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Body detoxification products been very popular in the United States since th mid 1960s, when popular Asian remedies began to trickle into Western culture along with the spiritual bases of many of those alternative medicine strategies. Since purity of the body is thought to be associated with improvements in energetic balance and overall health, it is thought that detoxifying can cure what ails you. Detox foot pads, patches, and spa treatments are some of the more controversial of these detox treatments, because their relationship to these ideologies is direct and apparent. In this article we will review the way that detox foot pads work in theory.
It is important to remember that the claims made about detox treatments are not based on medical research, and have not been reviewed by the food and drug administration. So when we talk about how they work, we are really talking about the way that practitioners and users believe they work. With that in mind, let us begin with an overview of the theory and practice of foot detox and the kinoki foot pads that are being sold for the purpose of accomplishing this cleansing process.
Foot detox is a type of detoxification through which toxins including heavy metals, in your body are supposedly taken out of your system naturally by drawing them out through the surface of your feet. It is marketed as an easy and simple way of detoxifying your body as you do not need to undergo any particular diet or health regimen while you are in the process of using it. You simply insert the kinoki detox foot pads into your shoes in the morning or at night and walk around as you normally would.
The theory goes that the detox foot patches work by putting special ingredients in contact with your skin that draw out the toxic elements. The foot detox pads are simply the delivery agent for these ingredients, although it is also common to use a foot detox bath or spa treatment to enhance absorption and speed the process. Some of the toxic substances thought to be removed from the body in this way are heavy metals, parasites that are only visible through microscopes, metabolic wastes, toxins, chemicals, mucous, cellulite and a lot more. The pads turn brown as they remove the toxins from your body, so that you can see them working. However, some reports claim that this is simply a result of the reaction between the foot pad ingredients and the natural components of your sweat, including plain water.
One of the main constituents of these detox foot patches is called Tourmaline, which is said to emit far infrared rays (FIR) that create negative ions, which are believed to have a calming therapeutic effect on the body. As you wear foot pads, the negative ions stimulate acupressure points for a number of vital organs and result in detoxification activity as well as better circulation. Aside from Tourmaline, kinoki detox pads also contain bamboo vinegar, which was discovered by scientists to have the capability of absorbing toxins through your skin when prepared in a highly processed formulation.
Why does it need to be applied on the feet? Although it can be applied to the other parts of the body, the manufacturers claim that it works best on the feet. Based on tradition Chinese medicine (TCM), the soles of the feet contain more than 60 reflexology meridian points. Because of this, the feet serve as reflective areas of the various major organs. Also, toxins tend to accumulate in the feet by way of gravity and the feet is therefore part of the body’s mechanism to remove toxins out of the vital organs.
The problem with these claims is that they go against Western medicine’s conceptualization of how physicial toxicity and detoxification works, which is through the liver by way of the production and use of enzymes and filters which transmit the toxins out of the blood stream and into the stool. Also, because there are no peer reviewed double blind randomized controlled trials (RCTs) demonstrating the efficacy of foot detox treatments, there is no way to know whether they really work. You can find plenty of testimonials from people who used these pads and think they work, but this could just as well be the result of the placebo effect, or simply the effect that a certain number of people will get better over time whether they receive any treatment or not.
It is unlikely that using detox foot pads or patches would cause you any harm, so it is not likely that your doctor would object to your trying them out too strongly, as there is little potential for any positive or negative effects, as far as western medicine is concerned. Your doctor will probably tell you not to expect any results at all from using these pads–no changes in health, alleviation of pain, no cure of any disease.
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