Did you know…the secret to total-body detox is…activated charcoal?
With the winter holiday season in full swing, there is much talk about detoxification. Typically this talk focuses on quick fixes to remedy the discomfort and bloating caused by weight gain.
But there is a far more important, and far less well known, kind of detoxification: an activated charcoal detox.
Understandably, idea of swallowing a spoonful of what is essentially ash many not immediately appeal to you. However, the type of activated charcoal benefits recommended for detoxification purposes is completely odorless, tasteless, and safe to consume.
According to Dr. Al Sears, a cutting-age integrative medicine practitioner, the reason activated charcoal benefits have such an impressive detoxifying effect is that it flushes out all the toxic heavy metals (such as arsenic, copper, mercury, and lead) that are stored in your body—sometimes for decades. “An activated charcoal detox leaves you feeling like a new person,” says Sears, “pumped up, recharged, and bursting with energy. As if you were suddenly 20 years younger.”
Activated Charcoal Benefits An Impressive Record of Therapeutic Uses
Charcoal has an impressive and time-tested record as a treatment for a variety of ailments. Current scientific research has confirmed the validity of most ancient uses of charcoal, as well as pioneering new applications. It has been shown that activated charcoal can…
- Reduce damage caused by high cholesterol, coronary disease and arteriosclerosis.
- Counteract pathogens.
- Work as an antidote for virtually all drugs, chemicals and poisons.
- Relieve intestinal complaints.
- Extend life and correct common age-related problems.
Perhaps its most significant therapeutic use is one of its most established: complete detoxification of the body.
A “Wild” Study on Activated Charcoal
The best long-term study on activated charcoal benefits as an all-purpose detoxifier was conducted by Professors David O. Cooney, of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Wyoming, and Thomas T. Struhsaker, of the department of Biological Anthropology and Anatomy at Duke University.
The two theorized that the reason the Red Colobus monkeys on the African island of Zanzibar eat charcoal from burned tree stumps and cooking kilns might be to counteract dietary toxins.
First, Cooney’s team tested the adsorptive properties of several different types of charcoal (adsorption is the adhesion of atoms, ions, or molecules from a gas, liquid, or dissolved solid to a surface, and it’s a key element in detoxification). Cooney and Struhsaker determined that their hypothesis had been correct—charcoal has an incredible detoxifying effect on the body.
While naturally occurring charcoal, like the kinds the monkeys ate, has powerful adsorptive powers, Cooney and Struhsaker confirmed that medicinal-grade activated charcoal benefits are far more effective.
Charcoal ADsorbs, Not ABsorbs
If you’re considering using charcoal for detoxifying, it’s important to understand the difference between absorptive and adsorptive. When something is absorptive, that means it soak ups other substances, but when something is adsorptive, that means it holds other substances in a thin film on its outside surface.
The reason you should be aware of this is that the more finely-ground the charcoal you use, the greater the surface area, and the more adsorptive capacity it will have! Look for powdered activated charcoal with the smallest particle size possible.
According to Dr. Al Sears, a cutting-age integrative medicine practitioner, high-quality activated charcoal is “so potent that one gram of it—an amount the size of your fingernail—can adsorb enough toxins to fill the square footage of four tennis courts.”
Some Tips on Trying Activated Charcoal
Activated charcoal benefits can be found for an affordable price at almost any health food store. Integrative health experts maintain that it’s best to take it in powder form, mixed into a liquid, so that the body can most easily absorb it. The starting dose recommended by Dr. Sears is between 20 and 30 grams, taken in divided doses throughout the day, for a period of 1 to 2 weeks.
