You may have noticed last week’s PR campaign touting Kim Kardashian’s love of activated charcoal lattes. Within a few days, several news outlets released stories on Kim’s belief in the health benefits of activated charcoal.
Kim’s sister, Kourtney, also put up a charcoal latte recipe inspired by her sister on her lifestyle website, Poosh, and has created a charcoal smoothie with LA specialty market, Erewhon.
The charcoal trend has been going on for a while. Charcoal is added to toothpaste, cakes, pastries, smoothies, and ice cream as a way to up the cool factor by making something black. When a Kardashian promotes something, the trend goes to a whole other level.
This may seem like just another harmless celeb health fad, but it is not harmless.
There are consequences when we consume harmful supplements, and activated charcoal is definitely harmful.
WHAT IS ACTIVATED CHARCOAL?
Activated charcoal is regular charcoal that has been subjected to extreme heat and oxygen to make it more porous so that it can be processed more easily.
In other words, “activated” charcoal is just severely burnt organic matter (wood, bamboo, or another material). The process of “activation,” though it sounds science-y, does not make charcoal any healthier. When we put activated charcoal in a latte, we are consuming dead, charred plants.
Far from glamorous or healing, this black powder is a cheaply-made industrial product sold to us as a miracle detox supplement.
WHAT’S THE PROBLEM WITH CHARCOAL?
We’re told charcoal is a “binding agent,” meaning that it binds to toxins and pulls them out of the body. It also supposedly reduces bloating and has a list of other “potential” but unproven benefits.
Charcoal is used in hospitals as an emergency measure to counteract severe poisoning or to treat an overdose of pharmaceuticals. It does block absorption in the body, but it’s not pulling out toxins.
Charcoal in any form was never meant to be ingested regularly.
We learn in Brain Saver Protocols by Anthony William (the Medical Medium®) that charcoal, including activated charcoal, suffocates intestinal linings.
Charcoal in the gut prevents nutrients from absorbing or assimilating into the bloodstream and body. This can cause nutrient deficiency and suffocate good bacteria in our guts while allowing harmful bacteria like strep to thrive.
Charcoal does not bind to toxins in the way we’ve been sold – just the opposite. Charcoal in any form can prevent toxic heavy metals, for example, from leaving the intestinal tract as the metals get buried by a layer of charcoal coating the intestinal lining after consumption.
Read my blog, Losing Our Minds to Toxic Heavy Metals, to understand why this is disastrous for our health.
It takes weeks for the body to eliminate this internal coating of charcoal. It is toxic to the body because it prevents toxins from leaving and allows them instead to build up in the gut.
If you are currently taking medication in any form, charcoal will interfere with its absorption, so be sure to avoid it until consulting with your healthcare professional. The same applies to your supplements as well.
AVOID THE HYPE
While occasionally brushing your teeth with activated charcoal toothpaste or powder is safe and beneficial (be sure to spit out all of the toothpaste after brushing), avoid the hype around this new trend.
An actual detoxifying binding agent that will strengthen your body is Atlantic dulse and other sea vegetables like high-quality kombu and nori. These oceanic miracles pull radiation, toxic heavy metals, and other toxins out of the body and ensure they are eliminated safely.
Nature gives us all of the healing tools we need. The problem is there’s no profit to be made from packaging what the Earthly Mother has given us.
You can’t make millions patenting wild blueberries. They’re already perfect.
Natural foods cannot be patented. It is not allowed. The product has to be processed in some way that is unique so that the inventor can patent it and make money.
For example, aspirin is a medicine derived from active ingredients taken from the bark of a willow tree. You cannot patent willow bark itself, but you can patent a chemical formulation using natural ingredients to produce a drug. Protein powders are another classic example of taking something from Nature, processing it, claiming ownership, and creating a huge industry.
But you can’t take a crop of cherries or mushrooms and claim that you own them wherever they exist as a product worldwide.
TRUE HEALING
If you’re looking to help your gut heal from the consumption of charcoal, the following protocols will get you back on track.
Each of these protocols will also benefit your digestive tract, liver, and body as a whole – the true healing you may have been after when you went for that black-tinted nighttime latte.
- Daily aloe water to heal and flush the intestinal tract
- Aloe shock therapy will calm intestinal nerves, neutralize acids, and inhibit the growth of viruses and harmful bacteria in the gut. Consume 2-4 inches of fresh aloe vera gel (remove the green skin) every two to four waking hours over one to seven days. Avoid gel from the bottom or top inch of the aloe leaf.
- The heavy metal detox smoothie safely removes toxic metals from the brain, liver, gut, and body. Several key ingredients like Atlantic dulse, spirulina, and barley grass juice powder pick up heavy metals that may have ended up in the gut, bind onto them, and carry them out of the body during elimination. This is detox support that actually works.
- The mono eating cleanse is a simple but powerful way to support healing and recovery in the gut.
- Completing at least seven days of mono cleansing (which involves choosing one type of food and eating it for every meal with optional fresh lettuce) improves nutrient absorption in the intestinal lining. You can read the details in Cleanse to Heal by Anthony William, and find more cleanse options in my blog, How to Choose the Best Cleanse for You.
- The Nerve-Gut-Acid Stabilizer Shot is a powerful healing tool for the digestive tract, which lessens bloating and nausea as it alkalizes and heals the body.
- Hydrating beverages like fresh cucumber juice, simple blended melon, watermelon juice, coconut water, and lemon or lime water help to flush out toxins from the liver and intestinal tract.
- Three apples a day will do more than keep the doctor away. Apples are the ultimate colon cleanser due to their pectin content, which collects and removes digestive debris, bad bacteria, yeast, mold, and viral matter. Apples are hugely supportive of all digestive disorders, and are deeply hydrating.
- Daily celery juice is last on this list, but first in its ability to powerfully heal your gut and body. In addition to starving and destroying harmful bacteria and viruses, celery juice cleanses and repairs the stomach and digestive tract in its entirety. There is no more powerful tool to restore the gut available to us. It is best drink in the morning on an empty stomach before consuming any food, and ideally 15 to 30 minutes after 16-32 oz of lemon water.
TRUTH BEYOND TRENDS
Activated charcoal is yet another manmade idea produced through harmful manufacturing with disastrous effects and unstudied effects on our bodies.
Stick to what we know in our souls is healthy: life-giving fruits, vegetables, leafy greens, herbs, wild foods, and unprocessed spices.
Respecting these healing foods is a timeless trend that will never lead us astray.
To your health and peace,
Muneeza
