Activated Charcoal

As I walk the aisles of my local food market, I notice activated charcoal is making its way into several foods and beauty products. It can be found in tablet form without a prescription, and also in lemonades, juices, chai teas, ice cream (yes, black ice cream), pizza crust, and even IKEA hot dogs. Many products on the market, as well as bloggers and nutrition “experts” boast activated charcoal has the ability to “detoxify” our bodies and cure the dreaded hangover.

Unfortunately, the detoxifying and hangover-curing claims we often see online, in magazines, and at our local markets come without research and scientific proof.

Let’s take a look at a few examples. In the article, “Is Charcoal Lemonade the New Kale Smoothie,” published on the Reader’s Digest Best Health website, an author who is not named writes:

Activated charcoal juices are all natural and safe to drink. As long as you follow the guidelines above, it will remove toxins from your body. Most people’s systems do just fine with activated charcoal, so there’s no real danger in trying it. Because it isn’t absorbed into your system, it shouldn’t add to any problems you’re experiencing.

In response to the question “Does it work?”, the author writes:

This is the big question, isn’t it: what does it do? Activated charcoal binds toxins, think pesticides and other chemicals found in food, very strongly. It does this so well that it’s used by professionals as a treatment for some types of poisoning. When used in moderation and combined with a juice cleanse, activated charcoal can help pull unwanted toxins out of your system.

The article does not cite any sources to support its assertions, and the website of the charcoal lemonade the author is writing about also provides zero evidence of how it works, if it works, and if it is even safe. In his article, “The Top 10 Activated Charcoal Uses,” Dr. Axe claims activated charcoal helps to prevent hangovers and treat alcohol poisoning; however the study he shares to reference his point is from 1986, and concludes, “There were no significant differences in plasma alcohol concentrations with or without charcoal.” On the popular health website Bulletproof, Dave Asprey, author of “Activated Charcoal, a Strange Way to Detox,” suggests taking activated charcoal when eating out or when eating processed foods, with “bad” coffee, and he says it is especially helpful to take if you are consuming alcohol. Even ice cream shops all over the country are selling activated charcoal ice cream: Morgenstern’s in New York City is selling black coconut ash, Frankie and Jo’s in Seattle is selling “salty caramel ash”, and Little Damage in Los Angeles is selling almond charcoal soft-serve which was an Instagram hit.

I know marketing and media can be persuasive, but before you say, “Sign me up!” and down a ginger-lemon-cayenne-honey-charcoal smoothie, let’s take a deeper look at what activated charcoal truly is, what it is used for, and if it actually has detoxifying superpowers.

What is activated charcoal?

According to Scott Gavura, author of “Activated charcoal: The latest detox fad in an obsessive food culture,” activated charcoal is made by heating carbonaceous substances, such as wood or coconut shells to very high temperatures. The charcoal is then activated using oxygen in the form of steam or hot air, which increases its surface area. This makes the now activated charcoal like a sponge and able to bind to various molecules and compounds.

The most common use of activated charcoal is to filter water. Filters such as BRITA help to eliminate chlorine, organic chemicals, herbicides, pesticides and volatile organics. Activated charcoal is also used in hospitals to help treat poisoning or drug-overdose, as it may prevent certain substances from being absorbed by the body. Acetaminophen has been largely studied, and research to date suggests activated charcoal can help clear it from the body, but the dosage amount and timeframe of administration is still being determined. According to the Mayo Clinic, activated charcoal is not useful in poisoning from corrosive agents like lye, strong acids, lithium, boric acid, iron, petroleum products, and alcohol.

The Research

I did most of my research using PubMed.gov, a research engine which provides studies which try to answer the question of “What actually works?” in medical and health treatment. While researching in PubMed.gov, I found in the past 30 years, 617 studies have been published which contain “activated charcoal” in the title, and most of those studies were conducted in 1983. Of those 617 studies, 451 concern toxicology. In the past 5 years, only 4 clinical trials have been performed, none of which discuss the role of activated charcoal in body detoxification or alcohol absorption. The topics include activated charcoal and its effect on patients with COPD, hyperphosphatemia, and how successfully it can decrease high serum anticonvulsant drug levels and treat apixaban (an anticoagulant) overdose.

Unfortunately, besides activated charcoal being an effective water purifier and in some cases treating patients for poisoning and drug-overdose of a few select medications, the detoxifying health claims concerning activated charcoal are not conclusive nor studied sufficiently.

Many activated charcoal enthusiasts believe that if it can trap drugs and chemicals in water, air filters, and in the instance of a drug over-dose, it should be able to eliminate chemicals such as pesticides and alcohol. Unfortunately, the use of charcoal as a way to “cleanse” the body has never been studied or proven, and activated charcoal does not bind to every substance.

In fact, according to a 2004 study published in the Journal of Food Quality, activated charcoal may also bind to the “good stuff” in our bodies, such as water soluble vitamins and medications we have been prescribed to take by health professionals. This suggests activated charcoal may not be able to discern between wanted and unwanted substances in our bodies. In a 2008 study published in the Journal of Toxicology: Clinical Toxicology, researchers found activated charcoal is not effective in binding to ethanol; thus it may not be the hangover cure for which it is being advertised. Current knowledge shows we have much more research to do before we should be using activated charcoal as a health supplement, and for now, we should leave our livers to the detoxifying.

Additional claims which need further research include:

• Enhancing cancer chemotherapy

• Prevention of Cholestasis of Pregnancy

• Controlling high phosphorus levels in end-stage kidney disease patients receiving hemodialysis

• Improving lung function in COPD patients

• Improved cholesterol levels

• Gas and bloating

The Verdict

Unfortunately, it seems the charcoal products currently being marketed as being able to cure our hangovers and detoxify our body are only effective at emptying our bank accounts and causing confusion. The FDA has not approved activated charcoal for use in natural remedies, such as detoxification and hangover cures, and only for the use in very specific poisoning or drug-overdose situations. Since the FDA does not regulate the use of activated charcoal in natural remedies, what you are consuming may or may not match what the label on your food states. As a supplement to be used outside of those small medical parameters, we unfortunately do not know enough about activated charcoal and its long-term effects on our health, as no studies have been published on long-term and daily use.

Bottom line: More extensive research is needed, making it too soon to adopt this health and wellness fad as truth, and we may be doing our bodies more harm than good by digesting activated charcoal.

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References

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