Re: OT: From NPR -- Japanese Foot Pad Is Latest Health Fad

[Guest guest]

>

> Interesting story on NPR about foot pads that supposedly remove toxins from

> your body ... and what made it seem like they worked.

>

> (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93710963)

This past winter, I was using a lot of cholestyramine and getting very fast

detox. My liver,

gall bladder and intestines all showed signs of overload.

I noted that a lot of the poison seemed to be coming out through my skin. It

got very red,

bumpy and painful. I had a couple of incisions (mole removals) that were

supposed to be

healing up, and they got extremely inflamed. My perspiration got heavier and

had an

increased chemical odor.

My thought with the foot pads was that perhaps they would help to take the

burden off

my internal organs and/or channel some of the stuff that was coming out from

skin on

other parts of my body (e.g. face and mole-removal sites) to a more desirable

area. I

purchased a brand called Takara through mail order.

What was interesting is the different reaction I got when I was taking the CSM

vs. when I

was taking a break. When I was on the CSM, the foot pads were almost black when

I woke

up in the morning. When I was taking a break from it, the pads were light beige

in the

morning. I pulsed (off and on) several times, and the result was consistent.

Kinoki's claim that people can detox heavy metals through the feet sounds pretty

ridiculous to me. NPR's analysis showing that it didn't happen is not

surprising.

The NPR broadcast suggested that using the product to pull out " metabolic waste

products " was unnecessary because the liver/kidneys take care of that on their

own. But

that was precisely my point in using them: to try to lessen the strain on my

internal

organs during that heavy-detox time.

Whether my liver/gallbladder/intestines would be in worse shape if I hadn't used

the

pads, I don't know. However, one of my CFS doctors (an M.D. who's pretty

respected)

spontaneously brought up to me at a later appointment that detox pads could be

useful if

it seemed like my organs were feeling too stressed. So at least he agreed with

my logic.

I've had people on other boards go rather ballistic when I've mentioned using

these pads,

and so stopped talking about them to anyone for quite a while. I hesitantly

share my

experience here since it's a mold poison one though.

[Guest guest]

Of course, according to dr rae and some other doctors, sweating does

help to detox, so if they encourage sweating through feet at night,

they could be detoxing some, at least detoxing the skin on the bottom

of the feet. I wonder if some nights your feet sweated more, or if

while on csm your body sweated more because it had more toxins to

eliminate, but if csm is supposed to bind so tightly I wouldn't think

it would cause you to sweat more. I take things like this w a grain

of salt, because I don't know who to trust for information. For 20

dollars if you think they worked, I would use them, but I'm sure

there are alot of hoaxes out there too.

I also experienced the burning, blistering skin eruptions but it was

in assoc with exposure.

> >

> > Interesting story on NPR about foot pads that supposedly remove

toxins from

> > your body ... and what made it seem like they worked.

> >

> > (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93710963)

>

>

>> What was interesting is the different reaction I got when I was

taking the CSM vs. when I

> was taking a break. When I was on the CSM, the foot pads were

almost black when I woke

> up in the morning. When I was taking a break from it, the pads

were light beige in the

> morning. I pulsed (off and on) several times, and the result was

consistent.

[Guest guest]

>

>I wonder if some nights your feet sweated more, or if

> while on csm your body sweated more because it had more toxins to

> eliminate, but if csm is supposed to bind so tightly I wouldn't think

> it would cause you to sweat more.

There's an interesting chapter in " Desperation Medicine " (by Dr. Ritchie

Shoemaker) called

" Lessons from Solving the Herxheimer. " It's a bit of a tough read, but

fortunately one of

my own doctors and I have discussed it in pretty much detail.

Shoemaker talks about a " molecular sink " effect. The theory here is that the

body likes to

keep a level amount of toxins throughout at all times. When a lot of toxins are

removed

(such as when CSM is taken), a lot more are pulled out of fat stores and begin

moving

throughout the body.

Shoemaker discusses this mostly with regard to increases in cytokines. Toxins

that are

moving around more hit more cells. When this happens, more cytokines are

released and

an intensification reaction occurs.

However, it also seems reasonable to think that these " loosened-up " toxins are

available

for the body to excrete in whatever ways it can. The fact that they're moving

around more

(rather than just circulating through the intestines and then back to the liver)

may mean

that they have the opportunity to be eliminated through alternative channels

such as

perspiration.

