Your feet have 27 sweat glands...

[caligal85]

So my mom and I kept seeing these commercials for those kinoki pads. For those of you who haven't seen them, you put them on your feet and they're supposed to detoxify you while you sleep. While meandering about Target today, I happened to come across them. I called mom, who was on the other side of the store, to share my new find. We actually decided to give into our whimsical side and buy a box and I have one on now (you're supposed to alternate feet each night). We'll see what happens in the morning. Anyone else ever try these?

[SerendipityCrafts]

I wondered about them too. A local radio show scientist had talked about the pads on air, so I googled it (because I forgot what he had said about them) -

Dec30-07, 11:17 PM
Hey I heard about these last weekend. There is a mcgill university professer of chemistry that does a radio show out of montreal on CJAD that is simulcast here in Toronto on cfrb. His name is Dr joe schwartz. He does a 1 hour show on chemistry in our everyday lives. He did a quick discussion on these pads with the explanation that the sweat from your feet activate some chemicals in the pads that produce brown staining.This staining is purported to be "bad " chemicals comeing out of your body. Dr Joe says it is a hoax. He goes well into investigating this kind of thing to determine if these types of things are usefull or quackery. Dr. Joe's radio show http://www.cjad.com/shows/19157

Dr.Joes University page http://oss.mcgill.ca/

Past Dr Joe shows. http://oss.mcgill.ca/joeshow-a.php
http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:tfr31AmbE-YJ:www.physicsforums.com/archive/index.php/t-206467.html+dr+joe+schwartz+detoxify+feet&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=ca

There is more here -

http://www.devicewatch.org/reports/kinoki.shtml

[bichonlvr]

DH wants those too...

[WebLady]

I have seen them, but not sure what I think; let us know if they do anything for you.

[byrd813]

The pads are kind of an "Americanized" form. In the Asian countries they use a different form of this "foot detoxifier" Basically what they do is they soak your feet in some water that is also mixed with some other solutions, and slowly by slowly the water changes into grub which is supposedly all the toxins leaving your body..... take a look...

file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/user/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.jpghttp://www.noriftrife.com/images/detoxbefore_after.jpg

[caligal85]

The pads are kind of an "Americanized" form. In the Asian countries they use a different form of this "foot detoxifier" Basically what they do is they soak your feet in some water that is also mixed with some other solutions, and slowly by slowly the water changes into grub which is supposedly all the toxins leaving your body..... take a look...

file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/user/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.jpghttp://www.noriftrife.com/images/detoxbefore_after.jpg

I'm so glad I haven't eaten breakfast yet. Still not sure what I think of the pads yet. The first night the pad came out greenish-brown but not very dark. Maybe the drinking 48+ ounces of water per day is a good thing.

[BarceloMayaPalaceBride]

My FH bought some from the TV a few months ago. It was funny because 2 months went by and we forgot he had even ordered them. When they arrived we were like "oh yeah, forgot we ordered those." We each tried a pad on our foot and ended up kicking them off somewhere in the night. I'm sure they would work if we would have actullly kept them attached. We still joke about them, and have most of the package left.

[caligal85]

Yeah I keep forgetting to do them. I'm too tired at night to remember to wash my foot, put them on. I'll try to renew my resolve tonight.

[candars]

I bought some at Walgreens a while back. I haven'y been using them consistently, but every time that I did use them, when I woke up the next morning, the pads are all dark and icky looking. So, I guess that means they work?

[SerendipityCrafts]

So, I guess that means they work?

Nope - it's a hoax. The product inside the pad is reacting to your perspiration.

http://www.devicewatch.org/reports/kinoki.shtml


The Detox Foot Pad Scam

Stephen Barrett, M.D.

Various adhesive pads and patches are claimed to detoxify the body when applied to the feet. The best known is the Kinoki Detox Foot Pad, which is claimed to remove toxins, restore "balance" within the body, and boost energy. Various other products are claimed to strengthen the immune system, reduce stress, improve circulation, improve sleep, enhance mental focus, relieve headaches and arthritis pain. The alleged explanation for their working include reflexology, unblocking of lymphatic passages, and negative ions that release far infrared rays. All such products should be regarded as fakes, and the proposed mechanisms should be regarded as nonsensical.
Users are instructed to apply the products to the soles of the feet and leave them on overnight. In the morning, they claim, the pads will absorb toxins and turn muddy brown or black.
"Detox" product marketers have done no studies that identify what they claim to remove, measure its level in the body, and see whether such substances accumulate in the pads and have their level reduced in the body. It is unlikely they will ever try, because the basic idea that toxins will be excreted through the skin clashes with what is known about human anatomy and physiology. Real detoxification of foreign substances takes place in the liver, which modifies their chemical structure so they can be excreted by the kidneys which filter them from the blood into the urine. Sweat glands in the feet can excrete water and some dissolved substances. However, its minor role in ridding the body of unwanted substances is not changed by applying foot pads.
In April 2008. ABC's "20/20" investigated Kinoki ad Avon pads and reported:

When used overnight, the pads darkened, but dropping distilled water on the pads produced the same dark color.
Laboratory analysis of pads used by eight volunteers showed no significant evidence of heavy metals or commonly used solvents.
When asked for tests that would show that their products really work the companies offered no valid scientific studies.A few months later, a radio reporter in California conducted a similar investigation. First she had her husband wear pads overnight and then too them to a laboratory for testing. The lab found that the heavy metal content of the used pads were the same as that of an unused pad, which meant that the pads don't "suck out any toxins." Then she held an unused pad over a pot of boiling water. The steam caused the pad to turn black, indicating that the dark color that results from wearing a Kinoki pad is caused by a chemical in the pad that reacts to moisture [2].
The Better Business Bureau has given the Kinoki Detox Foot Pads Company an "unsatisfactory" rating [3].
Detox foot baths should also be regarded as fakes [4].

[candars]

Nope - it's a hoax. The product inside the pad is reacting to your perspiration.

http://www.devicewatch.org/reports/kinoki.shtml
I was wondering if it was a hoax, I just didn't know how they could do that, but that makes perfect sense!

[SerendipityCrafts]

I was wondering if it was a hoax, I just didn't know how they could do that, but that makes perfect sense!

I think it's also the same there, as it is here ???? Anything that is labelled "natural" is not subject to a host of different regulations etc. I think this is how they can get away with making bold advertising claims.

[Jacklynn]

Too bad, they seem kinda neat :)