Eating activated charcoal is NOT healthy and these are the 4 reasons to avoid it, reveals expert
- Activated charcoal has become a popular health food in recent years
- It is used to turn foods black and is also claimed to have detoxing properties
- Celebrities including Kim Kardashian and Gwyneth Paltrow have endorsed it
- But a nutrition expert says it could prevent your body from absorbing vitamins
- It may also slow down digestion, making you feel sick and affecting your stools
Activated charcoal has become a lifestyle trend in recent months, with chefs using it to turn everyday foods black and celebrities endorsing its apparent health benefits.
But is the ingredient – often claimed to have detoxing properties – safe to eat?
Sandwich chain Pret A Manger sells a ‘charcoal shot’ with coconut water, lemon and apple, which it says ‘has the flavour of lemonade with a tart kick’.
A restaurant in East London last month caused a stir on Twitter when it unveiled a charcoal croissant, and the ingredient is also found in smoothies.
Activated charcoal is thought to help with digestive problems and bloating, to improve skin and there are even special toothpastes which claim to whiten teeth.
Gwyneth Paltrow, Kim Kardashian and actress Shailene Woodley have all endorsed drinking charcoal lemonade for its supposed cleansing properties.
In the below piece for The Conversation Sophie Medlin, lecturer in nutrition and dietetics at King’s College London, explains several reasons to avoid the health fad:
Charcoal lemonade has been praised by Gwyneth Paltrow, Kim Kardashian and actress Shailene Woodley but may not be as healthy as it seems, according to one expert
On her Goop website, Gwyneth Paltrow claimed that charcoal lemonade was one of the ‘best juice cleansers’.
That was in 2014. Today, charcoal products – from croissants to capsules – are everywhere. Even high street coffee chains have taken to selling charcoal ‘shots’.
Some vendors of these products claim that activated charcoal can boost your energy, brighten your skin and reduce wind and bloating.
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The main claim, though, is that these products can detoxify your body.
It’s easy to see where the claim that activated charcoal can detoxify the body comes from: it is used in emergency medicine to reduce the toxic load when someone has consumed poison or overdosed on medication.
Charcoal binds to poison in the gastrointestinal tract and stops it from being absorbed into the bloodstream.
The toxins are then passed out of the body in the stool.
However, this detoxifying action is another case of the non-scientific nutritionists seeing the medical use for something and misinterpreting its application.
Four reasons to avoid it
Although consuming activated charcoal may seem like a harmless health trend, there are several reasons you should avoid these products.
1. Activated charcoal will bind with all kinds of things including some of the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants in your food. Charcoal is sometimes added to fruit or vegetable juice and sold as a ‘shot’. Unfortunately, the vitamins in the fruit and veg probably won’t be absorbed because of the charcoal. You’d be better off just having the juice.
2. Activated charcoal can bind with some medications, including some antidepressants and anti-inflammatory medications, causing them to be less effective. This could have serious health consequences for some people, but it’s not explained on bottles or packaging where activated charcoal is being sold.
3. Activated charcoal will only bind with whatever particles are in your stomach or intestines at the time that you take it. It works by coming into physical contact with your intestinal contents. If you’re trying to use it to detox from the alcohol and kebab you had the night before, it won’t do anything at all because they have been absorbed into your bloodstream already.
4. Activated charcoal slows down your bowel and is known to cause nausea and constipation (and black stools).
TRENDY CHARCOAL TOOTHPASTE MAY ACTUALLY BE BAD FOR YOUR TEETH
This teeth whitening trend involves brushing teeth using an activated charcoal – which comes in a capsule or as a powder – mixed with water.
It is believed charcoal can absorb tannins – these are the compounds found in coffee, tea and wine that stain your teeth.
And it’s also claimed the gritty black stuff has the power to eliminate toxic bacteria which cause bad breath.
While many claim the product has miracle whitening properties, experts have warned against embracing the trend because there’s limited evidence to suggest it is safe or effective.
Professor Damien Walmsley, scientific adviser for the British Dental Association said: ‘Bleaching products used by dentists safely remove deep and surface stains from the teeth, whereas this charcoal-based product is untested and a gamble.
‘Using it as a substitute for standard toothpaste means you will also miss out on the benefit of fluoride.’
Gas and bloating
In the 1980s some research suggested that activated charcoal can bind with gases produced during digestion and reduce wind and bloating.
They showed that if you eat a meal that typically causes gas and then take charcoal, it reduces the amount of gas that is produced.
However, there were later studies showing that this was not of benefit when taken as a supplement alongside the participants’ normal diets.
These studies are very old, and while activated charcoal may help to reduce wind under certain circumstances for some people, because of the effects it also has on binding nutrients and drugs, it is not recommended for managing wind and bloating.
There are great treatments for wind and bloating that are really effective, such as reducing the fermentable carbohydrates in your diet (the low FODMAP diet) and the use of certain probiotics for irritable bowel syndrome.
Everyone is looking for a quick fix to wellness, and while we are all struggling with maintaining our energy levels, eating well and exercising while living busy lives, it is easy to be sucked in by clever marketing and celebrity endorsements.
The detox market is huge and highly misleading.
While the common perception is that our daily lives and dietary habits (including alcohol intake) cause a build up of ‘toxins’ in our system, there are no products or diets that will impact on this, regardless of their marketing budget or how many ‘influencers’ tell you otherwise.
We are often sold the idea that our diets are somehow ‘toxic’ when the reality is that, aside from ingesting poison, even fast food doesn’t contain anything toxic.
You already have the means to detoxify your body (your liver and your kidneys do a fine job of this), so don’t waste your money.
The last thing you want to do is make your food less nutritious by adding an unnecessary, indigestible compound.
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