Taking fish oil or flax oil at the same time as the CSM increased the amount of

excretions

(oils and sweat) through my skin a lot. Dr. Shoemaker has been reported to have

said that

EFA's can be useful in eliminating biotoxins (a fact that I found out only after

my own

trial-and-error). I wish he would explain what he thinks that the mechanism is.

Anyway, the combination of fish/flax oil and CSM increased the amount that my

body was

sweating in general. And (to share perhaps too much information) my underarm

sweat at

that time had a much stronger chemical smell than usual.

The foot pads did become a little more gooey in the mornings as well as darker

in color.

Hopefully I'm understanding that section of " Desperation Medicine " correctly.

Please let

me know if it seems like I'm missing something.

Best,

[Guest guest]

lisa, I think you explained that pretty well, I can't see to read

Shoemakers book but have a fairly good understanding of whats going

on there. as far as the fish oil, i can't really focus my mind on it

right now as other things are pulling me away from being able to

consentrate, but yes,just from a foggy thought at the moment I

reacall that it helps somehow with releaseing whats stored in fat

cells or something along that line. also helps with stomach,ibs

symptoms and bile. anyway, yes, the body may need to get at a certain

toxic load level but it well try to detox out the feet,hands and i

think the head/scalp and definitly the underarns and yes it takes on

a rather unpleasant smell. I think during exposure this toxic body

load is reason for the night and day sweats and a symptom of

inflamation is sweating if it gets to a bad level. I really dodn't

quite put all this together myself until recently after haveing

practiced advoidence and haveing my toxic body load to get fairly low

at certain times and the inflamation which mostly shows it's first in

my feet, off and on thing you know, however every summer it get's

alot worse as the dry, particle filled air and me dont get along and

mold and it's toxins, a few thar I'm very reactive to prevail here

most year around. my resent trip to see Shoemaker and the many

perfume, chemical and other insults was increaseing my load on the

way and by the time I saw Shoemaker my feet and ankles and on up to

my knees were swollen and my feet were smelling pretty bad, how

embarrasing, I noticed it that day before went I had to take off my

shoes at the airport,lol's and after I've been out and about awhile

my smeller get a little off so it was probably worse than I realized.

but boy oh boy, the trop home and the second time through the airport

it was unmistakable and I was trying hard not to raise my arms. by

the time I was in the car heading home my feet were on fire and my

hands were swelling too, I took of my shoes in the car a tried to gag

everyone,lol's I though it was foot fungas or something but it was

just my body realeaseing toxins. before Shoemaker saw my swollen legs

we had touched on the subject of advoidence and heximeyer effects and

we bith thought I wouldn't have much problem as I practoced

advoidence, and it jasn't been horrable in that aspect but hasn't

been fun either. I think I well add the flax oil sence I have it

handy.

[Guest guest]

I remember from reading up on detoxing lead that you don't want to

dislodge it without something to carry it out, as circulating around

body can do more organ damage.

--- In , " lisapetrison " <lisapetrison@...>

wrote:

>

here's an interesting chapter in " Desperation Medicine " (by Dr. Ritchie

Shoemaker) called

> " Lessons from Solving the Herxheimer. " It's a bit of a tough read,

but fortunately

[Guest guest]

>

> as far as the fish oil, I

> reacall that it helps somehow with releaseing whats stored in fat

> cells or something along that line. also helps with stomach,ibs

> symptoms and bile.

One thought that I and one of my doctors had was that EFA's cause the membranes

of fat

cells to become more permeable. Perhaps when they're not permeable, the toxins

are

more likely to just stay in the cells rather than be pulled out through the

" molecular sink "

effect?

EFA's also are very important with regard to making the gall bladder function

properly. My

own gall bladder seems to be all clogged up with mold poison at the moment.

Even a

little bit of fish oil will start it squeaking and rumbling as stuff begins to

get released. (I

found a mixture of a couple tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and a couple of

tablespoons of olive oil to do this too. This actually is a " folk remedy " for

the gall bladder,

except that most people have to take a whole cup of olive oil mixed with a cup

of lemon

juice, as well as a bit of the apple cider vinegar, for it to do anything.)

I was told by one doctor that I should indeed use CSM or another mold detoxifier

while my

gall bladder is releasing, so that the stuff doesn't get re-absorbed. I've not

done that

consistently though, since those things prompt such an intensification response

in me.

Considering that a lot of people with mold poisoning (or lyme disease) lose

their gall

bladders and that mine is in particularly bad shape, I'm a little hesitant not

to let it just sit

there.

