I always wondered about those “detox foot bath” things. I figured it was bullshit. Yesterday something caused me to think about it again so I finally Googled on it, and here’s the science.

Again, I figured it was bullshit. If you can truly suck “toxins” and metals and other evils out of your body through your feet, well, skin isn’t a one-way door (and imagine how big your pores must be!). So just walking around means you’re sucking up G-d only know what. Plus then it means you could stand say in a spilled beer and get drunk, or maybe stand on a book and get smart. And it’s amazing that our entire insides don’t just slowly drip out through our soles. *roll eyes*   But while I figured it was bullshit, I was curious exactly what the chemistry was that was causing the reaction. And now I know what a magical parlor trick it is.

Here’s the obvious flag: any time someone talks about “toxins” and “ridding the body of toxins”, they’re full of shit. If something is truly toxic to our body, either you will die from it or our body’s mechanisms will get rid of it (e.g. that’s what kidneys and the liver are for, or immediate reactions like vomiting). All this “cleansing” bullshit is just that, bullshit. Drink enough water, let your body work. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.