The Trim & Detox patch is one of several stick-on detox pads being marketed for a variety of health concerns. According to Trimanddetoxpatch.com, the patch has the ability to "flush fat-forming toxins right out of your body." What these fat-forming toxins are is never specified, though the site claims their removal "allows all excess fat to be eliminated from your body," presumably through the skin.
Trim & Detox Patch Ingredients
According to Trimanddetoxpatch.com, ingredients in Trim & Detox patches are bearberry, dandelion, cleavers, citrus aurantium and artichoke. Another website, The-trim-and-detox-patch.com, advertises its product as the Slim & Detox patch and lists its ingredients as wood and bamboo vinegar, chitosan, agaricus mushrooms and tourmaline. Wood vinegar and tourmaline are standard ingredients in detox foot patches marketed under a variety of names, including Kinoki, CleansePatch, BodyRelief, BodyPure and Chikusaku.
Manufacturer's Claims
The list of maladies manufacturers claim detox foot pads can treat include high blood pressure, insomnia, circulatory and lymphatic system disorders, depression and cellulite. It is often stated by manufacturers that detox foot pads work by drawing toxins through the Kidney Meridian on the sole of the foot, part of the Chinese acupressure system. Trim & Detox patches take these claims one step further by stating that their pads have the capability to suck all excess fat out of the body, and that this is accomplished by combating negative ions and penetrating the skin with far-infrared energy.
Scientific Evidence
Scientists and physicians have largely denounced foot detox patches, stating that there is no physiological mechanism by which toxins or cellulite can be drawn out through the skin of the feet, and no evidence that the pads lead to weight loss. As for foot pad manufacturers' claims that the pads turning brown and taking on a foul smell prove they work, "Los Angeles Times" reporter Chris Woolston stated in a September 22, 2008 article that applying saline solution to the pads produced the same discoloration and smell as applying them to his feet. Dr. George Friedman-Jimenez, the director of the Bellevue/New York University Occupational and Environmental Medicine Clinic in New York City, stated in an interview with ABC's "20/20" that any perceived benefits from detox patches were probably a result of a placebo effect. There is no evidence that the soles of the feet allow access to toxic negative ions or that the pads produce far-infrared energy.
Product Directions
The-trim-and-detox-patch.com instructs users to stick a pad to the bottom of each foot on the first day of a diet, claiming that using only one pad at a time will slow the toxin-removal process. The site recommends continuing to use two pads a day for seven days for an initial detox, then purchasing extra pads to use during the first three weeks of dieting, with a three- to five-day break between the detox and the ensuing three weeks. The same site later suggests a seven-day pre-diet detox, not specifying whether you should start dieting on the first day of patch use or after the weeklong detox. Fifteen-day maintenance treatments are recommended every two to three months thereafter.
Pricing and Availability
Trimanddetoxpatch.com and The-trim-and-detox-patch.com list prices for the patches, but these prices are not the same. The-trim-and-detox-patch.com states that Paypal is an accepted payment method. The parent company, Exist Marketing of Sydney, Australia, has no website of its own. Because of the difficulty of contacting Exist Marketing or ordering the patches online, customers who want to try detox foot patches may wish to choose one of many brands with similar ingredients available through online retailers and on pharmacy shelves.
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