Activated charcoal is touted for general detoxification, a detox miracle so to speak. We explain how activated charcoal works, how to use it and what side effects it can have.
What is activated charcoal?
Activated charcoal – also called medicinal or activated charcoal – should not be confused with barbecue charcoal. It is a specially manufactured charcoal full of tiny pores and channels. Their structure is more like a sponge. As a result, it has an enormous surface area. Yes, a few grams of activated carbon already cover the area of a 5000 square meter football field. A single gram the area of 1300 square meters.
How is activated charcoal made?
Activated carbon can be made from coconut shells. The shells are steamed in huge ovens at 900 degrees, you only remove the moisture from the shells, so don’t burn them or you’d have ashes. You continue to treat it with steam and heat, which creates more and more pores and thus increases the surface area.
What is activated charcoal used for?
Activated charcoal can be found in many areas of everyday life, for example in the air filter in cars, in the kitchen extractor hood, in water filters , now also in cosmetic products and as a coloring in food (e.g. in caviar).
Activated charcoal is particularly well known as a medicinal product. In the form of activated charcoal tablets, many people have them on hand in their first-aid kit and travel pharmacy. It is usually taken against diarrhea, as the activated carbon can bind bacteria, bacterial toxins and excess water in the intestine. Activated charcoal is also suitable for flatulence, as it also absorbs gases.
Which products are available with activated carbon?
The best-known product was once the activated charcoal tablet just mentioned. In addition to all the areas of application in the technical field, activated carbon has increasingly been used in the food and cosmetics sectors in recent years. There are now pitch-black chewing gums and black toothpaste, since the activated charcoal is said to be able to make your teeth bright white. But burger buns, drinks and ice cream are also colored black with the activated charcoal and should simply look cool or detoxify the consumer along the way.
The pure activated carbon is available as powder, pellets, tablets or capsules. The powder is of course also filled in the capsules. While tablets and capsules are intended for ingestion, pellets are more intended for filter systems, while the powder can be used for external applications.
Should you take tablets or capsules?
Tablets contain superfluous additives and flavorings, such as sucrose (sugar), lactose, magnesium stearate , etc. These substances are not required for capsules. You can also open capsules if necessary and then use the activated charcoal for external applications, mouthwashes or similar.
Can Activated Charcoal Detoxify?
Due to its spongy structure, activated carbon can bind (adsorb) substances of all kinds. This is particularly practical in the intestines, since these substances then do not get into the bloodstream but can be excreted with the stool. However, once a poison has entered the bloodstream, the activated charcoal can no longer help. So it only binds substances/toxins that are in the intestines.
Due to its strong detoxification abilities, activated charcoal is also one of the five antidotes that are in the equipment of ambulances in many countries.
Which toxins does activated carbon bind?
The activated carbon does not bind all substances. Their adsorption abilities are only effective to a limited extent with acids, bases, alcohol and metals. On the other hand, it can bind many medicines well and is therefore also very suitable if you have taken an overdose. It also usually binds orally ingested drugs and plant toxins.
If you have accidentally ingested a poison (or drug or drug overdose), it is best to call the Poison Control Center right away. There you will learn which antidote is the best and whether you should use activated charcoal or not.
If you are generally concerned about toxins, you can use this mineral check to check whether and with which toxins you are exposed to a simple hair analysis. Your sample will be checked for 8 pollutants/elements (arsenic, aluminium, lead, mercury, cadmium, titanium, tin and nickel). After a few days, you will receive the result by email, which you can discuss with your therapist.
The History of Activated Charcoal
In 1811, French chemist Michel Bertrand took 5 grams of arsenic with activated charcoal to demonstrate the effects of activated charcoal – and he survived.
The scientist Touéry had a similar idea in 1831. The professor ingested a large amount of strychnine along with activated charcoal in front of his skeptical colleagues at the French Medical Academy and also survived.
The detoxifying or rather poison-binding effect of activated carbon has been known for at least 200 years.
Does Activated Charcoal Help With Gas?
Activated charcoal is an old household remedy for flatulence. Various older studies show that taking activated charcoal can relieve bloating and abdominal cramps. Other studies have not found any success with flatulence, so it seems to depend on the individual and the cause of flatulence whether activated charcoal can be effective.
There are combined products made from activated charcoal and fennel on the market. Fennel is a proven medicinal plant that has been the top choice for gas and indigestion for centuries. You take 2 capsules or 500 mg of activated carbon three times a day.
Does activated charcoal help against diarrhea?
Diarrhea is the traditional use of activated charcoal. In a review from 2018, activated charcoal is also considered a potential treatment option for diarrhea – regardless of whether it is bacterial-toxic or occurs as part of irritable bowel syndrome, because the charcoal not only binds bacteria and toxic substances, but also the excess water in the intestine.
Does activated charcoal help with a hangover?
Since activated charcoal is not good at binding alcohol or, in the case of a hangover, it has long since been eliminated in the blood or has mostly been broken down and one suffers from the “aftermath”, activated charcoal does not help with a hangover by binding alcohol, as many believe. At most, it could be that it binds toxic metabolic waste products that are produced when the alcohol is broken down, are already in the intestine and are now bound by the activated carbon before they can get back into the bloodstream.
Can Activated Charcoal Lower Cholesterol?
According to a 1986 study, activated charcoal appears to lower (bad) LDL levels while raising (good) HDL levels. However, there were only 8 subjects who also took a very high amount of activated charcoal per day (8 g three times a day for four weeks). Side effects were negligible at the time. However, the question arises as to whether one also checked the vital substance level (since prolonged use of activated charcoal could lead to a vitamin deficiency) or whether one only thought of digestive problems when considering side effects.
