Kinoki Foot Pads

Commercial advertisements promoting products for better health as well as quick and easy results attract many consumers. The promise of amazing diet pills, exercise equipment featuring celebrities and even a foot pad that draws out toxins have gained popularity and racked up sales.

One product touts more energy, immediate results and ease of use for $80 dollars. But, customers can get the product which applies ancient Japanese reflexology for just $19.99. That's a $60 savings!

Wondering what it is? It's the Kinoki foot pad. But, while this product may sound like it offers some real benefits, many believe it falls short of expectations. Kinoki foot pads are gaining skepticism from consumers and health care professionals. The product advertises that it pulls out nasty toxins from the body while people are sleeping. Straight off the bat, Kinoki is off to a good start offering convenience and better health all in one. Well, maybe not. While watching the commercial, the foot pads are portrayed as a simple adhesive pad that pulls out heavy metals, metabolic wastes, parasites and even cellulite while you snooze.

How do you know that Kinoki foot pads actually work? The proof is evident in the pad itself. By the next morning, when you peel off your Kinoki foot pads you will see the brown and dirty evidence of the toxins in your body. Every night you will use new pads and with each progressive application they will appear less riddled with toxins. The color of the Kinoki foot pads will gradually appear lighter.

The idea sounds catchy. After all, you get to see the results with your own eyes. But, as we often know, seeing isn't always believing. Recently, 20/20 invited a group of people to try the foot pads. 20/20 used detoxifying foot pad brands from both Kinoki and Avon. Unlike Kinoki, Avon doesn't make the same extreme claims about its product which is a detoxifying patch. While some testers claim to have felt better, most of the participants saw no difference. Katie Sweeney was one of those who saw no change. She used the Avon foot pads and said, "I had a headache and I felt dehydrated." People who used the Kinoki pad brand saw no change or benefit afterwards as well.

In order to figure out what the brown gunk was on the pads 20/20 recruited the help of NMS Labs. The national laboratory in Pennsylvania ran several tests to figure out if any of the dirty contents on the foot pads contained the toxins Kinoki claims are drained from the feet. After testing for toxins such as mercury, arsenic and over 23 solvents there was no evidence that the brown material was toxic. Lead, however was found in some of the Kinoki foot pads tested. Dr. Friedman-Jimenez, the director of the Bellevue's Occupational and Environmental Medicine Clinic believes that the traces of lead could have come from the packaging of the pads or from people walking on contaminated floors in their apartments. Some apartments that have lead paint are likely to have residue of lead in dust.

The darkening of the Kinoki foot pads are mainly attributed to moisture. When distilled water was poured on the Kinoki foot pads it turned brown. So while people may believe that the pads do work since the color has changed, the change is really attributed to moisture produced by the feet. This is supported through the fact that many people noted the pads did not become lighter on subsequent use and the same dark color remained every time.

Kinoki pads don't appear to be drawing out toxins from your body as it promises. But, it definitely creates a big stink according to the 20/20 testers of the product. Many people reported that the Kinoki pads not only leaves a film on the soles of your feet, but a bad smell as well.

For those that have reported a positive change after using the Kinoki foot pads the results are attributed to the placebo effect. According to Dr. Friedman-Jimenez, "...people feel better just by chance, and some people feel better because of the expectation." Hands down Kinoki foot pads are not the miraculous toxin drawing remedy they claim to be. Both Avon and Kinoki refused to respond to 20/20's request to show up for a television interview or to offer valid scientific evidence to support that their products work. Since these companies can not backup their detoxifying product then consumers shouldn't do it either.

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=4636224, https://www.buykinoki.com/ver2/index.asp?did=1330&refcode=86