Activated charcoal has been one of the most researched molecules in medicine, toxicology, pharmacology, biology, and chemistry for a long time for good reasons. I provided a comprehensive list of research papers at the end of this post for those interested in details.
According to the Western Journal of Medicine, “poisoned patients were first treated with charcoal more than 150 years ago”.
When I published an article titled “Activated Charcoal: A Miraculous Element” a few years ago, some readers following my blogs questioned why I, as a scientist, wrote an article about pseudoscience.
I respect reader feedback, interpreting any negative criticism as a request for more information. So, I kindly responded to them that charcoal was not pseudoscience and provided them with some compelling scientific studies from my literature reviews. I shared some of them in the reference section of this article with links for easy access via PubMed.
My experience using activated charcoal
My first therapeutic encounter with activated charcoal occurred in the early 1980s when one of our neighbors’ children was treated successfully with activated charcoal for severe food poisoning in an emergency department of a hospital.
When I was a child, my grandparents used to use charcoal for various reasons. I have fond memories from my childhood when we made fun of charcoal at children’s birthday parties by painting our faces and looking funny.
And my parents always used charcoal when we had stomach upsets.
This childhood fun and family treatment led me to research and use charcoal for health reasons. After a comprehensive literature review, I was convinced and added it to my emergency bag.
My subsequent strong interest started when I learned activated charcoal could be used for toxicity, particularly for heavy metals. I was interested in this topic because of my love and abundant consumption of Atlantic salmon.
Reading news and articles and receiving alerts about heavy metals introduced by fish consumption greatly concerned me. Since then, I have been reading every published article and testimony about using activated charcoal to eliminate heavy metals from the body.
Then, around the mid-2000s, I noticed that biohacking communities used activated charcoal for various health improvement purposes. Then, I added it to my biohacking toolbox as a powerful tool.
These communities shared remarkable testimonials at various international conferences, online forums, and social media. I created a particular research folder, collecting every piece of testimonial, scientific research, and clinical study.
I also added a chapter about activated charcoal in my book titled Powerful Life-Changing Hacks That Truly Transformed My Life. As mentioned in the book, my main reason for using activated charcoal regularly is to remove toxic minerals from my gut.
I was convinced that my gut might have been exposed to some amount of mercury due to the regular consumption of salmon. When toxin levels pass the threshold, we may experience several disturbing symptoms. Therefore, I thought it could have passed the threshold.
I learned that activated charcoal traps toxins in our gut. It prevents the absorption of toxins. The mechanism is proven scientifically.
Activated charcoal is negatively charged; thus, it attracts positively charged molecules such as toxic heavy metals. This mechanism helps remove the toxins from the body via feces.
In addition to digestive health, since I added activated charcoal to my biohacking and emergency bags, I experienced noticeable improvements in my skin. It got clearer and smoother.
When my son was getting acne on his face, I offered him to drink charcoal once a week ensuring he got mineral supplements afterwards. First, he resisted asking, "dad, wouldn’t this stuff make my body black?"
I told him I loved black people. He smiled and drank it. After using it for several months, he experienced substantial improvement in his puberty symptoms.
I spent many years removing excessive belly fat, which is considered toxic. As mentioned in this article (How to Get Six-Pack Abs Without Destroying Our Health), one of the secrets to having a defined belly is dealing with toxins. Activated charcoal became one of these tools to eliminate toxins from the gut.
Furthermore, I used activated charcoal regularly under the supervision of my primary healthcare consultant. In earlier days, she warned me of some potential side effects.
From literature and advice from my physician, I understand that taking it daily can be harmful, as activated charcoal may also trap other valuable minerals in the gut. Using activated charcoal once a week provided the optimal solution for me.
As a supplement, activated charcoal does not require a prescription and can be easily purchased from pharmacies and health stores.
I aim to raise awareness of this underutilized natural product. I don’t sell, market, or promote any activated charcoal products or services. I have no affiliation with these scientific journals either.
Our bodies are affected by toxic materials. Heavy metals such as mercury can cause physical and mental diseases. There is a scientific discipline dealing with toxicity. It is toxicology. It overlaps medicine, pharmacology, chemistry, and biology.
Toxicology studies the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms. Apart from studying the scientific phenomena of toxicology, toxicologists in healthcare practice diagnose and treat exposures to toxins and intoxicants.
In 2016, according to the German Federal Statistical Office, 178,425 cases of intoxication (poisoning) were treated in German hospitals. The poison control centers in the German-speaking countries gave the advice in a total of 268,787 instances of poisoning in that year, and the use of activated charcoal was recommended in 4.37% of cases.
