Geschatte leestijd: 3 minuten
Activated charcoal is used as a dye to give drinks a jet-black color. In other foods, the trendy dye is also used to add a visual effect. In the medical world, it is used as a detoxifying agent. However, it is questionable how healthy the form in drinks and food is.
Activated Charcoal
Activated charcoal has been popular as a dye for a few years now. Trendy (read: expensive) drinks only need a little of this virtually odorless and tasteless substance to become Halloween-proof. Pizza crusts seem burnt because of it, which some apparently find cool. Cookies, sandwiches, smoothies, ice creams, you name it, and
paint it black was the commercial thought in places like New York and L.A. where it became popular a year or two ago.
Before you think of scraping it off the barbecue, it’s handy to know that activated charcoal has undergone a special treatment for its unique properties. In the Netherlands, for example, the charcoal itself is obtained from peat, coal, coconut, and nut shells. To “activate” the charcoal, the gases and impurities are removed through a thermal process. This makes the activated charcoal highly porous, greatly increasing its internal surface area.
One gram of activated charcoal can have an internal surface area of up to 2000 square meters! As a result, activated charcoal has a great attraction to gaseous and liquid particles due to its high absorbency. The molecules of liquids and gases can adhere to the large surface and fine structure of the activated charcoal. The activated charcoal has a negative charge, so particles with a positive charge are attracted to it like a magnet. For this reason, it is often used to purify water, among other things.
Medically, it can have a detoxifying effect. In the medical world, it is used for that purpose, for example, in cases of drug overdose or after ingesting poisonous substances orally. In the stomach, it can bind poisonous substances before they reach the small intestine, reducing their effects. However, it is not suitable for every type of poison.
However, activated charcoal can also bind with beneficial substances and medications. This includes medication aimed at poisoning, so it can have the opposite effect if used for the wrong type of poisoning. Consider also medications for blood pressure and oral contraception. There have been few studies conducted on the effects other than on overdose or poisoning, so it is unclear what effect activated charcoal may have on other substances. The dosages in most types of food and drinks are quite small. However, it can be difficult to determine exactly how much activated charcoal you are consuming. People who depend on medication should therefore avoid activated charcoal in food and drinks.
43% Longer Life with Activated Charcoal
If you want to sell a product as a superfood, it’s great if you can say that it increases life expectancy. Sellers of activated charcoal were therefore pleased with the 1989 study showing that life expectancy could increase by 43% [1]. If you’re a rat, at least, and if you’re given activated charcoal for half your life.
However, such health claims raise a large number of questions. What were the exact properties of the charcoal used? What were the exact dosages? How do these effects translate to humans? What was the diet, and what effect did activated charcoal have on the absorption of nutrients from this diet?
Detoxing vs. Detox
Activated charcoal is often sold with the term ‘detox.’ So, you have to be careful. Activated charcoal is used in hospitals to address acute poisoning. Because the toxic substance binds to the activated charcoal, it cannot be absorbed when the charcoal reaches the small intestine. Instead, the charcoal continues through the gastrointestinal tract to leave the body with the stool, along with the absorbed substances.
‘Detox’ is often used to remove toxic substances that are supposed to accumulate in the body over time. It is often not much more specific than ‘toxic substances.’ However, activated charcoal only affects where it is located, in the gastrointestinal tract. So, it does nothing for ‘toxic’ substances elsewhere in the body. Preventing the intake of these substances would be an alternative.
Activated Charcoal and Nutrient Absorption
Some people are concerned that macro- and micronutrients may also bind to activated charcoal, preventing your body from absorbing these nutrients from food. According to others, these nutrients would actually be better absorbed. Because activated charcoal absorbs other substances, the nutrients would have less competition when passing through the cell membrane.
For both statements, I have not been able to find studies that can confirm or refute this.
Overkill
With health and fitness trends, we can quickly go overboard. As soon as we see something as a superfood, we are quickly inclined to consume excessive amounts of it. However, under normal circumstances, the body is perfectly capable of ridding itself of toxic substances. So, I wouldn’t rush to buy activated charcoal to take in capsule form after every meal or to sprinkle in powder form over the meals themselves. Especially not when you’re using medication.
References
- Frolkis VV, Nikolaev VG, Paramonova GI, Shchorbitskaya EV, Bogatskaya LN,
Stupina AS, Kovtun AI, Sabko VE, Shaposhnikov VM, Muradian KK, et al. Effect of
enterosorption on animal lifespan. Biomater Artif Cells Artif Organs.
1989;17(3):341-51. PubMed PMID: 2479433.
