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.
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