an hour or
two before bedtime, while they are still moving around.
Reports of more energy, better sleep, clearer and more positive thinking, and relief from all kinds of
symptoms, including chronic pain, migraines, fibromyalgia, are common. After the initial nightly
applications of several weeks, they may be worn once or twice a week, or a few times a month, as a
maintenance program, to continue to help the body with exposure to daily pollutants, as well as
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You’ve heard the claims made by detox foot patch marketers. They draw “toxins” from the body. They boost immune system health. Simply adhere the patches to your feet each night, and they miraculously do their magic as you sleep. However, explaining how detox foot patches work is a “sticky” topic. Media reports and Federal Trade Commission rulings point solidly to the evidence that they may affect your pocketbook and peace of mind–but not your health.
Detox foot patches, also called detox foot pads, are similar to large, white bandages with adhesive strips that allow them to stay on the sole of the foot. According to Mayo Clinic dermatologist Lawrence E. Gibson, M.D., the patches purportedly contain a variety of ingredients, typically wood vinegar, plants, herbs and tourmaline, a mineral. Purportedly, these “all-natural” ingredients draw out toxins, even heavy metals and poisons, such as lead and arsenic.
In the morning, you’ll peel off a detox foot patch only to be greeted with a frighteningly dark sludge on the pad’s surface–purportedly proof positive that “toxins” have been leeched from your system. Devicewatch.org, a site maintained by the National Council Against Health Fraud, considers detox foot patches consumer scams, citing the most popular brand, Kinoki, which was whisked off the shelves after the FTC filed suit against the marketer for making false claims. Stephen M. Barrett, M.D., states, “All such products should be regarded as fakes, and the proposed mechanisms should be regarded as nonsensical.”
Detox foot patches are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and therefore, cannot make claims to treat or cure your medical condition. Barrett points out that marketers of detox foot patches have no clinical studies to prove that their products work. This leaves it up to the media to expose detox food pads; an April 2008 segment of ABC’s 20/20 looked into two detox foot pad brands, Kinoki and Avon. The foot patches did indeed turn dark after use, but dropping water on the pad had the same effect. Furthermore, a laboratory analysis of foot patches used by volunteers revealed that no heavy metals, poisons or solvents were secreted into the used pads. The sole benefit of detox foot patches appears to be the placebo effect experienced by consumers who believe they work.
Sense About Science, a charitable trust based in the United Kingdom, makes it a mission to inform consumers of fraudulent health claims. Detox products are huge moneymakers–even though the word “detox” has no practical application outside of a clinical setting. In its attempt to create a “detox dossier,” Sense About Science discovered that marketers of detox foot patches were “unable to provide reliable evidence or consistent explanations of what the ‘detox’ process is supposed to be.” Your body is continually purifying itself without the need for foot patches or any other detox products. As Sense About Science explains, your intestines prevent harmful bacteria and other toxins from getting into your body, and those that do find a way in are processed by your liver and kidneys and exit your body through your urine.
A close cousin to detox foot patches are detox footbaths (ionic footbaths), which also purport to remove “toxins” from the body through the soles of the feet. However, the word “detox” attached to any consumer product should send up a red flag. Sense About Science points to “detox” supplements, socks, body wraps, herbal extracts and infusions and special diets, all of which promote a specific product, service or ritual. All of these are a waste of your time and money, and according to Sense About Science, “sow confusion about how our bodies, nutrition and chemistry actually work.”
