How They Work

• You apply these pads to the bottoms of your feet before going to bed. At the bottom of your foot are acupressure points. It is here that the toxins from the major internal organs are drawn out. The warmth from your body causes the pores in the skin to open. Once the pores are open, waste is drawn through the skin by osmotic pressure from your blood and lymph system.
  
  

The Ingredients

• No matter what type of detoxifying pad you purchase, they contain most of the same ingredients. Among the ingredients are wood vinegar, dextrin, and starch, which help with the absorption of liquid. Vitamin C and vegetable fibers serve as antioxidants. Bamboo vinegar helps to discharge waste. The loquat leaf helps to alleviate coughing and nausea (brought on by the toxins in the body). Tourmaline relieves stress and anxiety. Chitosan traps the impurities from your body within the pad. The bamboo sap treats infections. The negative ions neutralize the free radicals from the toxins. The ingredients in the pads are always listed, but amounts or quantities never are, nor any details of why they should work. Dr. Derva Davis, director of the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh ran her own tests on the pads. She discovered little more than green tea and vinegar inside.
  
  

Who Should Use the Pads?

• The makers of these detoxifying foot pads recommend them for anyone who suffers from sleep disturbances, headaches, muscle tension, fatigue, nervousness, anxiety, gastrointestinal disturbances, changes in eating habits, loss of energy, or mood changes. They assert that these symptoms are evidence that the body needs to detoxify.
  
  

The Claims

• The manufacturers claim these pads will absorb toxins from the body, relieve the burden of the immune system, promote overall health and wellness, improve sleep, and increase circulation. They will absorb heavy metals, metabolic waste, and harmful chemicals from the body.
  
  

See the Results

• When pulling off the detox pads the next morning, you're likely to find them stained and smelly. The stain and odor are the supposed remnants of toxins pulled from your system during the night. However, according to an investigation done by National Public Radio, after an analysis at an EPA certified lab in Berkley, there was no significant change between used and unused pads. They were nearly identical, and no toxins had been found within the used pad. In fact, further investigation showed that the stain and odor were a result of moisture being applied to the pad.
  
  

Feel the Results

• Whether the pads are effective in detoxifying your body is up for debate. Some people who have used them say they feel more energized and alert. Others experience no change at all. Some have suggested that many people may feel differently after using the pads due to the placebo effect; if they desire the change, they may just make it happen. The manufacturers insist that the pads be used multiple times until they no longer come off the foot stained. Only after the pads come off clear have you been effectively detoxified.
  
  

What the Research Suggests

• Those who have analyzed these pads suggest that they provide no benefit to the users, and that the claims are ludicrous. There is no scientific evidence to support the claims. Toxins cannot be secreted through the skin, but rather heavy metals are excreted through the kidneys and intestinal tract, while metabolic waste is released through the urine and feces.