Fortunately, every time my gall bladder releases, everything comes out as

diarrhea within

about an hour. Perhaps if it moves out that fast, stuff doesn't have time to

get

reabsorbed?

Best,

[Guest guest]

What I have not read is that the detox foot pads operate on a

principle of " reflexology " which means that there is a place on your

foot that corresponds with an organ or system of your body. I have

used them and have placed them over the " bladder/liver/kidney " area

and often have to get up 2 or 3 times to empty my bladder. Since my

mold exposure I carry more " bloat " than normal.

I don't think your feet are pulling out stuff that looks yucky. I

think the sweat from your feet makes the " stuff in the pad " change

colors.

But, I believe that the sections of your feet that relate to the

organs are somehow " stimulated " by the foot pads. If I put them on

at 10 p.m. and take them off at 5 or 6 a.m., I often go back to

sleep - a deep sleep, for a couple of hours longer and feel rested.

People do not challenge acupuncture. It is old medicine.

Reflexology is along the same idea, using other principles.

Is is in my head that I am able to sleep (refreshing sleep) a couple

of more hours a day? I don't think so.

That said, I do not like one of the companies that does heavy

advertising. I had to cancel a credit card because

they " automatically sent " without MY permission, an order every

month. One tactic the credit card company used to my benefit is the

phone number on the " posting credit " and if it is disconnected, they

consider the company a fraud. I got credit for those charges I did

not authorize.

There are companies on ebay that sell these foot pads, which I have

used and without a problem. When the medical profession is not

helping - you have to find ways to " help yourself. " ©

[Guest guest]

,

I had my gall bladder removed while I was living in the moldy

apartment that I got sick in. It was several years before a crisis

opened my eyes to what was really happening with that situation.

Having my gall bladder die on me was one of the many issues that

happened to me in the time I lived there..

The surgeon who removed it came to see me afterward and he said that

my gall bladder was infected, extremely fragile and a mass of scars..

and when he removed it, it turned out that it was filled with black

sludge.

My medical records from that time are voluminous.. Other people in the

building appeared to be getting sicker and sicker too. My ex-roommate

for several of those years was diagnosed with celiac disease shortly

after she moved out.. Other people had diabetes, liver issues, I am

sure more..

" Detoxing " is a very broad term that means many things to many people.

I don't feel a need to intoxicate myself and so many of the party

vices that many people seem to take for granted in the " detoxing "

context don't apply to me... I drink very little alcohol.. years can

go by between drinks for me..

Really, detoxing for me seems to come down to detoxing from MOLD. Not

heavy metals, pesticides, either. (I've been tested for them several

times, and the levels are low.) so I don't need to detoxify from those

other things..

I AM hypersensitive to *mold*. When I get exposed to it I DO need to

detoxify from THAT.

For that, cholestyramine has repeatedly helped me.. Its been a godsend..

You mentioned fish oil.. Its been helpful for me too, I take it an

hour or so after I take cholestyramine sometimes..(Perhaps it helps

get the bile flowing so the cholestyramine can bind with it?) As I

understand it, fish oil, etc, does many, many good things in the

body.. One is that increasing the ratio of Omega 3 fatty acids to

other fatty acids (usually a larger part of the diet than Omega 3's)

helps reduce systemic inflammation..

[Guest guest]

I tried olive oil and it didn't agree with my stomach at all, it made

the influx worse. I only took about 1/4th a cup,yuck, wont try that

again. yep, I', pretty sure my gallbladder is shot, hurts really bad

if a dictor pushes on it, ofcorse so does just pretty much the rest

of my body.

[Guest guest]

I didn't notice anything gunky, just sweat that butned. inbetween my

fingers and toes seamed the worst and now theres dead skin flakeing

there. feet still doing this some but hands all better. I too think

it can be around certain organs, I think this is basicly whats going

on with my back side around the lungs,up the back of the neck and

head. sometimes I sweat more around the stomach and lower

back,sometimes my face and more the front of my head, so yes, I think

it can come straight out from a inflamed organ.

[Guest guest]

, do you get inflamed bowels too? I do almost always with the

dierrhea and sometimes without it but not as often.

[Guest guest]

My doctor recently told me from MRI I had 'sludge' in my gallbladder,

not stones, but sludge. He said many people do, not to worry, but he

doesn't worry about much of anything.

--- In , LiveSimply <quackadillian@...>

wrote:

>

> and when he removed it, it turned out that it was filled with black

> sludge.

