"Was the water distilled? The body has water in it too. I don't have an agenda, I just don't think the water test means anything unless it was steam distilled water."

Interested in the FDA's interpretation? Came across the following on Yahoo Answers.
________

Pads containing certain ingredients are placed on feet during sleep to allegedly pull toxins from the body. The amount of 'soil' that appears on the pad in the morning is cited as proof that toxins have been removed. Since the same effect can be created by dampening the pad with water, skeptics consider these pads a form of pseudoscience.

While there are significant claims of many Asian medical studies that prove the health benefits of detox foot patches, there are no known studies. On January 3, 2008, the FDA released an urgent warning [2] regarding the potential dangers of many imported pharmaceutical substances including several brands of detox foot patches. To date, no foot patch or pad product is approved for use in the United States by the FDA.
----
[en.wikipedia.org]

So it is at best a pseudo-science and is NOT approved by the FDA. Still skeptic? Notice that Wikipedia uses FDA's ALERT released on January 3rd 2008 as a reference, which talks about UNAPPROVED new drugs promoted in the US and their DETENTION WITHOUT EXAMINATION.
[www.fda.gov]

And besides, the true homeopathic remedy for toxins in the body is more toxins. I'll go grab another beer.

Heh, you can buy these at Wallgreen's now. I'd say anything that makes outlandish claims is a scam, but that's just me.

You have a very dirty soul then!

Kidding aside.... DUH, these are fake.

Dateline or 20/20 or the other news show did a story on this month ago. They proved they did nothing. They had test subjects try them, they did all test and showed they are nothing but a scam but even after they ran the story during primetime on a major network that stupid TV spot keeps showing up and it seems people keep buying them.

They do not work, never have, never will. They are not FDA approved either. Just another way for someone to make money and nothing more. Most people complained about the horrible stink the pads caused the next morning.

If something is that great and works that well that is a product I can drive to any local store and get. No product that works that well is only sold via the TV. If it is that great and works that well they will want it in every single store they can get it in. If it is only available by a special TV offer, it's a scam.

Now, those who do swear by things like this are affected by placebo affects. While these aren't doing anything for that person's body, a placebo can be quite effective. You can wake up better by just willing yourself to do so, and if you need an material assistant, do so.

With that being said, I make fun of these kind of things, but they do have their place as a placebo for those who need it. I don't care about it in that case as long as the person is not being totally swindled. ($5 a pack of these may be ok, $50 would not be.) Sure it's not doing anything, and those people are throwing their money away in a sense, but if you need a placebo, it has its place.

-- gc3160
website: thegc.deviantart.com
email: gc3160@NOSPAMcharter.net --

I think I read that these also have green tea in them. Mmmmm, a tasty beverage!

30 seconds online and you find the answer.

The current going through the electrodes in the water are sacrificial. They break down a layer of rust and oxidation leaving it in the water.

Anything your body can get rid of it will. Through your butt.

Anything that your body can't filter out by itself i.e. heavy metals, etc. don't come out of your foot just because you dunk them or 15 minutes in a "foot spa" of dubious quality.

What p*sses me off most is the tricks - one of the gals is 5mo pregnant. When they arrived, she was told "Oh, you're pregnant. This detox may be too strong for you and the baby."

They then apparently examined her fingernails and said, "oh, wait, you baby's doing very well!" and took her $30. B*stards.

{I keed!}

I credit this company for finding a great way to make money using some clever chemical manipulation.

Of course it MUST be working if it's changed colors!

While the root of the issue is the scammers themselves, it pisses me off to no end that the retailers will continue to carry it regardless until it stops being profitable enough to justify its shelf space.

They just repalce the toxins with more stupid.

Had a friend onetime...he talks me into helping his GF move. Well turns out she didn't have to buy any boxes because she more QVC boxes then she new what to do with. And before you go thinking she put the QVC stuff in them...OOOOOH no...all the QVC stuff broke within days of her getting it, but she still swore by it. Selective memory is an amazing thing, as they say 'a fool and his money will soon be parted'

@bdgbill: "In the old mill town where I grew up there were old faded signs on some of the buildings for things like "Carters Liver Pills". I remember asking my parents why they didn't sell these old health remedies anymore. They told me that a law had been passed a long time ago to prevent companies from selling medical products that did not work."

Actually, I think the law at that time (and still today) dictates that you can't: a) claim health benefits unless they are proven and b) sell anything that can harm people (which those olden-time products often did).

(eyeroll)

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, OK, I'll stop. Hah, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, haaaa that was good for my mood.

We have friends that breed akitas, and they too use the Dremel for nail maintenance.

@Farquar: I dremel my foot callouses, best callous remover ever.

No! Say it isn't so! Somehow the whole idea of waking up in the morning with brown gunk coming from you feet and onto these pads did not give me the warm fuzzies. The body processes toxins from the body in other ways, yes, more in some than others, lol!

