'Detoxifying' Foot Pads are a Scam

October 20, 2008

An NPR experiment on Kinoki foot pads tested to see if they'd drawn

anything out of a reporter's body.

Reporter Sarah Varney and her husband bought some " detoxifying "

Kinoki foot pads and wore them to bed. In the morning, they both

awoke find the pads covered in the brown mess that the advertisement

had promised. But when they took the foot pads to a lab and had them

analyzed and compared with unused pads, the used pads were almost

identical to the blank.

Further experimentation showed that the " gunk " in the pads shows up

if you hold the pad over a pot of boiling water. Who knew steam

had " metabolic waste " ?

Sources:

The Consumerist August 19, 2008

ABC News April 11, 2008

MSNBC June 19, 2008

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Dr. Mercola's Comments:

I have received quite a number of emails from readers lately asking

questions about these types of detoxifying foot pads; seems a lot of

people desperately want to believe they work as advertised.

The Kinoki foot pads -- as well as other brands -- promise to draw

out everything from heavy metals to metabolic wastes, toxins,

parasites, cellulite and more, to restore your vitality and health.

I always questioned the value of this tool for detoxification, and,

despite the lack of scientific research, the independent

investigative reports above seem to agree: The likelihood that

detoxifying foot pads work is slim to none.

However, certain foot pads may still offer some value – just not

necessarily what they're advertising. And, you're not likely to get

it from most brands.

Dr. Klinghardt Sheds Light on " Detoxifying " Foot Pads

In my recent two-hour Inner Circle interview with my good friend, Dr.

Dietrich Klinghardt -- who is a pioneer and one of my primary mentors

in natural medicine, and founder and president of the American

Academy of Neural Therapy – I had the opportunity to ask him for his

perspective and experience with detoxifying foot pads.

I came in contact with the foot pads about ten years ago through a

Swiss-based company that was marketing the first footpad in Europe.

The company is called Seguin, and they're marketing the traditional

Japanese foot pad.

It's been out for over 100 years; the Japanese are using fermented

bamboo vinegar. Now, what struck me at the time is that this bamboo

juice had to be fermented for nine years before it was used.

We tried other foot pads, and there was clearly an effect similar to

acupuncture, where people's energetic systems improved.

I did not see any significant triggering of detoxification—we just

saw improvements in the autonomic nervous system, depending on where

you put the foot pad.

Typically, by putting it on the soles of the feet, there is, in

acupuncture, a relationship to the kidney meridian. And we did find

that an improvement in urine, and in the organic acids. The kidneys

bind toxins to organic acids, and the more organic acids come out,

the more effective the kidneys are working.

And we clearly saw an improvement with that.

So, the benefit is not really relating to heavy metals, but more to

the carbon-based toxins.

Then several other companies came out with different concoctions of

things that they put in a footpad -- that were not fermented for 9

years -- other sorts of more exotic things, and they made all sorts

of claims…

I simply use my muscle testing in my autonomic response testing

system, and none of the [commercial] pads have held up. Some of them

looked promising, but none of them held up and have become part of my

approach. I don't want to say that all of them are bad or worthless,

but the ones I tested certainly didn't hold their promise.

There's always an initial placebo effect when you do something like

this.

Certainly I can say that bamboo vinegar in the original pads had

clear benefits that we could also biochemically demonstrate, but I

think there is a lot of questionable science out there with that, so

I have stopped using them.

So there you have it.

There may be some biochemical benefits from the original Japanese

foot pads that contain more expensive ingredients, such as 9-year old

fermented bamboo vinegar.

But, as far as detoxing heavy metals and toxins, not even the

original foot pads could accomplish that.

As the investigations by the NPR, ABC and MSNBC, Dr. Klinghardt

couldn't find any proof that the pads drew out toxins or metabolic

wastes either.

Toxicology Lab Found No Toxins in Used Foot Pads

Like reporter Sarah Varney, 20/20's correspondent John Stossel also

took used pads in for toxicology testing. And, like hers, Stossel's

results came back negative.

20/20 asked NMS Labs, a national laboratory in Willow Grove, Pa., to

analyze used Kinoki and Avon pads from eight volunteers. They tested

for heavy metals, including arsenic and mercury, and 23 solvents such

as benzene, tolulene and styrene.

None of these common toxins were found in the used pads.

So what's that brown, foul-smelling gunk?

It's just a natural reaction between the ingredients and the moisture

from the bottom of your foot.

Exposing the pads to moisture, either by placing them over a steaming

pot of water, or putting a few drops of water on them will make the

ingredients turn a darker color and emit an unpleasant odor.

Dr. Devra Davis, director of the Center for Environmental Oncology at

the University of Pittsburgh and an expert on toxins, also conducted

a similar experiment on her own, leaving the pads out overnight

without their protective packaging. In an article for MSNBC she

stated the pads contain " little more than green tea and vinegar, " and

that the color and odor are likely the result of these

ingredients " interacting with oxygen, heat or moisture. "

20/20 asked Avon and Kinoki for scientific test results showing the

pads do what they claim to do, but neither company fulfilled the

request.