[Guest guest]

>

> The surgeon who removed it came to see me afterward and he said that

> my gall bladder was infected, extremely fragile and a mass of scars..

> and when he removed it, it turned out that it was filled with black

> sludge.

LiveSimply, this is a horrifying story.

Thanks for sharing it. I'm going to work hard to get my gall bladder back in

shape.

I'm glad that both of us became aware of our mold problem and now are moving

toward

recovery!

[Guest guest]

>

> What I have not read is that the detox foot pads operate on a

> principle of " reflexology " which means that there is a place on your

> foot that corresponds with an organ or system of your body.

> But, I believe that the sections of your feet that relate to the

> organs are somehow " stimulated " by the foot pads. If I put them on

> at 10 p.m. and take them off at 5 or 6 a.m., I often go back to

> sleep - a deep sleep, for a couple of hours longer and feel rested.

> People do not challenge acupuncture. It is old medicine.

> Reflexology is along the same idea, using other principles.

I visited Japan about two years ago. While I was in Tokyo, my husband and I

went to a

reflexology place staffed by people trained in China.

The folks there got all upset about the condition of my feet. They told me I

had lots of

poison in my body and that I needed to get it out.

I thought they were using some kind of metaphor (e.g. the Chinese medicine term

" damp

heat " ) and didn't take it too seriously. Little did I know that it really was

poison!

(This is long before I knew anything at all about toxic mold, much less

suspected it might

be a problem for me.)

They did really expert reflexology on several occasions. And I felt a lot

better on that trip

than I had for a long time.

To the extent that these pads really do use principles of reflexology, I have to

give them a

bit of respect.

[Guest guest]

I tried the detox food pads on my daughter for about 3 weeks. She had

no speech problems before I used them. I slowly noticed that she was

starting to stutter and it progressively got worse. She was mercury

toxic as was I at the time. When my toxicity was at its worst I began

mixing the order of my words and stuttering. After 4 months of taking

bentonite clay my stuttering and other speech issues subsided.

It took me 3 weeks to figure out the pads were causing her

stuttering. We had not done any other detox with her at that point.

My opinion was that the detox pads were perhaps removing some toxins

from the body, but they were mobilizing a whole lot more mercury and

leaving it in the blood stream which increased plasma mercury levels.

My dd was almost 3 and way too young to even think about faking such

symptoms.

Within a week I started her on NCD zeolites as they are supposed to

have the highest affinity for mercury compared to all the other

toxins they escort out of the body. At that point she was stuttering

about 10 times on the first couple words of each sentence and would

often say " never mind " instead of trying to get her thoughts out. I

started her on a very minimal dose of the NCD. After 2 days of NCD

her stuttering was 50% improved. After being on the NCD for one week

the stuttering was completely gone never to return. That was November

of 2006.

I know that some people have good results from the footpads and I

wonder if that is because they are not mercury toxic. I kept them,

but never used them again. I did chelate mercury for over 1 1/2 year

using a specific protocol and know my toxicity symptoms very well.

About a year ago I decided to put a couple of the pads on my feet

during the night to see how black they got as I was curious what they

would look like after all the chelation I had done. My toxicity

symptoms were much worse the next day and they had been nearly

nonexistent for months. Just our experience.

The brand we used was Kinotakara which was supposed to be one of the

stronger pads on the market.

Moneca

[Guest guest]

>

> I tried the detox food pads on my daughter for about 3 weeks. She had

> no speech problems before I used them. I slowly noticed that she was

> starting to stutter and it progressively got worse. She was mercury

> toxic as was I at the time. When my toxicity was at its worst I began

> mixing the order of my words and stuttering.

> Within a week I started her on NCD zeolites as they are supposed to

> have the highest affinity for mercury compared to all the other

> toxins they escort out of the body. At that point she was stuttering

> about 10 times on the first couple words of each sentence and would

> often say " never mind " instead of trying to get her thoughts out. I

> started her on a very minimal dose of the NCD. After 2 days of NCD

> her stuttering was 50% improved. After being on the NCD for one week

> the stuttering was completely gone never to return. That was November

> of 2006.

Wow, that's a really interesting story. I'm very glad to hear that your and

your daughter's

symptoms went away that fast with the NCD.

How did you know you were mercury toxic?

[Guest guest]

>

> , do you get inflamed bowels too? I do almost always with the

> dierrhea and sometimes without it but not as often.

>

I feel like my bowels have been in bad condition for a long time, though I'm not

sure what

you mean by " inflamed. " How would I know they were inflamed?

