Foot detox pads are placed on the soles before a person goes to sleep. The pads ostensibly draw toxins out of a person's body, which show on the pads as a dark brown residue. Over time, the stain on the foot detox pads lighten, which allegedly shows fewer toxins in the user's body. The FDA has warned pad manufacturers over making false claims.
Claims
Based on Asian cultural medicine, foot detox pads use such ingredients as crushed tourmaline, bamboo vinegar and wood vinegar. The items supposedly work together to draw toxins out of the body. The foot pads are also based on reflexology, using pressure applied to certain points on the foot to promote healing elsewhere in the body.
Problems
No medical studies have conducted on whether the pads actually do removetoxins from the body. The foot detox pads have been tested and such chemicals as lead, arsenic, aluminum and plastic by-products have been found in the pads. The tests that were conducted between new and used food detox pads found no difference, indicating that no toxins had been removed from the body. The only accurate way to determine if toxins are being removed from a person's body is to have a blood test preformed before using the foot pads, then again 30 days later.
Science
People state that the use of foot detox pads have helped with such ailments as headaches, fatigue, sleeplessness and skin blemishes. But the skin is not a semi-permeable membrane, meaning that toxins cannot pass through it. It is the liver and kidneys that help detoxify the body. The vinegars that are used in the foot pads are dried, thus when a person sweats through the soles of the feet, the vinegar will become a liquid again and that is what a person sees when he or she removes the foot pads in the morning.
Contraindications
No scientific studies have been conducted regarding the effects of foot detox pads on the body. The only tests that have been performed have been on the pads themselves. In some cases, toxic levels of metals have been found. Further, when the pads were opened, only a silica powder and dried vinegar was found. The stain which is supposedly caused by removed toxins is actually caused by the vinegar's reconstitution. The FDA has issued warnings to the producers of the detox foot pads for false and misleading claims.
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