AsiaLIFE

Many people like having a footbath as part of a foot massage, but how many know that you can detox yourself at the same time? Words by Mark Bibby Jackson.

My mother always told me that water and electricity do not mix. So, as I sit with my feet in a basin of water while the technician drops the transformer in, I feel some trepidation. A contact is strapped to my wrist and some salt is added to the water. No, this is not the latest Pentagon-approved interrogation technique, but a detox bath. My technician turns on the switch and tells me to keep my feet still for 30 minutes. Invented by an American doctor called Rife, the detox head removes toxins, heavy metals, free radicals, and yeast from the body, by eliminating positive ions. Manufacturers claim that the body’s cells can become two years younger from just one treatment. The different colours the water turns reflect which organs are most affected and which toxins are being expunged.

The salon’s owner, Jerry Koh, has imported the machines from his native Singapore. He joins me and has a look at my footbath, which is starting to change colour after only a few minutes. He detects “white cheese”, which supposedly indicates a high yeast content – too many beers. Gradually the water turns a brownish colour, which corresponds to the liver and suggests a high environmental pollutant count, as I’m a non-smoker. Jerry explains there are two ways of removing toxins from the body. Either you sweat them out or you eat a lot of antioxidants. His machine is the third way. Eventually dark green appears in the centre of the bubble in my bath. This reflects my cardiovascular system – my blood stream is being cleansed. After half an hour the machine turns itself off automatically and I am given a short foot massage.

Following each treatment you should sleep better and your urine should be cleaner – the latter was the case with me. Make sure you bring something to read while waiting – and don’t look to closely at the bath. If it looks anything like mine it might make you want to give up beer.

Singapore Salon Parkway, Parkway Centre, Mao Tse Tung Blvd., Tel: 023 690 3132. Treatment lasts for 30 minutes and costs US$12.