# What's the go on "AOK Ion Cleanse " therapy **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 3, 2007, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-go-on-aok-ion-cleanse-therapy/428600 "2007-12-03T01:08:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GreedySmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a698b9/32.png) [@GreedySmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreedySmurf)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-go-on-aok-ion-cleanse-therapy/428600/1 "2007-12-03T01:08:15Z")
So a good friend of my wife has started work in a suburban shopping centre massage and chinese acupressure place. Mrs Smurf went on a visit to see her, (and being dragged along mostly as a chauffuer) I saw an Ad in the store for an “Ion Cleanse” treatment. I’ve heard people talk about this a bit lately. I am naturally sceptical of a lot of “new age” therapies, and I can’t bring myself to buy the whole “expelling toxins” story. After one of these treatments however the tub of water is indeed full of some sort of crap. But what is it and where does it come from? This is the story from one website (which I personally think sounds like a bunch of hokey nonsense) > [@](#): > > A water molecule is composed of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. When the molecule loses a hydrogen atom, the remaining OH molecule takes on a negative charge. As you walk along the beach, your body absorbs millions of these negatively charged ions, which alkalize the blood and tissue. Because of poor diet and high stress, we tend to accumulate and store excessive quantities of waste products, such as diacetic, lactic, pyruvic, uric, carbonic, acetic, butyric, and hepatic acids. > Preventing disease and maintaining vitality, as we age, requires the maintenance of an alkaline environment throughout the body which is virtually impossible to accomplish in our high tech, high stress toxic society, unless we can walk on the beach everyday where the ever moving waves of the ocean cause ionization of trillions of water molecules as they crash to earth. > The Aok Ion Cleanse creates precisely the same environment as the walk along the beach, only more powerfully because your feet are in direct contact with the ions being manufactured in the water. Place your feet in the water, turn on the unit and within seconds, millions of ions enter your body and begin to neutralize these tissue acid wastes. > The particles, fat, and mucous residue found in the water after bathing reflect the wastes that have left the body during the 20 to 30 minute session. Does anyone know the straight dope on this treatment? I know this friend well enough to know it is not straight-out fakery but what is it? Here is a link to a webpage which “fully explains” the techinque. [Ion Foot Cleanse](http://www.torontocounselling.com/ion_cell_cleanse_foot_bath.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-go-on-aok-ion-cleanse-therapy/428600/2 "2007-12-03T01:28:18Z")
It’s bunk. Here are the strikes against it: (1) It claims to “cleanse” / “purify” / “remove toxins” generically, rather than treat a single specific problem (2) It gives “Ions” as the explanation rather than any actual explanation with any sort of peer reviewed research behind it. (3) It is sold at the mall from kiosks. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-go-on-aok-ion-cleanse-therapy/428600/3 "2007-12-03T03:22:33Z")
And even if it wasn’t complete bunk, they’re basically claiming that the slightly basic pH of seawater (about 7.5-8.5 apparently) transfers hydroxide through the skin, at which point it is dispersed throughout the body. This is so much crap I need a shovel. You don’t have to be a biochemist (and I’m not) to be able to realize it’s a scam. You’d be better off just drinking a solution of baking soda. Much cheaper and burping is always fun, plus it will be just as effective. Or if you insisted on soaking your feet in a slightly-basic solution you can still do it for about 70 cents a box (I think that’s what I paid for my last box of Arm and Hammer baking soda.) And, in any case, blood is naturally slightly basic. If your blood pH is acidic (which is below about 7.35), you’ve got other problems and should be seeing a doctor anyway. ---
**Author:** ![GreedySmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a698b9/32.png) [@GreedySmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreedySmurf)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-go-on-aok-ion-cleanse-therapy/428600/4 "2007-12-03T04:18:11Z")
I realise the whole thing is bunkum, and after reading that website on the link, which I only looked up this morning before posting I was even more :dubious: about the process. After all apparently this littel doohickey is capable of nuclear fission - it seperates a hydrogen atom out of the water making HO molecules right :eek: 😛 My problem now is my wife and mother in law have signed up for a session of this thing :rolleyes: Now it’s ‘only’ costing them 15 bucks or something so if it’s not hurting them and they have a good time, we can call it an entertainment expense right 😉 It cost about the same as a movie. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-go-on-aok-ion-cleanse-therapy/428600/5 "2007-12-03T04:57:23Z")
[QUOTE=GreedySmurf] My problem now is my wife and mother in law have signed up for a session of this thing :rolleyes: Now it’s ‘only’ costing them 15 bucks or something so if it’s not hurting them and they have a good time, we can call it an entertainment expense right 😉 It cost about the same as a movie. [/QUOTE] Even better value: they pay the $15, and have a good time, and are entertained. And you get to laugh about how gullible they are, without paying anything\*. So 2 people are entertained for the same $15. \*If you are too open about laughing at them about this, you may indeed pay the price. But it won’t be a financial price. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-go-on-aok-ion-cleanse-therapy/428600/6 "2007-12-03T05:22:25Z")
[QUOTE=GreedySmurf] I realise the whole thing is bunkum, and after reading that website on the link, which I only looked up this morning before posting I was even more :dubious: about the process. After all apparently this littel doohickey is capable of nuclear fission - it seperates a hydrogen atom out of the water making HO molecules right :eek: 😛 [/QUOTE] Well, no. Water, of course, is capable of self-ionizing to H3O+ and OH-, though the pH remains at 7 in pure water. Nuclear fission, by definition, requires that an atom of one element is split into two atoms of lighter elements. We’re discussing acid-base chemistry here. Or did I just get whooshed? ---
