Activated Charcoal

What is activated charcoal?

Activated charcoal is a black powder that has no smell or taste and has been used to treat many health problems since ancient times.  Most of the time, it is used in hospital situations these days to treat drug problems or as an emergency poison cure. People think that activated charcoal has a number of other benefits, such as less gas and flatulence, lower cholesterol, and better kidney function. Some people say that it makes your teeth whiter, cleans your water, and even gets rid of hangovers.

How do I use activated charcoal?

Activated charcoal is recommended as a treatment for moderately severe to life-threatening poisoning. Timed-release preparations may be administered up to six hours after consumption, although they should be done as soon as feasible, ideally within the first hour after ingestion.

Activated Charcoal Benefits:

Activated charcoal is often used to treat poisoning or an overdose. It may also be used to treat diarrhea and lower cholesterol. Many people use it as a home cure for different problems, but there isn't much scientific evidence to back up the other benefits people say it has.

◉ Emergency poison treatment: Since the early 1800s, activated charcoal has been used as a quick treatment for poisoning. This is because it can bind to many different drugs and make them less effective. This chemical can be used to treat overdoses from both prescription and over-the-counter drugs, such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and sedatives.

Studies show that an adult's ability to take a drug can be cut by up to 74% if they eat 50–100 grams of activated charcoal within 5 minutes of taking the drug. People say that activated charcoal works best within the first hour after an overdose or poisoning. Older studies show that it probably won't help if you take it after the first hour.

But later studies show that it worked in a few cases, even when taken after the first hour. This may be because activated charcoal not only stops a drug from being absorbed, but also makes it easier for your body to get rid of drugs that have already been taken in.

◉ May promote kidney function: Activated charcoal may help your kidneys work better by lowering the amount of waste that they have to clear. People with long-term kidney problems may benefit the most from this. Normal kidneys are very good at filtering your blood, but this problem makes it hard for your kidneys to get rid of urea and other toxins.

Activated charcoal may help your body get rid of urea and other toxins by binding to them. Through a process called diffusion, urea and other wastes can move from your blood into your gut. They link to activated charcoal in your gut and are then passed out of your body in your stool.

◉ May reduce symptoms of fish odor syndrome: People with trimethylaminuria (TMAU), also called "fish odor syndrome," may be able to smell less bad if they use activated charcoal. If you have TMAU, which is genetically determined, trimethylamine (TMA), a substance with a rotten fish odor, accumulates in your body.

Before you pee it out, your body generally changes TMA into a harmless chemical. People with TMAU don't have the enzyme needed to make this change. This makes TMA build up and get into the urine, sweat, and breath, giving them a bad, fishy smell.

Studies show that the porous surface of activated charcoal may link to small, smelly chemicals like TMA, making them easier to get rid of.

◉ May reduce cholesterol levels: Activated charcoal might be able to help lower cholesterol. An older study shows that activated charcoal may stop your body from absorbing cholesterol and bile acids that contain cholesterol. This happens because the charcoal binds to the cholesterol and bile acids.

In an older study, taking 24 grams of activated charcoal every day for 4 weeks dropped both total and LDL (bad) cholesterol by 25% while improving HDL (good) cholesterol by 8%. In another study, people with high cholesterol levels who took 4–32 grams of activated charcoal every day were able to cut their total and LDL (bad) cholesterol levels by 29–41%. The best results came from higher amounts.

Where can I buy activated charcoal? 

Buy activated charcoal from the health food store in the USA, Alive Herbals.

Activated charcoal information (at a glance):