There has been a lot of controversy about the detox foot spa and many claims have been made. These claims range from helping with insomnia to curing serious diseases like heart disease or cancer. The naysayers claim that the foot detox spa is a fraud and has no basis in science. As I see it reality usually is somewhere in the middle and the foot detox spa is no different.
The detox foot spa is also known as the ionic cleanse, aqua chi, ion foot bath and others. In a typical session the patient places their feet in warm salt water and an electrical array is turned on creating electrolysis in the water. This electrolysis causes an electro-magnetic field in the water which pulls toxins and heavy metals into the water through the sweat glands in the feet. During the session, the water changes colour, bubbles and little chunky floaters apear.
The foot bath is usually finished by washing the feet and a relaxational foot massage is performed using a natural anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral cream.
In general, people report feeling more energized, lighter, more mental focus, and an improved mood. Many patients also report dramatic improvements in sleep. Some report improvements in serious health concerns.
But is it a fraud? Is it another example of the placebo effect? Or are there legitimate health benefits to this therapy?
Lets begin with the colour of the water. Many distributors and marketers of these devices claim that the water colour indicates where in the body the toxins have been drawn from. If it is one color it is coming from your pancreas if it is another it is your liver.
This kind of analysis has no basis in science. There is no scientific way (that I know of) of determining where the toxins are coming from by the colour of the water. In fact, the water will change colour if no feet are present during a session. Also, I have seen youtube videos of foot spa sessions with a carrot or a piece of cellery in the water. The person making the video claimed that he had proved that the carrot has a liver based on the colour of the water!
The colour of the water is meaningless. The content of the water is what counts. And a laboratory analysis of the water is the only way to determine the content. Now the question is: What about heavy metals? If the detox foot spa draws heavy metals out of the body then there should be metal in the water. But could it be the metal array itself that is releasing the metal particles into the water? Maybe. At least two marketers or distributors of detox foot spas have run lab analysis comparing sessions with no feet to four or five different sessions with feet from different subjects. In both studies the laboratory results indicated significantly more heavy metal content in the test subjects relative to the control session. Some subjects had dramatically increased levels. So, insofar as we can trust the results of these studies, it appears that the detox foot spa does help with heavy metal detoxification.
I have had a few sessions in the foot detox spa and every time I sleep better and feel more relaxed. I have observed many people use the treatment and almost all of them have reported a positive experience with improvements in their health and well being. A few have experienced major improvements.
How one can identify your kidney in the water based on the colour is a mystery to me but one thing is sure. If you enjoy the session and feel better as a result it certainly is worth the time and money spent. So if you decide to try it, relax and enjoy the experience