Sacred Equilibrium

For thousands of years, healers from around the globe in many traditions including Ayurvedic, Chinese and Western have used activated charcoal to soak up poisons and improve intestinal health. This is done by a process called Absorption which means “to bind to” rather than “absorb” as many people believe.

 Beyond it’s use in hospitals as an antidote for drugs and poisons, it’s used worldwide for general detoxification, digestion issues, gas, bloating, heart health as well aesthetically for anti-ageing benefits.

 “Ancient physicians used inactivated charcoal for a variety of medical purposes, including treating epilepsy and anthrax. In the early 20^th century, the charcoal activation process development sparked many medical journals to publish research revealing activated charcoal as an antidote for poisons and a way to improve intestinal disorders.”

Activated Charcoal is made by burning a carbon source such as coconut shells (we only use coconut activated charcoal). The high temperature removes all of the Oxygen and activated it with gases like steam. The end result is a highly absorbent material with millions of tiny pores that capture, bind and remove poisons as well as heavy metals, chemicals and intestinal gases. That’s not all! Activated charcoal is fantastic for whitening teeth, drawing out blackheads and other impurities from the skin, as well as eliminating bad breath and other signs of internal imbalance.

So how do you use it? See below for many ways in which Activated Charcoal can assist your body in detoxification and healing:

General detoxification

Toxins from low quality, processed food, and environmental pollution are real problems. It is important to help your body eliminate them to promote a healthy digestive system and brain. Chronic exposure to toxins produces cellular damage, allergic reactions, compromised immunity, and more rapid ageing. Regular use of activated charcoal can remove unwanted toxins from your body, leaving you feeling renewed and more vibrant, often in minutes! Gut toxins quickly become brain toxins if you don’t eliminate them. Whether or not you are feeling under the weather, activated charcoal helps unwanted bacteria move through your system faster before they spread and multiply, helping you feel better faster.

Relieve digestive issues, gas, and bloating

After digesting foods like beans, the decomposition process from bacteria in your body creates by-products like gas or diarrhoea. Activated charcoal enters the digestive tract and counteracts this process by binding to by-products and alleviating these digestive issues.

Antidote for drugs, chemicals, and poisons

Charcoal is an age-old remedy for counteracting poison in the body. If you ingest poisons such as bleach, fertiliser, or even alcohol, taking a single large dose of activated charcoal helps your body flush out the poison faster.

Activated charcoal adsorbs most organic chemicals, many inorganic chemicals, drugs, pesticides, mercury, and even lead, before they harm your body.(G. Park, et al.)  By all means, if you are poisoned, seek medical attention. Activated Charcoal easily compliments medical care.

Rid bad breath, body odour, and skin ailments

Activated charcoal is often used in body detox products and skin products that help relieve insect stings, mushroom poisoning, poison ivy, cholera, bites, and inflammation. Body odour and bad breath is usually a result of toxins leaving the body, which is why taking activated charcoal greatly helps rid bad breath and body odour.

Anti-Ageing properties

Studies show activated charcoal prevents many cellular changes associated with ageing, adrenal gland, and kidney function. Famous Gerontologists discovered its powerful anti-ageing properties in a study showing activated charcoal to increase the average lifespan of older test animals by approximately 34 percent.

Activated charcoal slows the rate at which the brain becomes increasingly sensitive to toxins as you age, which makes for better cognitive functioning. It also builds a better defence mechanism by improving the adaptive functioning of essential organs like the liver, kidneys, and adrenals.

Better heart health

In a recent study, patients with high cholesterol who took activated charcoal three times a day showed a 25% reduction in total cholesterol. They also doubled their HDL/LDL cholesterol ratio. Studies examining microscopic tissues show a daily dose of activated charcoal may prevent abnormal hardening (sclerosis) in heart and coronary blood vessels.

Besides taking Activated Charcoal internally on a daily basis, I also use it on my face to draw out any impurities and tighten pores. Here is my go to recipe for this awesome blackhead clearing face mask!

Activated Charcoal Face Mask

1/2 tsp matcha green tea powder
1/2 tsp bentonite clay powder
2 activated charcoal capsules, opened and emptied
2 tsp filtered water

Mix ingredients to form a paste and apply to clean damp face. Wash off with a damp wash cloth after mask has hardened and began to crack (about 15 minutes).

Matcha Green Tea Powder  is packed-full of antioxidants and is anti-inflammatory to help reduce pore size and regenerate new, healthy skin cells.

Bentonite Clay when mixed with water its electrical charge changes which helps it to absorb toxins like those that were brought to the surface from the activated charcoal.