Boost Your Health: 5 Healthy Uses for Activated Charcoal

Women are discovering the fantastic benefits of activated charcoal

Activated charcoal is a natural supplement instilling curiosity with its jet black appearance and interest for its celebrated benefits. In fact, the use of activated charcoal is a growing trend in the ongoing battle to detoxify our bodies‘and it happens to have numerous other health benefits to boot. Clean pores, whiter teeth and flatter bellies’you’ll be glad to know’are only a few of the perks of this supplement.

What you need to know about activated charcoal (and how you may have already encountered it)

What is activated charcoal? It’s is a natural food grade supplement made from charcoal that has been treated (usually by heating it) to boost its natural ability to absorb. Activated charcoal will help efforts to detoxify your body. Some people are adding it to their juice cleanses!

Activated charcoal can help absorbs many different types of toxins’think pesticides and other chemicals found in today’s foods. Have you ever used a Brita? That means you’ve already been taking advantage of the power of activated charcoal: it’s what’s used to purify water in water filters.

Oddly enough, the same thing used in your Brita is what vets use when pets ingest things they shouldn’t (like that chocolate you were saving from Valentine’s day). It’s also what’s used in hospitals to treat certain types of poisoning. It makes sense, if you think about it: chemicals that have been ingested (by you or Sparky) will bind to it and be pulled from the body. In this case, though, it’s administered by a doctor and involves much larger quantities than you should try at home.

What makes activated charcoal so popular with women?

Okay, so you haven’t been poisoned and are allowed to eat chocolate, so what are you supposed to use activated charcoal for? Activated charcoal is on-trend for a variety of ailments and uses and; as more and more people see positive results from it, it continues to rise in popularity. You’ll likely hear about it first as a new way to detox’perhaps because one activated charcoal juice cleanse was endorsed by Gwyneth Paltrow.

So, is it just a detox trend or does it really work?

Activated charcoal has promising health and beauty benefits and some expert endorsements behind it. Experts say activated charcoal can help with skincare, bloating and bee stings, amongst other uses.

In some cases’such as for as a hangover cure or to lower cholesterol’people report successful theories and results, but research has not yet been done to back these uses. As for its popular use as a detox method: there is some merit to this, though not all claims are true.

Is activated charcoal right for you?

‘ While some recommend activated charcoal for morning sickness and other symptoms of pregnancy, it has not been shown to have a significant effect here. If you’re pregnant or breastfeeding, d talk to a doctor before trying it out.

‘ Don’t give activated charcoal to children without consulting a doctor first.

‘ If you are taking other medications, have allergies to medications or suffer from liver or kidney conditions, talk to your doctor before trying activated charcoal.

Otherwise, activated charcoal has few side effects when taken in moderation and is safe to consume. People choose it over other detox methods because it doesn’t stay in your body, but flushes right out with the toxins bound to it.

Get the most out of activated charcoal

To get the best from activated charcoal, you might want to skip the less proven uses. Good news: the most proven health and beauty benefits also happen to be the best and safest. Here are some ways to give activated charcoal a try:

1. Use it to get better skin

Trying everything you can to achieve perfect skin? If this is the one thing you’ve yet to try, you may be in luck. Activated charcoal is used in many beauty products, such as soaps, masks, cleansers, exfoliants and face masks. The idea behind it: oil, dirt and toxins that are on and under the skin are absorbed by the charcoal’wash away the charcoal and these all get washed away with it. Several brands sell products containing activated charcoal; you can find these at larger drugstores, department stores and health food stores.

2. Use it to deep clean your hair

Similar to the way activated charcoal works on your skin, it can also rid your hair of impurities without adding chemicals in the process. It can also offer relief from scalp conditions like dandruff and scalp psoriasis. Activated charcoal can be used on your hair in shampoos, dry shampoos and shampoo bars (though the dry shampoos are most suited to dark hair.) Bonus: activated charcoal adds volume to your hair. You don’t even need to buy an extra product for volume boosting, the shampoo does this on its own.

3. Use it to make your teeth shine

Adding a black powder to your tooth-brushing regimen to make your teeth whiter may seem counter-intuitive. But, there’s some logic to it: because activated charcoal can absorb toxins, it will do that in your mouth. After using it’either by mixing activated charcoal powder with water or adding it to your toothpaste’your teeth will feel less grimy and extra clean. Each time you use it, the charcoal will absorb more, removing stains in the process.

4. Use it to heal wounds and stings

There’s nothing pleasant about a bee (or wasp or hornet) sting, but there is relief. Make a paste of activated charcoal and water and apply it to the sting. It should relieve both the pain and swelling. Activated charcoal binds to the toxin used by these insects and helps remove it from your system. You might want to pack some in your camping bag or picnic basket. (You can use this technique to heal mildly infected wounds as well; make sure to cover the area with gauze after. As always, ask your doctor what to do for more substantial infections; do not treat them yourself.)

5. Use it to relieve gas pain and bloating

You can use activated charcoal at home if it’s the average discomfort from gas or bloating you’re feeling. You’ll want to take it as a supplement in pill form or added to a non-acidic juice. Be careful not to overdo it, though, as too much activated charcoal can cause constipation. Activated charcoal doesn’t burn fat, but a less bloated belly often appears flatter.