Health and Medicine

Here’s Why Activated Charcoal Is in My Emergency Bag.

It’s not hype but hope based on scientifically proven benefits of charcoal, testimonials, and personal experience.

“Carbo ́n activado en las intoxicaciones agudas: ¿esta ́ todo dicho?” meaning [Activated charcoal in acute poisonings: what remains to be said?].

Introduction and Context

Activated charcoal is not hype and not pseudoscience. It has been one of the most researched topics in medicine, toxicology, biology, chemistry, and several other disciplines for a long time. According to the Western Journal of Medicine, “poisoned patients were first treated with charcoal more than 150 years ago”.

When I published this article titled “Activated Charcoal: A miraculous element” last year in my publication Transhumanism on this platform, some regular readers in my circles questioned why I wrote articles about pseudoscience.

I respect reader feedback, as I interpret any negative criticism as a request for more information. So I kindly responded to them that charcoal was not pseudoscience and provided them with some compelling scientific studies from my list. I shared some of them in the reference section of this article with links for easy access via PubMed®.

My experience using activated charcoal

My first therapeutic encounter with activated charcoal occurred in the early 1980s when one of our neighbors’ children was treated successfully with activated charcoal for severe food poisoning in an emergency department of a hospital.

When I was a child, my grandparents used to use charcoal for various reasons. I had fond memories from my childhood when we made fun of charcoal at children’s birthday parties by painting our faces and looking funny. And my parents always used charcoal when we had stomach upsets.

This childhood fun and family treatment led me to research and use charcoal for health reasons. After a comprehensive literature review, I was convinced and added it to my emergency bag.

My subsequent strong interest started when I learned activated charcoal could be used for toxicity, particularly for heavy metals. The reason I had an interest in this topic was my love and abundant consumption of Atlantic salmon.

Reading news and articles and receiving alerts about heavy metals introduced by fish consumption concerned me a lot. Since then, I have been reading every published article and testimony about the use of activated charcoal for eliminating heavy metals from the body.

Then around the mid-2000s, I noticed that biohacking communities use activated charcoal for various health improvement purposes. Then, I added it to my biohacking toolbox as a powerful tool.

These communities shared remarkable testimonials at various international conferences, online forums, and social media. I created a particular research folder, collecting every piece of testimonial, scientific research, and clinical study.

I also added a chapter about activated charcoal in my book titled “Powerful Life-Changing Hacks That Truly Transformed My Life: Simple yet effective hacks to transform physical, mental and emotional health rapidly and sustainably”. I share chapters of this book on ILLUMINATION Book Chapters for the readers of this platform.

As mentioned in the book, my main reason for regular use of activated charcoal is to remove toxic minerals from my gut. I was convinced that my gut might have been exposed to some amount of mercury due to the regular consumption of salmon. When toxin levels pass the threshold, we may experience several disturbing symptoms. Therefore, I thought it could have passed the threshold.

I learned that activated charcoal traps toxins in our gut. It prevents the absorption of toxins. The mechanism is proven scientifically. Activated charcoal is negatively charged; thus, it attracts positively charged molecules such as toxic heavy metals. This mechanism helps the toxins to be removed from the body via feces.

In addition to digestive health, since I added activated charcoal to my biohacking bag, I experienced noticeable improvements in my skin. It got clearer and smoother.

When my son was getting acne on his face, I offered him to drink charcoal. First, he resisted asking, wouldn’t this stuff make my body black? I told him I loved black people. He smiled and drank it. After using it for several months, he experienced substantial improvement in his puberty symptoms.

I spent many years removing excessive belly fat, which is considered toxic. As mentioned in this article (How to Get Six-Pack Abs Without Destroying Our Health), one of the secrets to having a defined belly is dealing with toxins. Activated charcoal became one of these tools.

Furthermore, I used activated charcoal regularly under the supervision of my primary healthcare consultant. In earlier days, she warned me of some potential side effects.

From literature and advice from my physician, I understand that taking it every day can be harmful, as activated charcoal may also trap other valuable minerals in the gut. The use of activated charcoal once a week provided the optimal solution for me.

As a supplement, activated charcoal does not require a prescription and can be easily purchased from pharmacies and health stores.

My aim is to raise awareness of this underutilized natural product. I don’t sell, market, or promote any activated charcoal products or services. I have no affiliation with these scientific journals either.

