More pseudoscience afoot - MLM scam

September 18, 2004

More pseudoscience afoot

I decided to split this off as a separate blog entry. Tourmaline, as previously described, also features in Shu Li, one of many variants on foot detox pads aka foot detox patches. Like foot detox spas, these go under various names: Detoku, Moku, Bio-Detox Pads, Sap sheet, BodyPure, Ethos E-tox, Koyotakara, Shiro-Ki Detox Pads, Patch-It!, Jukusui Feet Sheets, HealPas Detoxifying Patches, Zidiz Detox Pads, Detox Ezy, AllBodyCleanse Foot Pads, Detoxi-PAD, Kinotakara, Netterumani, and many others (I'm sure the list will grow).
All, claimed to be based on a traditional Japanese system, are teabag-like pads containing wood vinegar (aka pyroligneous acid) and other ingredients such as herbs and minerals. Stuck on the sole of the foot overnight, they turn black and sticky, allegedly from toxins and lymphatic fluid drawn from the feet; some makers claim added effects from Far Infrared Radiation, or stimulating acupuncture or reflexology points.
The whole concept is remarkably similar in theory and execution to foot detox spas, and the debunking is also the same. The concept of 'toxins' (in the alternative therapy sense) is nonsense; nothing is going to come from your skin in sufficient quantity to produce smelly black deposits overnight. A simpler sceptical explanation would be that the pads have no properties whatsoever, beyond containing a hygroscopic powderised preparation of wood vinegar that gets damp from your sweaty feet and stains the pads.
In my view the appeal of these pads lies in the same magical thinking as with foot detox baths; the theatrical experience of seeing some unpleasant muck supposedly drawn from the body. While widespread in the Far East and USA, in many cases sold via network marketing schemes, these pads are relatively new to the UK. But they have the look of something with the potential to be the next health fad, likely to be promoted as uncritically by the tabloid and regional press as were Aqua Detox and its variants. Examples found so far from the British press:
Coventry Evening Telegraph, July 17th 2004, Unplugged, Why men will never appreciate the joy of Japanese wood vinegar ("After seven hours, you take it off and the white pad is now wet, sticky, disgusting and brown. It smells like a bin that's been left out in the sun. That stuff is all the filth in your body drawn out").
Sunday Mirror, September 12, 2004, Sandra's advice: Go Indian for stress relief ("My favourite form of detox works while you sleep ... Japanese Sap sheets ... draw toxins through the skin, working on reflexology points cleansing, clearing and balancing the nervous system ... When you remove the pads wash your feet as they will be sticky and gooey from the toxins extracted from your lymphatic system").
This list too will no doubt grow.
permalink

http://www.raygirvan.co.uk/apoth/2004_09_01_arc.html#109547459492583086


Order Queries
If you have any queries regarding your order, please contact:

Ph99 Group. 12 A Worthing Road, Rustington, Littlehampton, West Sussex, BN16 3JX. UK
Tel: +44 (0) 1903 262097
Fax: +44 (0) 1903 262097
Email: info@detoku.com

The Great Wall
Serves Chinese Food
12 Worthing Road Rustington Littlehampton BN16 3JX 01903783084
http://www.takeawaysulike.co.uk/ff/specific/English_chff/westsussexch.asp

Tweet