In the past several years, a number of lymphatic drainage products have hit the market that claim to pull out toxic heavy metals and negative ions through the soles of the feet, via the kidney meridian of the Chinese acupuncture system. The primary methods of foot detox are stick-on gauze patches filled with wood vinegar and herbs and ionic foot baths, which manufacturers claim drain lymphatic toxins into a basin of water,
Ionic Foot Detox
Ionic foot baths allow clients to soak their feet in salt water through which low-voltage current is transmitted via an electrode assembly called an array. According to DeviceWatch.com, Aqua Detox International claims that their foot baths produce an array of positive and negative ions, that "resonate through the body" and stimulate cells to heal themselves while releasing toxins such as heavy metals. Similarly, NewCellDetox.com states that "a series of timed positive and negative ions" emitted by their foot bath while the user's feet are immersed "reconditions and synchronizes the body's natural ionic flow." The water in an ionic foot bath changes colors as the user soaks, which manufacturers claim is proof that the lymphatic system is being drained and toxins are being released.
Manufacturer's Claims
Ionicfootbathproducts.com claims its foot baths can inactivate viruses, bacteria, yeast and fungus, balance the immune system, purify the lymph nodes, enhance nutrient absorption, increase body flexibility and cause weight loss without the need for diet and exercise. Other ionic foot detox machine manufacturers make similar statements, with SeaBreezeIonCleanse.com claiming that their system actually has the power to pull blood clots out of the body and into the water. According to Blisstree.com, some parents of autistic children swear that ionic foot baths relieve symptoms of the disorder, with foot bath manufacturers making no claims to the contrary.
Mechanism of Action
According to AMajorDifference.com, the array is placed in a saline solution bath with the feet and delivers a small direct current into the water, causing the metals in the array to interact with the saline and generate positively and negatively charged ions. The website claims that these ions neutralize charged particles in the body, pulling them through the skin via osmosis and diffusion. The processes of osmosis and diffusion generate movement of particles through a cell membrane, increasing them from a lower to a higher concentration. In the case of ionic foot baths, the higher concentration is the ion field generated by the array in the saline.
Popular Brands and Pricing
One of the earliest manufacturers of ionic detox foot baths, IonCleanse, allows users to make a downpayment on their machines and then buy prepaid cleansing minutes through their "pay per cleanse" program. Minutes can be purchased on the company's website, AMajorDifference.com. Other manufacturers simply sell their machines outright, at a wide range of prices, from $399 to $2100 as of 2010.
Expert Insight
Seeking to debunk ionic foot bath manufacturers' claims, "The Guardian" reporter Ben Goldacre conducted an experiment in which he placed two metal nails in a bowl of salt water and used a car battery to send current through them. As he suspected, the water turned brown and formed sludge on top, just like an ionic bath after a foot detox. Goldacre then sent a colleague for a foot detox and asked him to collect water samples from his ionic bath. Laboratory tests of both water samples proved that the change of water color was the result of increased iron content. These results indicate that the color change of the water is due primarily to rust precipitation from electrode corrosion rather than to toxins drawn from the feet.
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