Do Detox Foot Pads Actually Work?

What are detox foot pads?

Detox foot pads are products designed to be stuck on the bottom of the feet, from which they supposedly draw out harmful substances from your body while you sleep (it’s giving sock onions). When you wake up the next morning, the patches are meant to have changed color, purportedly signifying that they’ve “worked”.

Drawing out toxins isn’t the only thing they’ve been said to do either; it’s also been claimed that some detox foot pads can help to treat high blood pressure, diabetes, and depression, and even boost the immune system. 

Do they work?

If you thought the above sounded like a load of bunk, your instincts are correct – there’s no scientific evidence that detox foot pads do what they’re claimed to do. Instead, it’s straight-up pseudomedicine, wrapped up in enticing packaging and misleading marketing.

That’s not an exaggeration; back in 2009, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charged the marketers of Kinoki Foot Pads with deceptive advertising, after they’d made unfounded claims that their pads could remove toxins, help with weight loss, and treat a plethora of medical conditions. They’d even purported that they had scientific evidence to back up their claims.

All such claims turned out to be false or without evidence when they were made – but they’d also made a tasty $14.5 million in total revenue from the foot pads. Unlucky for them, that’s the exact amount a federal judge ordered them to pay at the request of the FTC in a 2010 settlement over their bogus health claims, which also banned them from “promoting or selling any dietary supplement, food, drug, or medical device, and from assisting others in doing the same.”

Given that they (unsurprisingly) aren’t FDA-approved medical devices, there’s also no guarantee that foot pads contain what they say they do, nor has their safety been proven. 

Why you don’t need detox products

It’s not just foot patches and pads that are a problem. Any product that claims to “detox” you isn’t worth the money – the body already has its own natural detoxing processes.

“The liver is our detoxification machine. It’s made to do this,” liver cancer specialist and surgeon Thomas Aloia, MD, told Cancerwise. “Detoxifying the normal things we eat, breathe and ingest is part of its job and keeps us alive.”

That means the only thing you need to do to “detox” your body is look after your liver, which is a lot cheaper than multiple $20 packets of useless foot pads – not drinking too much, eating well, and exercising can all help. “It will handle all the things it needs to handle as long as it’s a healthy organ,” said Aloia.

All “explainer” articles are confirmed by fact checkers to be correct at time of publishing. Text, images, and links may be edited, removed, or added to at a later date to keep information current.

The content of this article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.