Detox foot baths and pads, detox your wallet.

The human mind is a wonderful thing. We can convince ourselves that if we spend money on something to make us feel better, chances are we WILL feel better. The simple fact about ion foot baths, and foot pads, is they are smoke and mirror, snake oil, nothing more. They will work with or without feet. The detox foot bath works when the salt water reacts to the electrodes. It is basically corrosion. Lab test on the water after a so called treatment have come in, and the result is iron/rust, time after time, and nothing more. No synthetics, heavy metals, parasites, or any other toxins have shown up in every test done.

Marketers claim these baths and pads will cure any ailment. If you have a sleep problem, menstrual cramps, skin problems, stress, toothaches, yeast infections, and even wrinkles!!! Any ailment you have will be corrected with treatment. They use words like "mind/body/spirit", "vitality", "well being" and "cell detox" They have gone so far as to make up reports from doctors, and make a chart of colors to look for when detoxing. Claiming each color represents the part of the body that is detoxified. Many have websites quoting what they think is scientific informantion about blood cells, etc. But these sites are all connected to the sale of their equipment for the cost of $100 up to over $1000. The equipment may of cost them as little as $20. Pads are mostly made in China with heaven knows what type of chemicals. 

The makers and sellers of these products use confussing words and try to sound scientific, however the bottom line is that they are modern day snake oil and tonic salesmen. Looking to scam you out your hard earned money.

Here's the scoop:  After the unit is allowed to work for several minutes, the bath will fill with iron-chloride (with or without feet). It is from the electrolytic interaction between the sodium chloride (salt) that was put in the water, and the iron in the electrodes. Hence the "SMOKE AND MIRRORS". Now, note that the Iron-Chloride is mildly poisonous and aggressive against many metals.

You can easily repeat the process: Dissolve a spoonful of salt in a glass of water. Connect the poles of a 9v battery to two large nails and place them in the water (they must not touch) First you will see "gas bubbles", then after a while the water turns brown with a mixture of colors.  What the colors really mean is that you shelled out money to put your feet in a bucket of sludge, YUCK.  If the water used is hard water, tap water or distilled water, the results can come out in different colors. Also the amount of salt used can vary results. This explains why some who can sit side by side for "treatment" can have different colors in the water. Not to mention different chemicals that can be on a persons foot from their shoes, socks, laundry detergent, lotions, etc. Some marketers admit that the colors are due to electrode conversion, and there is less emphasis on toxin removal and more emphasis on the "balancing of energy" that is not measurable with scientific instruments (and therefore untestable).  The bottom line is very simple. All such devices should be considered medically worthless.

Detox foot pads claim to also remove toxins, but again this is impossible. Because we know that the liver detoxifies, this tells you that the whole idea of removing "toxins', "parasites" and even "cellulite" from the bottom of the feet is completely false. The pads picks up dead skin, oil, dirt, sweat, and the chemical in the pad ENSURES the color. The more your feet sweat, the more color you will see. If you are one of the many consumers that have these, you can test it yourself. Simply run hot water on the pad. It will turn the same color as if it where on your foot all night. Remember, the skin has no ability to excrete toxins. Real detox of foreign substances take place in the liver, which modifies their chemical structure so they can be excreted by the kidneys which filter them from the blood into the urine. 

PLACEOB effect is the result of people feeling better, nothing more. Again the power of the mind. Anytime there is something new where someone can make a quick buck you will find people jumping on the bandwagon. Shameless marketer's praying on the consumer. 

REFERENCES

Research for Aqua Detox, Aqua detox international website, accessed Feb. 13, 2007

American Cancer Society. Questionable methods in cancer management. Electronic devises. CA. A Cancer Journal for Clinicians 44:115-127, 1994

Harris G. "A detox to make your toes curl". Daily Telegraph, June 6th 2003

ByeDr.com Medicine questions and Answers, does ionic foot bath detox .byedr.com/medicine/1798-1-byedr-devicewatch.org,  The aqua detox scam, detox foot pad scam

doctorajaadams.com, detox foot spa