In reflexology, the feet are seen as an integral part of the body's detoxification system. As your body circulates its fluids--and the accumulated toxins with them--they eventually end up at the lowest point in your body: your feet. And before the blood is pumped back upwards and re-circulated through your body, unwanted toxins are expelled through the thousands of pores in your feet. However, this natural detoxification system sometimes can't handle the amount of toxins that your body absorbs. Therefore, it is advisable to periodically aid your feet's natural .
Detoxifying Foot Patches
Foot patches, readily available online or through your natural medicine practitioner, are adhesive patches coated with herbs and other natural ingredients that are purported to draw toxins, heavy metals and even parasites from your body through your feet. The patches are worn on your feet overnight for a period of 90 days, or until they no longer change color or odor: a sign that there are no longer any toxins in your body to be removed.
AmericanChronicle.com reports on a study done by SRC Analytical Lab that analyzed used foot pads and found that it absorbed heavy metals and other toxins. However, while many natural medicine practitioners recommend them, there has been very little other clinical testing done on the effectiveness of foot pads.
Ionized Foot Bath
Ionized foot baths are available at many spas. They work by ionizing the water in a foot bath with an electrical charge. Spas and natural health practitioners claim that this ionized water not only purges accumulated toxins and heavy metals through the feet, but reduces inflammation and fluid retention, and improves the immuse system.
To fully detoxify your system this way, you must submerge your feet in the ionized foot bath for 35 minutes every other day for around a month. And if you're visiting a spa, this can get quite expensive. However, you can buy your own ionized foot bath for around $200.
Those who believe in the ionized foot bath's detoxifying power point to the change in water clarity and color that often results after a session in the foot bath. However, there have been almost no clinical trials conducted that prove the effectiveness of this foot-detoxifying method.
Detoxifying Mud Foot Bath
Much cheaper than ionic foot baths, mud foot baths are used in spas and homes to leech toxins out of the feet in the same manner as a full body mud bath in a health spa does.
To detoxify your feet through a mud bath, simply fill a large container or jetless foot bath with heated Moor or Dead Sea mud (available online or at a health spa) and insert your feet. Each session should last 10 to 12 minutes, and 10 sessions are needed for any significant detoxification.
Again, there have been no clinical trials to support the mud foot bath's detoxifying properties. However, it is widely used to treat arthritis, gout and muscle strain, and can surely do no harm.
Tags: your feet, foot bath, your body, detoxification system, foot baths, heavy metals