How does activated charcoal affect the intestinal flora?
A 2001 in vitro study showed that activated charcoal adsorbed harmful E. coli bacteria. The activated carbon reached its maximum adsorption within five minutes. With regard to the normal, i.e. healthy, intestinal flora, on the other hand, the activated carbon only showed a low binding capacity. How it behaves in humans, however, is not yet known because there are no studies available.
Can activated carbon also bind vitamins?
A study from 2007 showed that activated charcoal, when taken with a vitamin-rich juice, led to a strong but also dose-dependent reduction in vitamin C and vitamins B1, B3, B6 and biotin.
Activated charcoal can also bind helpful substances (such as vitamins) to itself (minerals not so much), which of course is not desirable in the long term, which is why it is better to only take activated charcoal if you have eaten something spoiled, if you accidentally ingested too much medication, have contracted a gastrointestinal infection or are suffering from flatulence.
Activated charcoal should not be taken prophylactically or even daily if there is no good reason for it.
Why does activated charcoal discolour cola?
If you put a larger portion of activated charcoal in a glass of cola, the drink will lose its colour, which is due to the fact that the activated charcoal binds colorants from the cola to itself, so that only a more or less tasteless clear liquid remains. Only a slightly sour note remains, which is due to the fact that activated carbon does not bind acids well.
So if you accidentally sipped on a bottle of hydrochloric acid, activated charcoal is not the right antidote. In this case it is better to drink a lot of water to dilute the acid and preferably also contact the emergency room.
Does activated charcoal whiten teeth?
The bacteria- and toxin-binding ability of the activated charcoal can of course also be useful in the mouth and tooth area and bind caries bacteria and other rubbish there. However, the use of activated charcoal in toothpaste is not much more helpful than otherwise good oral and dental care .
Also, the activated charcoal could be abrasive due to its powdery consistency, which means that – like many toothpastes that promise white teeth – it has a kind of abrasive effect and can damage tooth enamel.
You could occasionally rinse your mouth with the activated charcoal if you wanted to, or gently apply it to your teeth with your finger, leave it on for a moment and then rinse it out again. However, it does not replace other high-quality dental care, which can include e.g. oil pulling, using dental floss, xylitol rinses and of course brushing with a natural non-abrasive toothpaste.
When and how long is the best time to take activated charcoal?
If you want to detoxify an acutely consumed poison with activated charcoal, then the first dose should be taken within the first hour up to a maximum of four hours later, depending on the poison.
For symptoms such as diarrhea or flatulence, the charcoal is taken for one to three days. Activated charcoal is therefore not taken regularly or permanently and also not prophylactically.
How do you dose the activated carbon?
The dose depends on the area of application. If you want to fight flatulence, you take activated charcoal several times a day in small amounts (e.g. 500 mg 3 times a day). If it is acute diarrhea, activated charcoal is taken usually several doses a day.
The describtion for common charcoal tablets recommends 2 to 4 tablets 3 to 4 times a day for diarrhea (children take half). In the case of acute poisoning, the number of tablets can be increased to 50 without hesitation.
Do not forget! The activated carbon should always be taken with sufficient water.
In the case of acute poisoning, on the other hand, conventional medicine often only gives a single very high dose, e.g. 50 to 100g (with the corresponding amount of liquid!). However, you can also take additional doses in the following hours (e.g. 25 to 50g every 2 to 4 hours) in order to bind any remaining particles, which is apparently particularly helpful if you have an overdose of some epilepsy drugs or have taken anesthetics.
Children receive 1 to 2 g of activated charcoal per kilogram of body weight in the first dose, then 0.25 to 0.5 g per kilogram of body weight every 2 to 4 hours.
An activated charcoal drink often replaces the formerly usual gastric lavage or the induced vomiting, even in the hospital. In some cases it is advisable to take or give a saline laxative (e.g. Epsom salt) 30 to 60 minutes after the administration of activated charcoal so that the bound toxins can leave the body as quickly as possible.
Can activated charcoal be used externally on wounds?
Activated charcoal can also be used externally as a wound dressing. It then absorbs bacteria, escaping tissue fluid, dead tissue particles and odors from wounds. For this purpose there are ready-made wound dressings with an activated carbon core and often also silver to kill the bacteria.
For small wounds or insect bites, it is better to use healing earth, bentonite or zeolite, which is mixed with a little water to form a paste, applied and still wet after 20 minutes and washes off again.
Can activated charcoal absorb odors from the refrigerator?
If you put a bowl of activated charcoal powder in the fridge, it always smells nice and fresh. Bad smells are adsorbed.
Does activated charcoal also absorb medicines?
Taking drugs with activated charcoal would significantly reduce the effect of the drug because the activated charcoal adsorbs the drug’s active ingredients, as also shown in a 1988 study.
A time interval of several hours (at least four) should be observed or discussed with the doctor.
Can activated charcoal have side effects?
In principle, activated charcoal is considered safe for short-term use, but side effects can also occur here in rare cases, such as
- Stomach pain
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- Vomit
In addition, as already mentioned, activated charcoal should not be taken together with medication, as it could impair their effectiveness. This also applies to the birth control pill.
Long-term use of activated charcoal can lead to a vitamin deficiency.
How do you make a Black Lemonade?
A trendy drink at the moment is the Black Lemonade, a lemonade colored black with activated charcoal, which is drunk for detoxification and also for weight loss.
Simply mix the juice of 1 squeezed lemon and 1/4 tsp charcoal (or open one capsule). Add 300ml water, mix. If you like add some ice cubes and some maple syrup.
