In 2008, a new product won the attention of Americans interested in natural healing. Manufacturers of detoxifying foot pads claimed that they would extract toxins from your body through the soles of your feet. The foot pads sold in large numbers, but consumers, doctors and journalists soon began wondering about their effectiveness. After examination, discussion and expert observation, detox foot pads were determined to be a complete hoax. In fact, Wired called them "the most appalling medical scam since magnetic immortality devices."
Advertised Function
ABC News quoted the original commercial for Kinoki Foot Pads as claiming that they would "collect heavy metals, metabolic wastes, toxins, parasites, cellulite and more, giving you back your vitality and health." The foot pads are adhesive patches that you attach to the bottom of your foot while you sleep. During the night, they purportedly drain toxins through the skin of your foot, and in the morning, the patch has turned black from all the waste it's removed from your body.
Observed Effects
ABC and MSNBC both ran stories on Kinoki Foot pads, including personal tests of the product. ABC's personal testers generally noticed no benefit, though a few of them felt they had more energy or better health after using foot pads. MSNBC's reporter observed that the pad did turn black, but that she didn't feel any better or worse. Instead, she noticed that she could make the foot pad turn black just by holding it over boiling water.
Expert Insight
Dr. George Friedman-Jimenez, the director of the Bellevue / New York University Occupational and Environmental Medicine Clinic in New York City, told ABC News "I don't think that they act by removing toxins from the body." On Device Watch, Dr. Stephen Barrett wrote that the theory behind them is faulty: the skin is not semi-permeable, so a pad placed on the foot can not draw chemicals through the skin. "Real detoxification takes place in the liver," Dr. Barrett states. "The skin has no involvement in this process and is not an organ of detoxification."
Misconceptions
The most convincing "evidence" that the foot pads work is their black color and foul odor after being worn for a few hours. ABC News describes their appearance as "a mini-Superfund site." However, Dr. Devra Davis, director of the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh and an expert on toxins, told MSNBC that the pads contain little more than green tea and vinegar, and that the color and odor change is probably due to their interaction with oxygen, heat or moisture.
Warning
Dr. Ed Zimney, a columnist at Everyday Health, was incensed at the fraudulent claims being made by foot pad manufacturers. "This is such a blatant scam that it gives other scams a bad name!" he wrote. He goes on to warn that there is no scientific evidence that indicates this product could work. MSNBC's reporter didn't take as strong a tone, but the message was clear: "While Kinoki foot pads probably won't hurt you, they likely won't help you either. Save your money and put it toward a nice pedicure."
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