Despite the diarrhea, I think that my bowels have improved substantially since

moving out

of my house last December. I guess that's not really a surprise....pretty much

everything

seems to be getting better since then.

That was an interesting story you shared in another post about getting skin

flaking on

your hands and feet as well as increased sweating near your (presumably)

affected organs.

The skin that I've noticed the most detox symptoms on in that of my face. The

use of

cholestyramine makes it very red and rough. I look a decade or two older when

this

happens.

Fortunately, it clears up when I stop pushing detox.

It's interesting how much of this stuff comes through the skin. For those of us

who have a

hard time detoxing this stuff in the normal way (e.g. the 25% of us who are in

Shoemaker's " Mold Susceptible " or " Multisusceptible " groups), it seems our

bodies will try

to get the stuff out in any way that it can!

[Guest guest]

Zeolite is not a clay.

It is a volcanic material that acts as an adsorbant.

Clays are a completely different set of " medicinal " items.

The foot pads predicated on the number of pores on the soles of the feet

make them the more logical place to apply them. The minerals etc. are well known

for their ability to open pores and cause drainage.

Not everyone sees CSM as the panacea for everything related to toxins.

There are some " common " side effects that I have heard people complain of,

primarily being constipated. Others elect not to add another chemical to an

already over chemically saturated body.

[Guest guest]

n-acetylcysteine is effective in helping the body detoxify

methylmercury and elemental mercury.

Strategies that raise glutathione are good for that..

I don't know where this foot pad thing came from but I doubt if its

any more effective than sweating in general.. The surface area just

isn't great enough.

Clay on the skin (all over the skin) and then drying.. (like a facial)

might help draw toxins from the skin via capillary action. Do you have

a supply of clay and a private backyard that gets sun? Or access to a

spa? (Mud baths have been a mainstay of spa treatments for thousands

of years.)

As far as mycotoxins, I would like to see documentation on that use of

medicinal clays (i.e. 'zeolite') - and especially teh quantities

required. The amounts required might be dangerous. When its used in

animal husbandry, its mixed in with the feed. I doubt of many of us

would like to add several percent of medicinal clay by weight to all

of our food.

But that is probably what would take to remove enough to make a

difference. We are not talking about adsorbing them from the stomach,

we are talking about binding them from the bile in the small

intestine.. (largely) - something for which cholestyramine is

particularly well suited..

Why the resistance to cholestyramine?

[Guest guest]

, the dry leathery skin (and for me, also blisters, especially at

the corners of my fingernails and lower eyelids) thing - at least for

me, comes from direct, serious mold exposure..

Are you still being exposed to mold?

Also, are you using any skin lotions? Many lotions dramatically

increase dermal absorption of mold.. if its ALREADY in your

environment. Common additives to shampoos do too. (They were used to

weaponize mycotoxins for warfare)

The mold you are being exposed to now may be coming from your

contaminated belongings from your old home..

[Guest guest]

I woke up last night haveing a pretty good sweatout.

ibflamation/heat,a fever in the bowels.

--- In , " lisapetrison "

[Guest guest]

>

> , the dry leathery skin (and for me, also blisters, especially at

> the corners of my fingernails and lower eyelids) thing - at least for

> me, comes from direct, serious mold exposure..

>

> Are you still being exposed to mold?

>

> Also, are you using any skin lotions? Many lotions dramatically

> increase dermal absorption of mold.. if its ALREADY in your

> environment. Common additives to shampoos do too. (They were used to

> weaponize mycotoxins for warfare)

No one except maybe people on this list would believe how hard I try not to be

exposed to

mold.

I got rid of everything from the house almost immediately after I moved out. I

don't live

out in the woods in a tent, but other than that I'm pretty fanatical.

And since I get really sick when I'm around objects that have been exposed to

mold or

outdoors " plumes " of it (and most certainly buildings that have any of it in

them!), I'm

pretty sure I'm not being exposed inadvertently.

I certainly would have skin problems if I were exposed to mold. That's happened

to me on

occasion.

I also get skin problems whenever I take the csm (especially in combination with

fish oil)

though. They're not as dramatic as with exposure to mold itself (or to objects

that have

been contaminated with it) but there is a reaction. That's interesting that you

don't get

one.

Interesting also about the skin lotions. I do use face cream, but again I think

this

environment is clean. And now that it's been four days since I stopped the csm,

my face

is looking pretty normal.

What ingredients in shampoos are problematic?

Thanks,