Ancient Chinese Secret: The "As Seen On TV" logo is really code for "scam."

Then why did they turn black after I attached them to my junk after that crazy night in Tijuana?

"*Results only guaranteed for Sasquatches."

Quick, get Tom Biscardi on the phone!

@cinlouwho: I dremel my dog's nails.. She hates it worse then the clippers. If I even pick up the dremel she runs for cover. If I leave the dremel out on the table she walks a wide path, glaring at the table to make sure the dremel doesn't hop off the table and attack her.

Some of the pads are FDA approved but not all of them. I dont know if Kinoki is or not. The funny thing is, to get FDA approved you not only have to show safety but also show efficacy; meaning that your product works as intended.

The main ingredient in these pads is distilled bamboo vinegar. This is the substance that is supposed to absorb toxins through the bottom of your foot. Well, I have never heard of your body pushing toxins such as mercury and lead through ones skin. Other substances such as urea and other nitrogenous compounds go through your skin all day long, especially when one sweats. I guess it could be possible for something like mercury to go through, but there are some problems that it must overcome.
1) Urea is not charged and passes through the skin very easily. Mercury has different isotopes that are more common and if I remember correctly, have a charge, which makes it very difficult for it to pass through the skin.
2) There is no known mechanism as to how distilled bamboo vinegar extracts heavy metals from the body. I guess this isn't much of a problem considering many of the Rx drugs we take have no known mechanism of action.
3) No real good studies showing that they work. This means, no evidence based studies with a population over 30 that is double blinded with a placebo with a solid design.

The theory is that your body takes all heavy metals in your body, and moves them to your feet to get the heavy metals away from your brain which is the most sensitive to them.

I'd like to see if these things work for people in liver and/or kidney failure. IF they work in them, then they MAY work in normal healthy people. But most likely they would probably only work, if at all, for people who have tons of toxins in them and not the average house mouse.

-Phex
-3rd Year PharmD / MBA Candidate

P.S. An interesting note, is that the FDA gave a warning on Jan 3 of 2008 to be careful of pharmaceuticals that are imported and even named a few brands of foot pads. I wonder if any of the ones they named, are ones that they approved in the US??? However, Kinoki has been under fire from the FDA since April.

There is a similar scam to the foot pads called "aqua chi spa". It is a foot bath that supposedly does the same type of toxin removal as the foot pads. The foot bath has a low level current in it and some "additives". The bath water turns an icky green and brown, just like electro salt etching. Some reporter went to a spa or chiropractor that was selling this service, had them set up the spa but never put their feet in after the employee left the room. The water turned the same color sans feet.

Somewhere along the line, I think the rules for advertising changed from "it has to work" to "it's not allowed to make people sick/dead." This has greatly increased the amount of junk products for sale.

I love the tree analogy in the foot pads ad. A second grader can tell you that their version of how a tree works is the exact opposite of reality.

Why is everyone selling special pasta cookers? Get a pot, add 1 gallon of water, boil, cook pasta, drain and enjoy.

Alcohol comes in powdered form now? I suddenly have all sorts of ideas for new snack chip flavors!

They should tackle those HD Sunglasses and their amazing "glare ray" blocking ability next.

There was some chemical in the pad that turns black/brown when it gets moist, pretty smart actually.

I was listening to this in the car yesterday, laughter abound.

I had one of those once. The pasta came out a little hard, but i'm 99.9 % sure I didnt follow the directions.

Oh neat, my pen pal from Nigeria just wrote back.

I saw a report on these somewhere. It's just dried/powdered wood alcohol, which turns brown when it reacts with the moisture in your skin.

Its the floof that L Ron was saying we need to goof.

Are you going to tell me Santa Claus isn't real either? Then who eats those milk and cookies?

It's weird because she dismisses things like acupuncture, meditation, homeopathic medicine, and yoga as "liberal propaganda" and "witchcraft". (Her exact words, not mine)! It's not as if she is the type to buy into anything and everything "Eastern", so I've always been a bit curious about these weird little pads. It must be one hell of a placebo effect because she is addicted to them.

In the old mill town where I grew up there were old faded signs on some of the buildings for things like "Carters Liver Pills". I remember asking my parents why they didn't sell these old health remedies anymore. They told me that a law had been passed a long time ago to prevent companies from selling medical products that did not work.

What happened to these laws? It seems like we have entered a new golden age for snake oil salesmen.

By the way, these foot pads are for sale in the latest version of the "SkyMall" catalog on the airlines.

@valarmorghulis: slogan even...stupid morning.

my first clue was the catchy clogan of "Experince the Natural Power of Nature."

prats.

...but they were advertised on TV! How could they possibly claim all those things on TV if they weren't true?!?

The lab must have screwed up, and the doctor is a quack!

/sarcasm mode OFF/

I think the brown stuff on the pad is your soul.

I guess I'll put them with my timeshare after I get done with my Pyramid Meeting Group...