Does salt water foot bath nourish the kidneys?

Our limbs are the farthest part from the heart, so if we are not healthy enough, we are prone to cold hands and feet. Foot soaking is a means of health care nowadays. It belongs to the foot bath in traditional Chinese medicine and has certain therapeutic effects. Soaking feet in hot water is a common practice for many people to relieve fatigue, promote metabolism, and drive away the cold. Adding specific Chinese herbal medicines to hot water also has specific therapeutic effects. So is it true that soaking feet in salt water can nourish the kidneys?

Doctors have a negative attitude towards the statement that "soaking feet in salt water can nourish the kidneys and resist aging." "This statement is too absolute. No matter what kind of Chinese herbal medicine or other things are added to the foot bath water, it only plays an auxiliary therapeutic role."

The doctor said that salt water is actually the most effective in killing bacteria and reducing inflammation. In clinical practice, she usually recommends soaking feet in salt water to patients with athlete's foot, or local redness, swelling, and pain on the skin. In her opinion, soaking your feet in salt water is indeed good for the human body, but it is a bit exaggerated to say that it has the effects of "tonifying the kidneys and anti-aging".

"The claim that soaking your feet in salt water can nourish the kidneys and resist aging is not true. Salt water foot soaking does exist, but it is not used to nourish the kidneys. Salt is recorded in detail in the Compendium of Materia Medica. Salt is salty and cold in nature. Chinese medicine emphasizes the five elements, which correspond to the five internal organs. Salt corresponds to the kidneys, so Chinese medicine says that salty taste enters the kidneys, and salt is used as a meridian-guiding medicine in Chinese medicine. For example, when we take the kidney-tonifying medicine Liuwei Dihuang Pills, we have to take it with salt water. This is why it is said that salt can nourish the kidneys, but this is only the reason for oral administration. Salt is added to foot soaking because salt has the effect of dispersing knots, clearing heat and detoxifying, and it has a therapeutic effect on athlete's foot, tinea pedis, mosquito bites or foot infections, and that's all."

As for the claim that salt water foot bath can fight against aging, Director Chen said: "There is no evidence that salt water foot bath is better than warm water. Foot bath can promote blood circulation in the legs, and blood circulation in the lower limbs is good for the heart and brain, but this is not the so-called anti-aging."

To sum up, the online rumor that “soaking your feet in salt water can prevent aging” is not true. People still need to rely on a regular life, a healthy schedule, and adequate food nutrition to nourish their kidneys on a daily basis. Blindly nourishing the kidneys is not advisable.