Ionic footbaths are said to help pull toxins out of the body through the many pores on the feet. The feet are said to contain the most pores, roughly 2,000 per foot. The feet are placed inside a warm tub of salt water. Ion generators are placed in the water to create a charge that is the polar opposite of normal. This charge is believed to pull toxic substances from the body.The first time I tried an ionic footbath I was skeptical. I charged it up to over two amps and placed my feet inside. I was surprised to feel a tingly feeling, much like an electric current that felt like it was pulling from the part of the tub where the electrodes were. I began to wonder how safe this was. Was I running a current through my body?
After a few minutes the water began to turn green. As time passed it got darker and darker. Solid forms began to appear and float around the tub. It was an ugly green toxic waste dump!
When I removed my feet and washed them off, they felt warm, smooth, and relaxed for a couple of hours after that. So it felt good, but did it really draw toxins out of me? I did not feel any different.
Curious, I ran the tub without my feet and still got a mucky green mess, though perhaps not quite as dark. So was the salt water reacting with the electrodes to create the color change and solid mass? Or was it really my feet? Or perhaps both. Was someone trying to make me think those were really toxins coming out of my feet? Do toxins even have a color? When I sauna, my sweat is not colored. And, sauna's have been scientifically studied.
According to the color chart, each color produced in an ionic foot bath has meaning:
Black Liver
Black Flecks Heavy Metals
Brown Liver, Tobacco, Cells
Green Gall Bladder
Orange Joints
Red Blood Clots
White Foam Lymph
White Flecks Yeast
Yellow Kidney & Bladder
I turned to PubMed and ran a search for ionic footbaths and found no studies at all, let alone any to support the theory of toxin pulling. Was someone pulling my leg? Is this all a hoax? Or does it work so well that the medical profession keeps the secret well hidden for fear of loss of revenue from sick patients? I may never know.
At the very least it gave me a few minute to relax and enjoy some healing salt water. Salt is said to have antibacterial and healing properties. From that standpoint, I will happily do it again. I must admit, I would not use it with the intent to detoxify though. My money would be better spent on a sauna. Though it would be great to do a whole body ionization bath to relax. On second thought… perhaps that would be too gross!
