Trending: Charcoal Everything

You’ve seen charcoal in the barbeque pit. It’s made itself known in the beauty world for face

masks and teeth whitening, and now it’s in our food. Many magazines and food critics are

claiming the charcoal trend could be one of the biggest food trends in 2018.

Charcoal is almost purely carbon as it is the result of burning wood in a place where there is

little oxygen. Charcoal is making its appearance in the food world as activated charcoal which is

made at much higher temperatures than charcoal briquettes you would find in a barbeque.

Activated charcoal has a negative charge, which means it attracts positively charged particles

such as gas and toxins. This makes it popular for detoxing.

Activated charcoal has been around in the medicine world since the 1800s and is still used

today in hospitals. Activated charcoal is used when someone overdoses on prescription drugs

(or similar substances) to absorb all of the drugs before they enter the bloodstream. Doctors

may use activated charcoal for patients with chronic kidney disease to relieve the kidneys.

While activated charcoal has been used in hospitals for a long time, it has just recently

been popping up in day-to-day use. Activated charcoal is making a name for itself as a powerful

detoxifier, and has been trending on Instagram in anything from ice cream to pizza dough.

There have not been enough studies conducted to prove the health benefits of activated

charcoal, but there are a few reasons to avoid it. Your body is equipped with kidneys, a liver,

lungs, and an intricate digestive system that works around the clock, making sure your body is

identifying and removing as many toxins as possible. Drinking plenty of water and eating a well-

balanced diet is all you have to do keep your body detoxified.

Another reason to avoid high doses of activated charcoal involves your vitamin intake. Not only

does activated charcoal remove the toxins in your body, it will also absorb certain vitamins such

as B and C. This is counterproductive if you’re adding activated charcoal into juices and smoothies.

There has not been enough research on daily intake of activated charcoal for it to have a

specific dosage. Consuming activated charcoal every once in while isn’t going to hurt anything,

but it certainly isn’t going to reverse all your health problems.

So go ahead and enjoy all your favorite charcoal foods; post photos for all your friends to see,

but don’t go out of your way to include it in every meal.