Detox foot pads are a Japanese product which is sold under the Kinoki brand. Manufactures claim that these detox foot pads help you, while you sleep, detox your body in a natural way.
How do detox foot pads work?
When you go to bed, you just apply them to your feet and they will naturally absorb toxins through the soles of your feet. Furthermore cleaning your body and making you feel healthier when you wake up in the morning.
These foot detox foot pads are very popular in Asian countries, where they are generally used. Currently they have an increased popularity on this side of the Atlantic, with people claiming a variety of degrees of effectiveness; the range goes from miraculous to useless.
The natural body process
I generally prefer natural body processes for losing weight and getting rid of toxins of the body. Of course, I understand that this is not always possible or easy in the stressful lives that we lead. Additionally, after dealing with the traffic after work, it is hard to find the strength necessary to run until you sweat naturally. That is why I can understand that some people are willing to use these detox foot pads as an alternative.
Our body uses perspiration as the main process to control our body heat and get read of toxins. You might not notice, but you are continuously sweating, even when you are not doing physical exercise. When we do physical activities, this process consequently happens in a much larger scale. That is why our nose recognises a bad smell when we sweat. We have exuded toxins through the sweat. Of course there are parts of the body which sweat more than others; First and foremost armpits and feet. Hence they smell more than the rest of the body.
Do these foot pads really work?
When you put those detox foot pads all night long on your feet, you increase the sweating “rate” of your feet, and consequently you sweat off more toxins that you normally would. That is why they have a bad smell when you take them off the next morning.
The extra amount of sweat due to those detox foot pads is not really cleaning your whole body of toxins. The feet are just sweating a bit more because of the pressure the detox food pads apply. Furthermore, you are only sweating off toxins that you can sweat normally through skin pores. As a result, they cannot cleanse your body of solid waste because skin is not porous.
Why do some people think they get wonderful results because of these pads?
I am personally of the opinion that they function on the same principle as placebos. If you really think they will work, they probably will. That is not really a bad thing, but I would rather go to the gym when I have time and sweat the toxins off on those rare occasions.