Benefits of Activated Charcoal: Medicine of the Egyptians, Greeks, and Native Americans
Eating charcoal sounds about as appetizing as scarfing down some black, charred remains of a Saturday BBQ, but activated charcoal is a whole other animal. Activated charcoal is used as a detox agent to absorb a host of heavy metals, chemicals, and more. Activated charcoal absorbs the toxins from your body and then, since it is not absorbed by the body, the toxins along with the charcoal are expelled, leaving you cleaner and more toxin-free.
The Numerous Benefits of Activated Charcoal
Charcoal is “activated” because it is made to have a very small particle size. This increases its overall surface area and absorptive capacity. Activated charcoal is produced by adding acid and steam to carbonaceous materials such as wood, coal, rye starch, or coconut shells. To understand just how effective this substance is at absorbing toxins, one standard 50-gram dose of activated charcoal has the surface area of 10 football fields. It also encourages bowel movements, so it can help to rid the body of toxins rather quickly.
Hippocrates, the Greek physician considered the father of natural medicine, used activated carbon to cure many patients. Activated charcoal (also referred to simply as carbon) has been called black magic because of it’s color and healing abilities. Carbon:
- Has a negative ionic charge that attracts the positive ionic charges of toxins and poisons causing them to bind to the charcoal. They are then surreptitiously escorted out of the body via the eliminative channel of the intestines.
- Removes heavy metals like lead and aluminum.
- Deodorizes foul smells.
- Removes symptoms of traveler’s diarrhea.
- Reduces ulcers in the stomach.
- Can be used as a toothpaste to whiten teeth and eliminate foul breath since it kills bacteria.
- Reduces gas from eating beans and other gaseous foods.
- Eliminate many micro-organisms and chlorine from drinking or bath water.
- Removes parasites and bacteria from the body. This includes bugs that cause everything from a stuffy nose to more invasive parasites.
Those with Crohn’s disease or irritable bowel syndrome need to prepare their activated charcoal a little differently, or use it externally, as a poultice, instead of mixing it with water and drinking it or taking it in pill form.
Stuff works great
Shungite rock, like charcoal, absorb toxins. Good for water elixirs.
Can someone recommend a good brand of activated charcoal or where I can get some?
Any brand will do; most of it will probably arise from the same source. It is available at HFS or on the Internet.
I make a homemade face wash with it! Works amazingly on ache prone skin.
1tsp Aloe
1pill Activated Charcoal cracked open
3 drops Tea tree oil
Dash of salt
1tsp water
Mix together until paste
Apply, let dry
Wash off once dry
50 grams sounds like a hellava lot of cahrcoal for one dose. Is this spaced out over ti=me or taken all at once?
50 grams is, undoubtedly, a clerical error; 5 mg is more likely if taken orally, indeed, a very small amount is sufficient; just the tip of the smallest spoon. There is no adverse side-effect but there could be at 50 grams.
Where you buy Activated Charcoal?
Any local health food store should carry it 🙂
…Also available on Internet.
Activated carbon is awesome try brushing your teeth with carbon it removes plaque and whitens your teeth.
Entirely agree; I brush my teeth with it every morning and the effect is beautiful white teeth and almost no dental requirements. I also use it as suggested in the article and have done so for many years.
I have Crohn’s, and am very interested in how to prepare it differently for use for the disease (besides a poultice). Thank you!
Activated charcoal is excellent at controlling wind or removing a smelly breath both in humans and animals.
If
whenever feeling unwell firstly take charcoal and if this fails to cure after about 30 minutes then the problem has nothing to do with bodily poisons (usually from food or drink).
do not take it if you have to take meds or to much or to long
“Activated charcoal is used as a detox agent to absorb a host of heavy metals, chemicals, and pharmaceutical drug remains that flow through your blood stream and cause a hindrance to your best health”
AC is not absorbed into the bloodstream, so it DOES NOT detoxify the blood! No where in this article does the author make the critical distinction that AC only detoxifies the digestive tract. Before she starts offering medical advice, Christina Sarich needs to start doing actual research.
Yes, that’s a good point. Activated charcoal does not distinguish between wanted and unwanted particles.
They’ve given it to animals as a certain % of their food and they’ve been unable to find harm or nutrient deficiency in thos animals. Which nutrients is it supposedly stopping?
In doses large enough and regular enough to treat food poisoning or other ingested toxins, activated charcoal will absorb and sequester significant amounts of water soluble vitamins and minerals, and if such doses are continued for an extended period of time it can quickly result in dietary deficiency of those nutrients. What percentage of the animal’s food consisted of activated charcoal? I’d imagine that it was much lower than a therapeutic dose.
The studies I saw it was usually around 1% by weight of food. Usually they are doing it because many grazing animals often eat food that has various toxins in them. Remember charcoal adsorbs, not absorbs(its not a sponge). One thing I’ve seen is that in hospitals they say if someone has eaten alot of fat, typically they have to increase the dose of AC, so it seems there is some interaction between fat and AC. Now you are talking about it causing a deficiency, which theoretically is true-do you have a study or any other kind of proof that that is actually what happens? I have yet to find one and I regularly look at this stuff.
“a standard 50g dose” — ??? That’s A LOT!