"Real Housewives of New York" star Bethenny Frankel recently endorsed detox foot pads on social media, peeling one off the sole of her foot and saying "They're supposed to take out your toxins. I believe it … I mean I slept hard. I slept solid."
The over-the-counter stick-on pads advertise themselves as being able to draw toxins — including heavy metals — out of the body through the feet overnight. But they are probably a hoax, health experts say.
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"No trustworthy scientific evidence shows that detox foot pads work," Dr. Brent A. Bauer, of the Mayo Clinic, wrote in a Mayo Clinic Consumer Health post last year.
Because these products are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration, people don't actually know what is in the myriad foot pads on the market, Bauer said. Some people may have an allergic reaction to ingredients, and putting the pads on infected skin could cause rashes and other medical issues.
The Federal Trade Commission even has banned some foot pad products for falsely claiming they could not just rid the body of chemicals and toxins, but also treat headaches, depression, fatigue and other medical conditions.
More than likely, the dark colors people see on the pads when they remove them from their feet after several hours is due to a reaction between sweat and vinegar – an ingredient in many of the products – health experts say.
The body has its own natural ways of detoxifying, according to Harvard Health:
• The skin provides a barrier against harmful substances, including bacteria, viruses, heavy metals and chemical toxins. It acts as a one-way defense system. Perspiration does not eliminate toxins.
• The respiratory system uses fine hairs inside the nose to trap dirt and other large particles that may be inhaled, and the lungs expel fine particles from the airways in mucus.
• The immune system is designed to recognize foreign substances and eliminate them from the body.
• The intestines have lymph nodes that filter out parasites and other foreign substances before the nutrients are absorbed into the blood from the colon.
• The liver is the body's primary filter, metabolizing dietary nutrients like copper and zinc and neutralizing harmful metals, chemicals, toxins and waste.
Instead of trying to detoxify the body with products, Bauer recommended people keep their livers functioning well by:
• Losing weight by eating a balanced diet and exercising
• Limiting or eliminating alcohol consumption
• Getting a hepatitis B vaccine, especially if 59 or younger
While foot baths may not be detoxifying, they can be soothing and included in self-care routines – as long as feet are healthy, with no ingrown toenails or fungal infections, the Cleveland Clinic says.