The application of activated charcoal plays a significant role in both primary and secondary detoxification. The paper titled “The Use of Activated Charcoal to Treat Intoxication” was published in 2019 and featured by the US NIH (National Institute of Health). You can read the paper for free at this link.
The American Academy of Clinical Toxicology, European Association of Poisons Centres, and Clinical Toxicologists recommend the administration of activated charcoal (AC) within one hour of an acute toxic ingestion. Their poison control centers periodically and upon request faxes, an abbreviated protocol to hospital emergency departments, reminding physicians of these current AC recommendations.
This study was conducted to describe how often patients present within the one-hour time frame and how often the guidelines in the above position statement are being followed.
This study reviewed approximately 150,000 reported toxic exposures, including 16,914 patients of acute ingestion presented to a healthcare facility.
As documented in this paper, "Poisoned patients were first treated with charcoal more than 150 years ago. Despite its almost universal acceptance today, activated charcoal's role has been overshadowed by the emphasis on treating poisoned patients first with gastric emptying."
When another neighbor's children were poisoned, their family doctor also advised them to take the emergency department and get treated with activated charcoal. Interestingly, this paper was published in the journal Current Opinion in Pediatrics that year. The paper informed that:
Childhood poisonings account for approximately two-thirds of all human toxic exposures reported annually to the American Association of Poison Control Centers. Activated charcoal (AC) is the mainstay of decontamination in the emergency department setting.
I reviewed many more papers and provided links in the reference section of this article, which come from medical literature indexed by PubMed. I purposefully did not provide direct links from the journals but used PubMed as a reliable portal. Sometimes, journals archive older papers, and they become unavailable to the public.
By the way, PubMed is owned by the US government and comprises over 32 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books.
Conclusions
Natural remedies have been of great interest to me, especially when they are backed up by science. Activated charcoal is one of them. Like many users of it, I also gained benefits from using it.
Activated charcoal is studied using in vivo (animal models and human clinical trials), in vitro (performed outside of a living organism), and in situ (ethnographic observations). Therefore, it has substantial resources in the body of knowledge.
Many emergency departments in several countries still use activated charcoal in hospitals to address poisoning issues. Some people still call it pseudoscience, but it is far from the truth. I added several credible scientific and clinical study papers in the reference section to prove it is not pseudoscience as perceived.
From my years of experience and reviewing the scientific literature, I believe that activated charcoal is not hype but hope for people suffering from toxicity and food poisoning. There may be many more applications in the future as the research on this topic is active.
Activated charcoal does not require a prescription in many countries. For example, it is available in health shops and pharmacies at an affordable price in the US. However, Discussing activated charcoal supplementation with qualified healthcare professionals before starting it is essential, as it might have adverse effects or may interfere with medication.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
Links to Scientific References on Activated Charcoal
These reference links include scientific papers, including clinical studies, in vitro studies, theories, and chapters from scientific textbooks. The abstract and publisher details can be obtained from the PubMed® website. I believe you will find them useful if you are interested in the details of activated charcoal.
Warning: Discussing alpha lipoic acid supplementation with qualified healthcare professionals before starting it is essential, as it might have adverse effects or may interfere with medication.
I also wrote about other molecules and nutrients like Boron, Urolithin, taurine, citrulline malate, biotin, lithium orotate, alpha-lipoic acid, n-acetyl-cysteine, acetyl-l-carnitine, CoQ10, PQQ, NADH, TMG, creatine, choline, digestive enzymes, magnesium, zinc, hydrolyzed collagen, nootropics, pure nicotine, activated charcoal, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B1, Vitamin D, Vitamin K2, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine, and other nutrients to improve metabolism and mental health. You might find search them through Google or other search engines. They reflect my experience, observations, and literature reviews.
One of my writing goals is to raise awareness about the causes and risk factors of prevalent diseases that can lead to suffering and death for a large portion of the population. I aim to educate, create awareness, and empower my readers to take control of their health and well-being.
To raise awareness about health issues, I have written several articles that present my holistic health findings from research, personal observations, and unique experiences.
If you found this story helpful, you may also check out my other articles on NewsBreak. As a postdoctoral researcher and executive consultant, I write about important life lessons based on my decades of research and experience in cognitive, metabolic, and mental health.
To inform my new readers, I wrote multiple articles that might inform and inspire you. My topics include brain and cognitive function, significant health conditions, longevity, nutrition/food, valuable nutrients, ketogenic lifestyle, self-healing, weight management, science, technology, business, and humor.
I compile my health and wellness stories on my blog, EUPHORIA.My posts do not include professional or health advice. I only document my reviews, observations, experiences, and perspectives to provide information and create awareness.
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