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PeakMetrics / Fact Checks

Health & medicine fact checks

Explore claims publishers have checked about health & medicine. Read their original ratings and follow the evidence.

13,672 published reviews in this topic

FACTLYHealth & medicine

A white adhesive pad called Detox pad, which can be attached to the sole of a leg, has various health benefits like removing toxins from the body

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The review examines a social-media video promoting a white pad worn on the sole of the foot. It identifies the product as a Detox pad and describes the claims associated with it: removing toxins and heavy metals, causing weight loss, and reducing anxiety and depression. The central question is whether the pads have demonstrated health benefits, particularly whether they remove harmful substances from the body. The review reports that its researchers consulted scientific journals and tests or analyses by doctors and news organisations. It cites a research article that found no scientific evidence that the pads remove harmful toxins through the feet. It also describes testing reported by ABC News, which found no heavy metals in the tested pads, and an independent NPR lab test that found no difference in metal levels between used and unused pads. These findings address the claimed toxin-removal mechanism rather than establishing that every possible product or health effect was tested. The review also investigates the visual claim that pads turning black after use proves they are working. It reports that NPR journalists held a pad over a boiling pot and it turned black. Stephen Barrett, M.D., attributed this change to a chemical reacting with moisture, and the review notes that the pad can darken without being used on a person. Taken together, the cited evidence does not substantiate the advertised detoxification or broader health benefits.