Sunday, November 2, 2008

Foot Detox - The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

By Frank Rodriguez

When I first heard about foot detox a couple years ago, I was curious about the claims that an ionic foot bath can remove toxins from your body. I live in a major metropolitan area (Chicago), so I'm not breathing clean air or drinking pure water. On top of that, I eat processed foods daily even though I know it's not doing me any favors.

I think I'm above average when it comes to eating healthy, but I think going vegetarian or raw is out of the question (I love Chicago pizza too much), and moving to the mountains near a freshwater spring isn't in the cards anytime soon, so if there's reasonably-priced technology that can help keep me optimally healthy, I'm interested in learning more. Fortunately, it's easy to research "foot detox" online since there are 1000s of websites that talk about it. Unfortunately, there are two popular but opposing viewpoints that make it a challenge to get a balanced opinion about the subject.

On one end you've got the companies who are selling the foot detox equipment or providing it as a service. For years, these folks have been claiming that the color of the ionic foot bath water indicates the part of the body being detoxified. On the other end, you've got the people who understand some of the science behind this technology, but are too cynical to accept the possibility that there might be something to this whole foot detox thing, opting to ignore the many health benefit claims of the people who use it. These two opposing sides aren't addressing the other side's point of view, which makes both viewpoints lack credibility.

I'd like to make one simple point here in an effort to bring some balance to this issue - the water in a ionic foot bath will change color whether a person's feet are in the water or not. The people who understand the science behind have taken this fact as proof that foot detox offers no health benefits whatsoever. The people who sell detox foot bath units claim that the color of the water is a clear indication of the part of the body that's being detoxified. But there's more to this story that both sides are missing.

The cynics who understand that oxidation of the metal array accounts for the immediate color change in a detox foot bath draw the premature conclusion that the entire thing is snake oil and anyone who claims to have health benefits is only experiencing the placebo effect. This is a lazy approach to scientific research because these people are ignoring many health benefit claims that go beyond what the placebo effect is capable of.

I'm not an expert on how a ionic foot bath works, but I've done enough research to know that many people are experiencing health benefits that go far beyond what the placebo effect is capable of. Just this week I spoke with a woman who found a hookworm in her ionic foot bath water after a treatment! I've spoken with smokers whose water smells strongly of smoke odor. I'm willing to admit that some of the many claims of pain relief can be attributed to the placebo effect, but parasites and strong smoke odors aren't in your head, they're real.

I recently met a woman who's provided foot detox to hundreds of people. She talked to me for 45 minutes about the many health benefits her clients have received, and the many doctors who have been mystified by the recoveries their patients have experienced after receiving foot detox treatments.

I'm convinced that most people doing a foot detox are getting something more than just the placebo effect, but I still have an issue with the whole color-of-the-water=the-part-of-the-body-being-detoxed claim. If you've done a foot detox then you know that the water starts to turn brown almost immediately. This is due to oxidation of the metal array in the water. I've talked with dozens of people and most of them have the same color water as me - brown, the color of rust. Water analysis done by a laboratory has confirmed a significant increase in iron. But there's more to the story. The water starts out as brown, but for many people, the water eventually turns other colors, such as white, green or black. If it's not rust causing those color changes, then what is it?

The popular color chart used by most ionic foot bath providers says that brown water indicates "liver detoxification, cellular debris and tobacco detoxification", but there's no way I'm going to believe that my liver starts shooting toxic debris out of my feet a few seconds after starting an ionic foot bath. I've never smoked so that's not a factor. Several labs have done water analysis and found high levels of iron in the water, so I'm confident in my conclusion about what's causing the water to turn brown - oxidation of the metallic array.

I've talked with dozens of people who regularly use aionic foot bath and most of them have the same color water as me - brown, the color of rust. Now to be fair, not everyone has the same color water, which is why I'm open to there being some truth to the idea that the color indicates the part of the body being detoxed, but the fact remains that many of the proponents of foot detox are ignoring basic chemistry and undermining their credibility in the process.

However, in 2002, Doctor's Data, Inc., a laboratory in St. Charles, IL, did a before and after water analysis of an ionic foot bath and found significant increases in antimony, arsenic, copper, lead, uranium, barium, cadmium, chromium, nickel, aluminum, iron, manganese and zinc in the detox foot bath that had feet in it compared to the water that had no feet. The increase in heavy metals had to come out of the feet, proof positive that there's more to this story than simple oxidation of metal.

Another matter that debunks the cynic is that the woman I spoke with, the one who had the hookworm come out during her ionic foot bath, told me her water usually turns black, even though her husband who uses the same unit always has brown water. Is this issue cut and dry? Hardly. Both sides of this controversy would benefit from paying closer attention to each other and learning what the other side knows. - 14130

About the Author:

No comments: