Along with superfoods and juices, detox patches are becoming something of a trend among alternative health advocates. With increasing evidence that our environment exposes us to toxins, in the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe, there is a demand for new ways to detoxify our bodies.

The body has a natural ability to rejuvenate itself. If given the right diet, plenty of pure drinking water and regular exercise, we can detoxify many of the harmful substances that are all around us. Unfortunately, many people do not always eat the best diets or get sufficient exercise. And, with the pervasive contaminants all around us, it's tempting to look for new solutions to the problem of toxicity. Detox patches are one of the latest concepts in this search.

Detox patches are usually placed on the feet. They are patches that, using a variety of substances (depending on the brand), such as vinegar, essential oils and herbs, allegedly draw the toxins out of the body. The logic of putting them on the feet is that the toxins travel through the body and out through our lowest extremities. The feet are also the location of many acupuncture (or reflexology) points.

At this point, detox patches remain highly controversial. There are glowing testimonials from people who swear that these patches have cured them of every known ailment. On the other side, there are skeptics who maintain that there is no plausible scientific explanation for patches on the feet to draw toxins out of the body. To add to the complications, the various companies who manufacture these patches all say that theirs is the best, sometimes the only authentic kind.

In this day and age, it's healthy to be skeptical. Claims are made for all kinds of things, including vitamins, juices, devices that are supposed to protect us from harmful electromagnetic frequencies, and now, detox patches. However, it's also necessary to be skeptical of the skeptics. The mainstream health industry has its own share of products, such as many prescription drugs, that turn out to be, not only less effective than originally promised, but outright deadly. Detox patches are, at the very least, harmless. Placing a patch with some natural substances under your feet is unlikely to have any dangerous side effects. Whether they do what their manufacturers claim will take further study to determine. As an individual consumer, of course, you can do your own research.

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