Detoxing… For Real

Your environment does indeed have a profound impact on your health.

Everything from the quality of the air you breathe to what you put

into, and onto, your body makes a difference. Mercury alone can mimic

or cause any illness currently known, or at least contribute to it.

Detoxing and cleansing your body of toxins periodically can

definitely help.

But what is the best way to rid your system of toxins?

As I write this I just returned from a three day think-tank outside

of Los Angeles with some of the top experts in autism detoxification

(www.thriiive.com). We explored some of the major modalities that are

available.

The group came up with the following consensus and priority

Healthy Living

Avoiding Electromagnetic Fields (EMF)

Clean Water

Healthy Food

Healthy Movement

Emotions & Relationships

Tests

Organ Support

Supplements

Detox Tools

As you can see detoxification is a very important tool but it is

clearly not high on the priority list of what to do if you are sick.

It is one of the last steps in the process. I will be providing more

information about these in the future as our group comes to a

consensus but the key is that detoxification is a late step done

after you have started the basics.

If you fail to follow an orderly process and begin detoxification

processes prematurely before you are ready you can become very sick.

When Should You NOT Detox?

So please remember do not start a detox regimen when you are sick.

You need to start your healthy lifestyle FIRST, before you start

detoxing, so you have a reserve that your body can draw on to allow

your liver to do its job properly.

If you fail to do this you can easily overwhelm your liver's ability

to process these toxic substances that are being eliminated and you

will become VERY sick, wishing you had never done the detox in the

first place. I have seen this many times, so please use some caution.

Related Articles:

Detox in the Sauna

Toxic Metals: The Reason You Still Feel Sick

The Detoxx System: Detoxification of Biotoxins in Chronic

Neurotoxic Syndrome

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/

2008/10/14/detoxifying-foot-pads-are-a-scam.aspx?source=nl

October 23, 2008

Depending on where they got that water from - the foot pads can turn

that brown color because of the impurities in the water.

Carol

, " Raven " <NWRaven wrote:

> Further experimentation showed that the " gunk " in the pads shows up

if you hold the pad over a pot of boiling water. Who knew steam had

" metabolic waste " ?

October 23, 2008

Steam should have no impurities in it. To be sure, try this over boiling distilled water.

For the most part, however, most of these pads are a scam and if you weight them at the start and then allow them to dry out after you have worn them there would be no incresse in weight. This would mean that, if any toxins were absorbed, the amount would be almost insignificant.

You probably do as much good with an epsom salt foot bath or by applying bentonite clay to the feet, put cotton or wool socks on overnight and wash it off in the morning.--- On Thu, 10/23/08, bluegreensolutions <bluegreensolutions wrote:

bluegreensolutions <bluegreensolutions Re: 'Detoxifying' Foot Pads are a Scam Date: Thursday, October 23, 2008, 8:34 AM

Depending on where they got that water from - the foot pads can turnthat brown color because of the impurities in the water.Carol, "Raven" <NWRaven > wrote:> Further experimentation showed that the "gunk" in the pads shows upif you hold the pad over a pot of boiling water. Who knew steam had"metabolic waste"?

October 25, 2008

While I'm not convinced that the foot pads remove toxins, I am convinced they do something. The first time I tried them, I got the most solid night's sleep I'd had in years. When my daughter got up, she immediately came to tell me how great her sleep was. We both felt noticably more refreshed upon rising, every time we used them.

We used them for about 90 days without seeing any improvement in the amount of discoloration. However, we are both recovering from substantial heavy metal poisoning.

We bought inexpensive foot pads in bulk, off ebay at a great price. For someone struggling with insomnia, or even frequent nighttime waking, the pads might be worth a try.

Darla

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Tony De Angelis

Thursday, October 23, 2008 6:03 PM

[sPAM]Re: Re: 'Detoxifying' Foot Pads are a Scam

Steam should have no impurities in it. To be sure, try this over boiling distilled water.

For the most part, however, most of these pads are a scam and if you weight them at the start and then allow them to dry out after you have worn them there would be no incresse in weight. This would mean that, if any toxins were absorbed, the amount would be almost insignificant.

You probably do as much good with an epsom salt foot bath or by applying bentonite clay to the feet, put cotton or wool socks on overnight and wash it off in the morning.--- On Thu, 10/23/08, bluegreensolutions <bluegreensolutions > wrote:

bluegreensolutions <bluegreensolutions (AT) (DOT) .com> Re: 'Detoxifying' Foot Pads are a Scam Date: Thursday, October 23, 2008, 8:34 AM

Depending on where they got that water from - the foot pads can turnthat brown color because of the impurities in the water.Carol, "Raven" <NWRaven > wrote:> Further experimentation showed that the "gunk" in the pads shows upif you hold the pad over a pot of boiling water. Who knew steam had"metabolic waste"?