Glimpses from science and medicine

Our bodies are affected by toxic materials. Heavy metals such as mercury can cause physical and mental diseases. There is a scientific discipline dealing with toxicity. It is toxicology. It overlaps medicine, pharmacology, chemistry, and biology.

Toxicology studies the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms. Apart from studying the scientific phenomena of toxicology, toxicologists in healthcare practice diagnose and treat exposures to toxins and intoxicants.

In 2016, according to the German Federal Statistical Office, 178,425 cases of intoxication (poisoning) were treated in German hospitals. The poison control centers in the German-speaking countries gave the advice in a total of 268,787 instances of poisoning in that year, and the use of activated charcoal was recommended in 4.37% of cases.

The application of activated charcoal plays a significant role in both primary and secondary detoxification. The paper titled “The Use of Activated Charcoal to Treat Intoxication” was published in 2019 and featured by the US NIH (National Institute of Health). You can read the paper free at this link.

The American Academy of Clinical Toxicology, European Association of Poisons Centres, and Clinical Toxicologists recommend the administration of activated charcoal (AC) within one hour of an acute toxic ingestion. Their poison control centers periodically and upon request faxes, an abbreviated protocol to hospital emergency departments, reminding physicians of these current AC recommendations.

This study was conducted to describe how often patients present within the one-hour time frame and how often the guidelines in the above position statement are being followed. This study reviewed approximately 150,000 reported toxic exposures, including 16,914 patients of acute ingestion presented to a healthcare facility.

I provided links to many interesting and informative scientific papers and articles. All links I provide in the reference section of this article come from medical literature indexed by PubMed®. I purposefully did not provide links from the journals instead used PubMed® as the main portal. It is a free online resource supporting the search and retrieval of biomedical and life sciences literature.

By the way, PubMed® is owned by the US government and comprises over 32 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books.

Conclusions

Natural remedies have been of great interest to me, especially when they are backed up by science. Activated charcoal is one of them. Like many users of it, I also gained benefits from using it.

Activated charcoal is studied using in vivo (animal models and human clinical trials), in vitro (performed outside of a living organism), and in situ (ethnographic observations). Therefore, it has substantial resources in the body of knowledge.

Many emergency departments in several countries still use activated charcoal in hospitals to address poisoning issues. Some people still call it pseudoscience, but it is far from the truth. I added several credible scientific and clinical study papers in the reference section to prove it is not pseudoscience as perceived.

From my years of experience and reviewing the scientific literature, I believe that activated charcoal is not hype but hope for people suffering from toxicity and food poisoning. There may be many more applications in the future as the research on this topic is active.

Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.

I also write about valuable nutrients. Here are the links for easy access:

Lutein/Zeaxanthin, Boron, Urolithin, taurine, citrulline malate, biotin, lithium orotate, alpha-lipoic acid, n-acetyl-cysteine, acetyl-l-carnitine, CoQ10, PQQ, NADH, TMG, creatine, choline, digestive enzymes, magnesium, zinc, hydrolyzed collagen, nootropics, pure nicotine, activated charcoal, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B1, Vitamin D, Vitamin K2, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine, and other nutrients to improve metabolism and mental health.

Here’s How These 7 Nutrients Can Enhance Cognitive Health and Performance.

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Disclaimer: Please note that this post does not include health or professional advice. I shared my reviews, observations, experience, and perspectives only for information. If you have disease symptoms, please consult your healthcare professionals.

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I write about health as it matters. I believe health is all about homeostasis. I share important life lessons from people in my professional and social circles compiled in the attached collection.

Scientific References on Activated Charcoal

These reference links include scientific papers, including clinical studies, in vitro studies, theories, and chapters from scientific textbooks. The abstract and publisher details can be obtained from PubMed® website.

I believe you will find them useful if you are interested in this charcoal.

The Use of Activated Charcoal to Treat Intoxications.

Charcoal: An ancient material with a new face.

Activated charcoal — past, present and future.

Position paper: Single-dose activated charcoal.

Activated charcoal microcapsules and their applications.

Pharm profile: activated charcoal.

Effect of activated charcoal probiotic toothpaste containing Lactobacillus paracasei and xylitol on dental caries: a randomized and controlled clinical trial.

