Detox foot pads: Do they really work?

You may have seen detox foot products advertised on TV and on the Internet. A man applies detox pads to the bottom of his feet at night and then goes to sleep. When he wakes up the next morning and peels back the pads from his feet, the pads have darkened considerably — supposedly from all the toxins it has drawn out of his body. Other similar products include detox foot baths or spas.

Sounds simple, and who wouldn't want toxins out of their body? The trouble is that no scientific studies have been published that demonstrate that these products actually remove toxins from the body.

Also, "toxins" is a trendy word — when pushed, most manufacturers of these products can't identify which specific toxins are supposedly being removed. Many doctors and scientists believe that these products aren't cleaning out anything but your wallet. As with anything that sounds too good to be true, wait for scientific evidence that proves the claim before investing your time and money in such products.