Re: can applying foot patches of herbs generate far infrared in one's body?

Dear Jacquie,

Your instincts are in fact quite correct. The scientific basis for the “detoxification” foot patches is rather dubious. Any object which has a temperature will emit infrared radiation. The wavelength of infrared radiation emitted depends upon the temperature of the object. The wavelength for far infrared radiation (FIR) is between 30 and 200 micrometers. Interestingly, objects emitting radiation in the far infrared spectrum have a temperature between 10 and 120 Kelvins: http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_classroom/cosmic_reference/nearmidfar.html

To give you an idea how cold this is, liquid nitrogen (which I certainly wouldn’t want to put on the soles of my feet!), has a temperature of ~170 K. The notion that FIR could somehow draw the toxins through one’s feet and into the patch seems suspect. From your question, the manufacturers seem to imply that irradiating the bottom of someone’s feet would somehow impart a force on the heavy metals (and heavy metals only), thus drawing them into the foot patch. It is difficult to conceive of what physical process could be at work under such circumstances.