[Toxins in the garden. Activated charcoal as universal antidote].

Activated charcoal for pediatric poisonings: the universal antidote?

Activated charcoal: to give or not to give?

Activated charcoal for acute poisoning: one toxicologist’s journey.

Oral activated charcoal in the treatment of intoxications. Role of single and repeated doses.

Optimized activated charcoal detoxification of acid-pretreated lignocellulosic substrate and assessment for bioethanol production

Activated charcoal bronchoaspiration].

Effect of an activated charcoal product (DOAC Stop) intended for extracting DOACs on various other APTT-prolonging anticoagulants

Activated charcoal as the sole intervention for treatment after childhood poisoning.

Misadventures with activated charcoal and recommendations for safe use.

Activated charcoal.

The new black magic: activated charcoal and new therapeutic uses.

The role of activated charcoal and gastric emptying in gastrointestinal decontamination: a state-of-the-art review.

Activated charcoal rediscovered.

Repetitive doses of activated charcoal in the treatment of poisoning.

Single-dose activated charcoal-backup and reassess.

Factors influencing the clinical efficacy of activated charcoal.

Physicochemical characteristics of drugs and response to repeat-dose activated charcoal.

Novel method to estimate the appropriate dosing interval for activated charcoal to avoid interaction with other drugs.

Multiple-dose activated charcoal: a review of relevant clinical studies.

Activated charcoal in the treatment of drug overdose. An update.

Peroral application of synthetic activated charcoal in USSR.

[Activated charcoal in acute poisonings: what remains to be said?].

Position statement: single-dose activated charcoal. American Academy of Clinical Toxicology; European Association of Poisons Centres and Clinical Toxicologists.

Efficacy of activated charcoal in yellow oleander poisoning.

The effect of activated charcoal on the absorption and elimination of astemizole.

Superiority of activated charcoal alone compared with ipecac and activated charcoal in the treatment of acute toxic ingestions.

Comparison of the adsorption capacities of an activated-charcoal — yogurt mixture versus activated-charcoal — water slurry in vivo and in vitro.

Fundaments of Toxicology-Approach to the Poisoned Patient. 2020

Use of activated charcoal in acute poisoning.

Role of repeated doses of oral activated charcoal in the treatment of acute intoxications.

Ultrasound-guided dual-localization for axillary nodes before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy with clip and activated charcoal in breast cancer patients: a feasibility study.

The availability of activated charcoal and ipecac for home use.

Selection of activated charcoal products for the treatment of poisonings.

Effectiveness of activated charcoal and equilibrium dialysis in removing Asian, American, Siberian and Indian ginseng from human serum.

Activated charcoal increases digoxin elimination in patients.

Clinical pharmacokinetics of oral activated charcoal in acute intoxications.

Activated charcoal as a potential radioactive marker for gastrointestinal studies.

Out-of-hospital administration of activated charcoal by emergency medical services.

Activated charcoal suppresses breeding of the house dust mite, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, in culture.

Activated charcoal and baking soda to reduce odor associated with extensive blistering disorders.

Activated charcoal for GHB intoxication: an in vitro study.

How useful is activated charcoal?

Activated charcoal adsorbs aflatoxin B1.

Prehospital activated charcoal: the way forward.

Dose-dependent adsorptive capacity of activated charcoal for gastrointestinal decontamination of a simulated paracetamol overdose in human volunteers.

[Activated charcoal as first-choice therapy in poisoning].

Activated charcoal use.

Activated charcoal forms non-IgE binding complexes with peanut proteins.

Effect of orally administered activated charcoal on vancomycin clearance.

Evaluation of activated charcoal-sodium sulfate combination for inhibition of acetaminophen absorption and repletion of inorganic sulfate.

Theophylline desorption from activated charcoal caused by whole bowel irrigation solution.

New roles for activated charcoal.

Adsorption of mexiletine onto activated charcoal in macrogol-electrolyte solution.

The effect of activated charcoal on the absorption of fluoxetine, with special reference to delayed charcoal administration.

Effect of activated charcoal on ethanol blood levels in dogs.

The effect of activated charcoal and hyoscine butylbromide alone and in combination on the absorption of mefenamic acid.

Prevalence of sorbitol in multiple-dose activated charcoal regimens in emergency departments.

