Activated charcoal is one of the things I try to always keep on hand in our home. It’s been around for many years. In fact, I would guess that most of our great grandmothers used this old stand by for stomach distress or possibly the onset of an unexplained illness. Charcoal has not been as widely used for several years but there now seems to be a comeback in the Natural Health community. Although still used in hospitals for poisonings more and more people are stocking it in their medicine cabinets.
How does it work?
Charcoal is “activated” because it is produced to have an extremely small particle size, unlike the picture above it will be found as a very fine powder. Because it is so porous it causes the carbon to have a larger surface area. Once a toxin enters these tiny pores the toxin adheres to the walls of the carbon and then basically the charcoal will then carry the substance out of the body. Charcoal is not absorbed into the bloodstream but only moves through the GI tract which in turns allows it to carry anything that it is adhered to, straight out of the body.
Uses:
Poisoning- Charcoal is great if you suspect you have eaten an offending food that’s causing some discomfort. At the onset of symptoms I generally take about a tablespoon in a glass of water. It’s very important to flush your body with lots of water when consuming charcoal water as it will cause dehydration and constipation. It’s a good idea to take about 12 to 16 glasses of water in a day if using charcoal. Make sure you are taking a food grade Charcoal that is safe for human consumption. NEVER CONSUME THE CHARCOAL YOU WOULD USE IN A GRILL that contains dangerous chemicals and is not safe for ingestion. If you have ingested some other sort of poison that is not food related take the charcoal and call the poison control center immediately.
Insect Bites- I’ve used charcoal as a poultice before when I am having a reaction to a bug bite. I just simply place some in a small bowl and make a paste with it and apply to the bite with a small piece of plastic wrap over the top to keep the mess at a minimum. It works great at drawing the toxin out of the sting and I’ve had the swelling go down very quickly using this method.
Detox- If you’ve ever done any sort of cleanse that might cause a die off reaction in your body, charcoal could support the body, by allowing the toxins to be carried out quicker which may help with those annoying symptoms. I personally don’t take it very often during a cleanse because it can be constipating and that’s the last thing you want when you’re trying to cleanse your body, but I take it after a few days for a day or so just to give my body a little help in driving the toxins out.
Charcoal can be a great tool to help rid the body of some pretty nasty things. Keep in mind that since it does draw toxins to it, it will also draw nutrients to it as well so it’s best not to take it within two hours of any supplements or medications as it will also draw those nutrients out as well. Dr. Axe has a list in this article that states some of the medications to avoid taking with charcoal. There is also a good list of other precautions to consider when using Charcoal. All in all, it is believed to be one of the safest remedies that has a proven track record for many years!
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