PITTSBURGH -- A 2005 study from the Centers for Disease Control found traces of more than 60 toxic compounds in the blood and urine of 2,000 people it tested.

Another study by the Environmental Working Group found an average of 200 industrial chemicals and pollutants in umbilical cord blood from 10 babies born in August and September of 2004 in U.S. hospitals.

These tests show our bodies are absorbing pollutants from our environment, so is there a way to get the toxins out of our bodies?

Several products claim to do just that.

One of the hottest products being sold claims you can detoxify the body by wearing pads on your foot at night.

Several different companies make these detox pads.

The ads for the products claim to draw everything from arsenic to mercury out of the body.

Channel 11 reporter, Stacia Erdos, decided to find out if the patches really worked.

Dr. Devra Davis of the University of Pittsburgh Environmental Oncology Center is a national expert on toxins.

She has written two books on the subject.

Davis said, "There are pollutants in our bodies today, some of which did not exist when we were born. Getting metals out of your body is not a simple thing."

Davis looked at the ingredients on the package of detox pads sold by Avon.

Davis said," These patches basically contain green tea and vinegar and vinegar is one of the things people have used for thousands of years for a benefit to the system it can promote digestion, again in moderation. The ingredients look fine. The fact that it is made in China gives me some concern. We know there are a lot of questions now about things made in China."

WPXI managing web editor Julie Jena wore patches sold by Avon.

Jena said, "Shortly after they were put on and I put my socks on over them, my feet started to sweat instantly."

The next morning, Jena said she didn't feel any different, but the pads were different.

"They stunk very badly, a bad smell to them and they looked gross."

But did the pads draw toxins from her body?

Erdos took the pads to a local lab to be tested.

She took a pad worn by Jena, one worn by a second tester, one that was left on the front of a warm dishwasher overnight and an unused pad.

The pads were tested for mercury, lead and arsenic.

And what did this small, unscientific test show?

There was no difference in results between the unused pad and the three used pads.

Davis said, "Fat has been called a natural hazardous waste site. Chlorinated materials are attracted to fat. The heavier you are, the more the body burden will be for these materials."

So is there a real way to detoxify your body?

"Getting metals out of your body is not a simple thing. The simplest way to detoxify your body is to lose weight. That will get rid of the things that are in your fat," Davis said.