It's one of the hottest spa treatments around. A foot bath that some spas claim can actually remove toxins from your body right through your feet.
It's called a foot detox and spas charge up to $85 for this seemingly miraculous treatment that supposedly draws toxins into a tub of water that changes color based on the organs being detoxed.
But does foot detox work?
In order to see if all the hype is true, we've got to take a look back and the human body and it's ability to detox. An alkaline body is crucial to a person’s health. Diseases thrive in an acidic environment. So basically, the less acidic your body is and the more alkaline, the less prone you are to contracting a disease, such as osteoporosis or cancer, according to Christine.
The Center for Disease Control reports that up to 85% of all illness are caused by toxins and pollutants in our bodies. The human body functions best when the ions are balanced at 80% negative and 20% positive. So how do we achieve this?
What we put into our body, such as the foods we consume, have either acidic or alkalizing properties. Check out the food charts for yourself here. The more of the higher alkaline foods you can incorporate into your diet the better. An ionic detox, helps to facilitate the alkalization process through the process of ionization, which removes “free radicals” from the body.
Let’s presume that toxins are being released and excreted through your feet as is claimed by the foot bath detox people. As you can see from pictures online, the color change makes it look incredible. But, that's not the whole story.
The amount of toxins needed to be released in order to turn the water a dark brown would have to be substantial in quantity. This brings two very interesting observations to the forefront. First, the body hides these toxins in cells because they are indeed dangerous. In fact, exposure to too large a quantity of these toxins at one time could kill you. So, many "detox experts" want you to believe that the body released so many toxins that the water was turned black/brown and that the person actually felt good afterwards! If all of those toxins were released at one time, the majority of people would become extremely ill and some would even die!
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Secondly, as all of these black/brown-colored toxins were being drawn through the feet; why would the person’s feet not turn black/brown? Think about that for a moment. Some may want you to believe that the electrical current is drawing the toxins to the feet in a concentration so high that it blackens the water. As those toxins accumulated in the tissues of the feet and the ankles, they should turn black/brown. Then, as the toxins slowly leached into the water the foot should turn back to a nice pinkish color. This does not occur. Additionally, the soles of the feet should stay black/brown for days in people with calloused feet.
Actually, the change in the color of the water has nothing to do with toxins coming out of your body and especially not from your feet. So what causes the change? The answer is simple chemistry. Some curious person asked the question of whether the water in the tub would change colors without the presence of a body part. The answer is, yes. Here is an excerpt from the manufacturer of one product:
“Of course, just how dirty the water becomes is related to how much sediment is in the actual water. When you test a bucket of water to see this principle (with no body parts in the water), how dirty it actually becomes will generally be the same each time you use a new bucket of water from the same source… If you were performing Aqua-Chi treatments, it is always a good thing to test a bucket of water to see what color it may go as a reference to help understand the color after a treatment."
People are not told this when they go for a “treatment.” They are simply told to be amazed at how many toxins came out of their tootsies.
So what does this all mean? It means that if you really want to detox, you should try one these true full body...
... detox procedures. Also, if you want to truly "detox" your feet, here's three soaks that work to removes toxins, old skin and renews your feet health.
1. Salt Detox Bath Recipe
1/4 cup Sea Salt or Himalayan Salt
1/4 cup Epsom Salt
1/4 cup Baking Soda
1/3 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
Favorite essential oils if desired (I use 10 drops of peppermint or lavender)
2. Clay Detox Bath Recipe
1/2 cup bentonite clay
1/2 cup epsom salts
essential oils if desired
3. Oxygen Detox Bath Recipe
2 cups (or more) of Hydrogen Peroxide
1 Tablespoon dried Ginger Powder
Oxygen Detox Bath Instructions
Fill the tub with warm/hot water and add the hydrogen peroxide and dried Ginger. Soak in tub for 30 minutes or as long as desired.
