Can You Put Activated Charcoal in Smoothies?

Activated charcoal is popularly used to ‘detox’ the body from harmful wastes and toxins. In this article we shall answer your question, ‘Can You Put Activated Charcoal in Smoothies?’

What is Activated Charcoal?

Activated charcoal is not the same as charcoal or coal got from burnt firewood. What makes it different from the charcoal we use in barbecue grills?

Well, activated charcoal is obtained by heating the charcoal got from wood, coconut shells or peat with very hot air until it gets tiny pores on its surface. These pores make activated charcoal special. They act like a sponge which makes them adsorbent. Adsorption is a term used to mean a chemical reaction where elements bind to a surface. This property makes activated charcoal very useful! In emergency rooms, it is a life saver! Activated charcoal is given to patients who have swallowed poison or harmful substances. It helps bind to the poisonous substance consumed so that it cannot do any harm in the body. Similarly, activated charcoal can also bind to toxins, heavy metals and harmful wastes, which makes it popular in the world of detox and healthy living.

Benefits of Taking Activated Charcoal

There are powerful benefits of taking activated charcoal to improve your health. Here are some of them:

Activated charcoal is used in hospitals and medical centres for emergency treatment in poisoning and drug overdose.

• It helps relieve bloating and gas.
• It helps remove toxins from the body thereby increasing energy, improving mental function and reducing inflammation.
• It helps treat alcohol poisoning and prevents hangovers.

Can You Put Activated Charcoal in Smoothies?

Now that we know what activated charcoal and some of its benefits, let’s get to the real point of this article, ‘Can you Put Activated Charcoal in Smoothies?’

There’s a fairly new trend of healthy juice companies selling juice or smoothies that are pure black in color, that is, containing activated charcoal.

But did you know that by consuming these drinks or smoothies, you won’t be gaining any nutrients from the ingredients?! Why? Because activated charcoal also binds to nutrients! The benefit you can get from drinking an activated charcoal smoothie is the fibre from the smoothie can help regulate bowel movements. But you will not benefit from the nutrients in the fruits, vegetables and other healthy ingredients in the smoothie because the activated charcoal will bind to all the nutrients in the stomach.

Therefore, do not put activated charcoal in your smoothies or health drinks. But what is the right way to drink activated charcoal? Let us find out below:

How to Take Activated Charcoal the Right Way

You can benefit from taking activated charcoal by making a palatable black lemonade! Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 cup of filtered water
• 1/2 fresh lemon
• Natural sweetener of choice such as raw honey (where to get it)
• 1/2 tsp of activated charcoal (where to get it)

Directions

1. Warm a glass of filtered water, then squeeze out the juice from half a lemon.
2. Twist to open the activated charcoal capsule and pour the contents into the glass.
3. Add any amount of natural sweetener to taste. Stir well and consume!

Note:

• Drink this black lemonade 2-3 hours on an empty stomach before breakfast.
• Do not take medication together with this black lemonade as the activated charcoal will also bind to the medicine.
• Drink a lot of water throughout the day to help flush out the toxins and wastes absorbed by the activated charcoal.