Effect of activated charcoal on absorption of tolbutamide and valproate in man.

How feasible is it to conform to the European guidelines on administration of activated charcoal within one hour of an overdose?

Treatment of intoxications using single and repeated doses of oral activated charcoal.

Effect of delayed administration of activated charcoal on the absorption of conventional and slow-release verapamil.

Effect of the surface area of activated charcoal on theophylline clearance.

Activated charcoal safe and effective for digoxin toxicity.

Effect of activated charcoal on absorption of nortriptyline.

[Use of activated charcoal in acute poisonings: clinical safety and factors associated with adverse reactions in 575 cases].

Activated charcoal for chloroquine poisoning.

Activated charcoal for carbamazepine poisoning.

Combining activated charcoal with whole-bowel irrigation.

Effect of oral activated charcoal on tobramycin clearance.

In vitro adsorption of dichlorvos and parathion by activated charcoal.

Activated charcoal decreases plasma bilirubin levels in the hyperbilirubinemic rat.

Activated charcoal in phenobarbital overdose.

Repeated oral doses of activated charcoal and the clearance of tobramycin, a non-absorbable drug.

Development and optimization of the activated charcoal suspension composition based on a mixture design approach.

Administration of activated charcoal for the treatment of lantana poisoning of sheep and cattle.

Efficacy of ipecac and activated charcoal/cathartic. Prevention of salicylate absorption in a simulated overdose.

Prevention of chloroquine absorption by activated charcoal.

Formulation of activated charcoal for per os administration to addicted subjects.

Effect of activated charcoal dressings on healing outcomes of chronic wounds.

Activated charcoal in tricyclic drug overdoses.

Effectiveness of delayed activated charcoal administration in simulated paracetamol (acetaminophen) overdose.

Model for theophylline overdose treatment with oral activated charcoal.

Effect of activated charcoal in 70% sorbitol in healthy individuals.

The frequency of complications associated with the use of multiple-dose activated charcoal.

Pharmacokinetics of digoxin cross-reacting substances in patients with acute yellow Oleander (Thevetia peruviana) poisoning, including the effect of activated charcoal.

Assessment of efficacy of activated charcoal for treatment of acute T-2 toxin poisoning.

The effect of sorbitol and activated charcoal on serum theophylline concentrations after slow-release theophylline.

Effect of ethanol and pH on the adsorption of acetaminophen (paracetamol) to high surface activated charcoal, in vitro studies.

Thermodynamic evaluation of activated charcoal as a poison antidote by high-performance liquid chromatography. II: In vitro method for the evaluation of activated charcoal as a poison antidote.

Evaluation of fructooligosaccharides separation using a fixed-bed column packed with activated charcoal.

Container residue after activated charcoal administration in the emergency department.

The effect of food and ice cream on the adsorption capacity of paracetamol to high surface activated charcoal: in vitro studies.

The effect of activated charcoal on N-acetylcysteine absorption in normal subjects.

Contribution of sorbitol combined with activated charcoal in prevention of salicylate absorption.

Enhancement of phenytoin elimination by multiple-dose activated charcoal.

The effect of oral activated charcoal on the systemic clearance of gentamicin in rabbits with acute renal failure.

Use of activated charcoal in a simulated poisoning with acetaminophen: a new loading dose for N-acetylcysteine?

The potential role of prehospital administration of activated charcoal.

A ready-to-use activated charcoal mixture. Adsorption studies in vitro and in dogs: its influence on the intestinal secretion of theophylline in a rat model.

Expanded role of charcoal therapy in the poisoned and overdosed patient.

In vitro study of the effect of dog food on the adsorptive capacity of activated charcoal.

Effect of activated charcoal on the pharmacokinetics of high-dose methotrexate.

Comparative drug adsorption by activated charcoal.

Effect of activated charcoal on acetaminophen absorption.

An in vitro evaluation of cocaine hydrochloride adsorption by activated charcoal and desorption upon addition of polyethylene glycol electrolyte lavage solution.

Do gastric contents modify antidotal efficacy of oral activated charcoal?

Feasibility of prehospital treatment with activated charcoal: Who could we treat, who should we treat?

Interaction between N-acetylcysteine and activated charcoal: implications for the treatment of acetaminophen poisoning.

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