Let's just go over a few basics. In my mind we have two types of shoes. A enclosed system which is your common shoe that covers the entire foot. The second is a open system which is like a flip flop/sandal type footwear.

Discussing conventional footwear. In my opinion the enclosed style is certainly the worst to choose from. The biggest problem is simply "hot feet syndrome". Your basically putting your foot inside a oven. Depending on the season your foot can reach temps of over 100 degrees. Heat, and sweat do not mix well. Millions of shoe addicted users get fungus, blisters, etc just from hot feet. The conventional style shoe also has many other design issues. Such as arch support, cushion, cramped toe box, tight upper shoe, heel, laces, achillies notch, etc. It's a pretty long list, and each has various negative health related issues . I don't want to get into too much depth with it. Their are many other places on the web that discuss this. Maybe I will discuss it more in future posts. The bottom line is the majority of shoes on the market today make your feet weaker, and prone to injury. The min shoe industry is slowly trying to change this.

You even have issues with some flip flops, or sandals. For all types of footwear another common issue is toe spring. This is when toe area of shoe points upward. Shoe companies do this to make walking easier. The problem is that hyper extends the toes which ruins your natural arch support. The natural foot does not need toe spring in shoe design.

The best rule of thumb in my opinion is keep a shoe on as little as possible. Though you maybe thinking what about those minimalist shoes ? Well the min shoes are certainly a improvement, but they still really do fall short. With a enclosed shoe you still have the hot foot problem. The min shoes still have some toe spring. Some of them have insole cushion, instep bands, achillies notch, etc. It really depends on the brand. It is just good to be aware of what you are putting on your foot, and try to keep it on a limited amount of time each day. If you want to maximize good foot health.

For me I really like to feel what I am walking on. As we have thousands of sensory receptors on the bottom of our feet. So any time you have a shoe on you loose this. Another problem with min shoes is they market them as walking barefoot, but with a shoe on. It really is non sense you can't completely mimic the barefoot feeling with any kind of shoe on your foot. It will always change your gait, and of course you will always loose the feeling sensation on the bottom of your feet.

I prefer to just let my feet adapt to what I walk on. I've found walking around in 30 degree temps has not been a problem. I have not gone out in anything colder then this so far. Those temps are limited to early morning hours.

During work hours I wear a min shoe. I have various shoes to choose from in another post I'll go over what I own. Basically my wear time is limited so I don't get caught up in it too much. The time I spend barefoot far exceeds my shoe wearing time.

I choose to be barefoot for good health. I believe good health starts with a strong foundation which is your feet. If you take care of your feet the rest of the body will follow.

I don't want to spend too much time on min shoe reviews, and these type of things. I prefer to be barefoot, and numerous other sites are out their for you to get more min shoe info. This blog is to focus on my barefooting experiences with society. Also to track, and log my barefoot running sessions.

Lastly I don't want to tell others what to do with their feet. I just want to share info. Let folks know that shoes do in fact effect your health. Sometimes changing footwear, or reducing footwear usage can relieve, or eliminate numerous health issues. Doctors tend to not look at things this way. Just because you have a knee problem for example does not mean that your knee is the actual problem. It could be your shoes. It could be your hip, etc. I just want folks to be more aware, and know that other solutions exist to help aide in how we feel day to day. In my opinion quality of life is very important, and the small things can really add up.