**Author:** ![Rhubarb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/59ef9b/32.png) [@Rhubarb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhubarb)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-go-on-aok-ion-cleanse-therapy/428600/7 "2007-12-03T05:33:36Z")
When I saw this my immediate reaction was “Looky, they’ve come up with a new way to separate the gullible from their money!” My only question is - what turns the water black? After all, that’s the ‘proof’ that this snake oil is working. Also, after you have been completely “de-toxified”, the water no longer changes color. Does anyone know the mechanism behind this? ---
**Author:** ![GreedySmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a698b9/32.png) [@GreedySmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreedySmurf)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-go-on-aok-ion-cleanse-therapy/428600/8 "2007-12-03T05:47:26Z")
[QUOTE=asterion] Well, no. Water, of course, is capable of self-ionizing to H3O+ and OH-, though the pH remains at 7 in pure water. Nuclear fission, by definition, requires that an atom of one element is split into two atoms of lighter elements. We’re discussing acid-base chemistry here. Or did I just get whooshed? [/QUOTE] Not completely whooshed **Asterion** 😃 The website was trying to sound scientific and technical with their “losing a hydrogen atom”, and “ions flows” so I was just making fun of their claims, I thought it sort of sounded like they were describing a nuclear reation in the foot pond :eek: 😃 Oh and **Rhubarb** , yeah that is what I was hoping someone might know. What is all that crap that accumulates in the water? I know the friend of ours who works there quite well, well enough that I can confidently say she wouldn’t be a party to it if it was a complete fraud, like the little “ioniser” bit they actually stick in the tub is secretly filled with grease and crud before each seassion and slow releases it into the water or something. Maybe it gives the skin a good acid bath, and it is all dirt and skin oils or something? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-go-on-aok-ion-cleanse-therapy/428600/9 "2007-12-03T06:31:29Z")
[QUOTE=GreedySmurf] Oh and **Rhubarb** , yeah that is what I was hoping someone might know. What is all that crap that accumulates in the water? I know the friend of ours who works there quite well, well enough that I can confidently say she wouldn’t be a party to it if it was a complete fraud, like the little “ioniser” bit they actually stick in the tub is secretly filled with grease and crud before each seassion and slow releases it into the water or something. [/QUOTE] One possible test is to run the thing for the recommended 30 minutes _by itself_, without putting any feet into the water. Does the same kind of crap accumulate in the water, when there is no body to be ‘cleansed’? (That’s a common test for ‘ear candling’ – light the ear candle and let it burn without being inserted into any ear. Afterwards, you will see the cone has accumulated the same kind of debris that it supposedly pulls from an ear, but without being in any ear.) ---
**Author:** ![GreedySmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a698b9/32.png) [@GreedySmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreedySmurf)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-go-on-aok-ion-cleanse-therapy/428600/10 "2007-12-03T06:42:56Z")
[QUOTE=t-bonham@scc.net] One possible test is to run the thing for the recommended 30 minutes _by itself_, without putting any feet into the water. Does the same kind of crap accumulate in the water, when there is no body to be ‘cleansed’? (That’s a common test for ‘ear candling’ – light the ear candle and let it burn without being inserted into any ear. Afterwards, you will see the cone has accumulated the same kind of debris that it supposedly pulls from an ear, but without being in any ear.) [/QUOTE] Oh god you had to mention ear candling didn’t you. :rolleyes: (Sorry my wife is hmmm, being nice, uhm very gulli.. nope, uhm happily believes a lot of this stuff and I believe I heard the term ear candling as another ‘treatment’ she was thinking about getting done. Off to see what that involves now as well. For some reason I keep imaging someone walking around with a light candle stuck in each ear 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Otara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Otara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otara)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-go-on-aok-ion-cleanse-therapy/428600/11 "2007-12-03T06:57:30Z")
[http://medicine.com.my/wp/?p=342](http://medicine.com.my/wp/?p=342) Rust as a result of current through electrodes. Otara ---
**Author:** ![Otara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Otara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otara)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-go-on-aok-ion-cleanse-therapy/428600/12 "2007-12-03T07:06:24Z")
> **[The Aqua Detox Scam | Quackwatch](https://quackwatch.org/device/reports/aquadetox/)** > > One way to scam people is to diagnose and correct a nonexistent problem. Aqua Detox practitioners do this by claiming to remove toxins and balance cellular energy. During treatment sessions, the customer's feet are bathed for 30 minutes in salt water... More direct link, sorry. Otara ---
**Author:** ![GreedySmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a698b9/32.png) [@GreedySmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreedySmurf)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-go-on-aok-ion-cleanse-therapy/428600/13 "2007-12-03T12:01:27Z")
Terrific, thanks **Otara** great link. That’s exactly the sort of info I was looking for. How do these people get away with this stuff? Although I guess Snake Oil has been sold for probably thousands of years, what’s going to stop them now. There were probably Ancient Mesopotamians selling the latest new breakthrough miracle cure! 😃 I guess it goes to show how strong a placebo effect can be, because I’ve heard one or two people absolutely swear by this thing. (Now the far more important question for my health and safety, do i risk sending this link to my wife 😛 ) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-go-on-aok-ion-cleanse-therapy/428600/14 "2007-12-03T14:16:31Z")
The “cleanse toxins from your body” come-on also is behind the current Kinoki foot pad scam. Gosh, I can’t imagine how a pad in contact with my feet could ever wind up dirty-looking. My Labrador retriever had minor ear surgery and has had to wear a silly-looking bandage wrap around her head for days and weeks at a time. It gets really scuzzy and discolored - must be the toxins expelled from her body. :rolleyes: The fascination with “toxins” also extends to the “colon cleanse” craze. We’re all just filth-ridden. I feel dirty. ☹