The flat feet of little children have to form the proper arches on growing up. This is greatly assisted by going barefoot, which trains the muscles of the foot arches and thus helps to avoid flat feet and other deformities with all their life-long consequences, e.g. damage of the back, the knees and the hips. Obviously, ethnic groups that live without shoes have very healthy feet.

Unnatural ideals of beauty seduce many people to force their feet into narrow shoes, which cause various deformities. But part of this damage due to fashion can be reversed regardless of age (the webmaster's own experience!). Even at an advanced age, going barefoot strengthens dozens of muscles, tendons and joints and restores part of the natural beauty and mobility of healthy feet:

• well-shaped and suntanned feet with smooth skin and straight toes, without corns, hammer toes, nodes, calluses at the wrong places,
   
• well-shaped legs due to a gentle and natural training of all muscles,
   
• the elegance of a natural motion without excess weight on the feet.
   
• Above all, blisters are unlikely to develop on bare feet, and you are spared inflammations of ingrown nails.
  

Prevention of trouble with the intervertebral discs:

Going barefoot has the potential to protect the intervertebral discs from deformation and slipping. As no shoes block the reflexes of the soles, going barefoot restores the natural mode of motion. Thus impacts are reduced, the unevenness of the ground is automatically compensated for and damage of the intervertabral discs becomes unlikely. You can easily avoid deterioration of the discs due to hard heel impacts in shoes!

Note that a rough path is the ideal training ground to correct for those dystrophies of the feet that damage the knees and cause dorsal pain! A barefoot person automatically shifts the body weight to the outer edges of the feet, where the skin is less sensitive to stones etc., and thus actively compensates for flat feet.

There is another, more indirect beneficial effect of barefooting to the intervertebral discs: they are only nourished by motion (like a sponge), for they do not contain blood vessels. unshod feet perfectly adapt to the unevenness of the ground and thus cause motions of the spine that compress and relax the discs -- and well-nourished discs will stay in shape longer without causing pain!

Note that dorsal pain costs billions of dollars per year, whereas bare feet are free!

against varicose veins:

Going barefoot is commonly recommended to prevent vein problems, for the proper motion of the unrestricted foot assists the leg muscles in pumping blood back to the heart.

preventing the common cold:

Moderate exposure to chill stimulates the production of body warmth and the power of resistance. Sometimes fifteen barefoot minutes on a pleasantly cool and moist lawn or even a one minute's joyful "snow dance" are sufficient to have wonderfully warm feet the whole night long! Do not be afraid of snow: for a short time it feels much better than cold water!

All who have had these good experiences, will recognize that any danger of kidney and bladder trouble due to barefoot walking is pure fiction!

preventing athletes foot:

Dermatophytes of the skin and nails can only establish themselves on the constantly moist skin inside shoes. Dry skin, however, is not susceptible to such attacks! Therefore, exposing the skin to the air and contact with a natural soil hamper the survival of these uninvited guests.