Chi Detox Foot Patches

Chi detox foot patches are one of many wood vinegar-based stick-on pads currently being marketed as toxin removal systems. Manufacturers of detox pads claim that they rid the body of toxins such as heavy metals and even cellulite. The pads are stuck to the soles of the feet like bandages before going to be bed and removed in the morning, at which point they tend to be dark in colour, greasy and foul-smelling.

How it Works

The various herbs and other natural ingredients contained in foot pads supposedly produce an infra-red response in your body that improves cell function, stimulates blood flow and moves poisons and other waste fluids out of the body. The darkened, soiled, appearance of the foot pad when it's removed each morning is supposedly proof that toxins are being excreted from your body. Foot pad users are typically instructed to use a fresh pad nightly until the pad gradually becomes lighter and lighter. Lighter-coloured pads purportedly indicate a notable reduction of toxins in your body.

Ingredients

Wood vinegar, bamboo vinegar and tourmaline make up the main ingredients in foot detox patches. Bamboo vinegar is supposed to remove the waste that is stuck in your body, and the wood vinegar absorbs and sterilises other toxins while fighting any welling or minor pains you may have. Tourmaline is a mineral, and its properties are supposed to cleanse and invigorate your body while stabilising your central nervous system.

Benefits

Some of the claimed health benefits are:

·         Waste and Toxic Materials are supposedly pulled from the body

·         Boost the Immune System,

·         Enhance Circulation,

·         Improve Sleep

·         Treat Skin Rashes

·         Reduce Stress and Depression

·         Diminish Headache and Arthritis pain,

·         Lower Blood Pressure and

·         Improve Energy Levels

Scientific Evidence

Scientists and physicians have largely denounced foot detox patches as a scam, stating that there is no physiological mechanism by which toxins, cellulite, parasites or heavy metals can be drawn out through the skin of the feet. As for the foot pad manufacturers' claims that the pads' turning brown and taking on a foul smell proves 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. Steve Gilbert, director of the Institute of Neurotoxicology and Neurological Disorders at the University of Washington in Seattle, dismisses the idea that toxins can be drawn out through the feet as ‘silly’. 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 the placebo effect.

Side Effects

Feet detox patches have no reported side effects other than an occasional allergic reaction to a product in the foot patch or to the adhesive. Signs of an allergic reaction include skin irritation, rash, swelling, itchiness or difficulty breathing.