Drinking Activated Charcoal: My Experience, Benefits, & Other Important Things to Know

If you’re reading this, you probably found yourself here for one of the following two reasons:

1. You’re wondering why someone (a.k.a. me) would ever willingly INGEST charcoal.
2. You’re crazy like me and are open to trying anything beauty and wellness related.

First off, it’s really not as insane as you’re probably thinking. Activated charcoal is not the same as the charcoal we use in our grills. Drinking activated charcoal is typically safe (for most people if used correctly) and has been a “thing” for a while now. If you’re on social media, I’m sure you’ve seen people washing their face and brushing their teeth with charcoal. To be honest, I am definitely late to the charcoal party. But it is my blogging duty to share what I know as well as my personal experiences so here I am. Better late than never.

I partnered with the beverage company, Dirty Lemon, sometime last month which is when I was introduced first-hand to drinking charcoal. I didn’t know much about it until I read up on it to make sure I wasn’t poisoning my body by drinking a bottle of black lemonade. Very normal. But before I share what I’ve learned, let me reiterate, per usual, that you should consult with a medical professional if you have any questions or concerns about drinking activated charcoal and if it is right for you.

So let’s start by breaking it down in simple terms. Activated charcoal is very absorbent. Think of it as a sponge that soaks up whatever is around it. The idea is if we drink it, this “sponge-like behavior” will possibly occur within our digestive tracts. Fun fact: activated charcoal has actually been used in medical emergencies i.e. toxin exposure/drug overdose/etc. Basically, activated charcoal binds to the bad things and moves them out of our body.

Make sense?

Here are some of it’s supposed benefits:

+ DETOX EFFECT –  because of it’s absorbent properties, activated charcoal can help to pull toxins from your system.

+ REDUCES BLOAT – since it has a detox effect and helps to cleanse your insides, consuming activated charcoal can lead to a flatter tummy.

+ A HANGOVER CURE – the idea that activated charcoal could be a hangover cure makes sense, right? Lord bless activated charcoal if it is true. I’m going to need to try this trick ASAP.

+ BOOSTS ENERGY – this is somewhat of an indirect benefit but if you cleanse your system of the bad stuff, then you may experience higher energy levels.

With that being said, it is extremely important to choose a time to consume it that best fits your needs and lifestyle. If you take prescription meds or vitamins, you would want to avoid ingesting activated charcoal by at least 5 hours or else your body may not absorb them. This is also relevant to the nutrients and what not that you are consuming during your meals. Dirty Lemon recommends drinking their charcoal beverage after your last meal, however, I actually drink mine in the morning. I take a medication every night so their recommendation would not be right for me and my schedule. Drinking it in the AM also works for me because I have been intermittent fasting and don’t have my first meal until about 1:00pm. Therefor, I am not ridding my body of any vitamins and nutrients that I’m supposed to be fueling my body with.

So what is my honest experience with drinking activated charcoal? I have made a couple of lifestyle changes all at the same time that I began drinking activated charcoal. I started working out 4x/week consistently and began intermittent fasting. I do feel less bloated and I do feel that I have more energy. I haven’t weighed myself because the scale doesn’t mean much so I cannot speak on behalf of weight loss. Will I continue? Yes. Have I noticed any weird side effects? Not really, just have to pee a lot.

Let me know if you guys have any more questions on drinking activated charcoal! I’m just a DM or an email away!

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