Is activated charcoal (AC) edible, and is it good or bad for one’s digestive health? Depending on whom you trust most, the answers swing wide from “good” to “bad.”

What’s the history? What’s the science?

Charcoal is a hermit at heart. It isn’t on the hunt for glamor or notoriety, but it has both. Being glamorous and notorious brings with it its share of criticism and skepticism.

How can something so humble have so much history as a medicinal (common treatment for anthrax in ancient Egypt), so much modern medical indorsement (World Health Organization Model List of “Essential Medicines” — poison antidote for adults and children) so many commercial, industrial, and military applications, and so much reach (even in spacesuits)?

What’s the catch? There must be some dirt somewhere!

Well, yes, there’s a degree of ash, but even that has proven harmless. The two big concerns are not its commercial/industrial/military applications.

One legitimate question is, “Does activated charcoal interfere with medication?” Absolutely! That’s why fully equipped modern hospitals around the world have activated charcoal on hand to quickly and effectively neutralize many cases of drug poisoning. From accidental ingestion by children to intentional drug overdose, activated charcoal is routinely used in ERs to neutralize the toxic effects of ingested drugs. So effective is charcoal in binding thousands of natural and man-made chemicals that it has a loose reputation as being the “universal antidote.” The FDA has listed activated charcoal as Category I “Safe and Effective:” No known adverse side effects. This leads to the most common concern on the internet: If activated charcoal so effectively neutralizes poisons, what about essential food nutrients?

Is activated charcoal safe to put in one’s mouth and swallow? Doesn’t activated charcoal adsorb vital nutrients? While the internet doesn’t lack “charcoal experts” who promote the mantra that charcoal absorbs essential food nutrients which can lead to severe health issues, there’s no clinical evidence that food-grade activated charcoal interferes with the absorption of nutrients in the guts of animals or people. In fact, the research points to the opposite; vegetable-based charcoals enhance nutrient uptake while binding free-radicals that shorten the lifespan.

Charcoal is neither absorbed nor metabolized by the body. Some research suggests that food in the digestive tract inhibits the effectiveness of charcoal. But this isn’t interpreted to mean that charcoal is adsorbing food nutrients along with toxins. In favor of charcoal, Russian researchers found that activated charcoal efficiently adsorbed toxins before these poisons could compete with oxygen and nutrients that were trying to pass through the cell membrane. Instead of adsorbing essential food elements, charcoal removes toxins that are competing with nutrients for intestinal and cellular absorption, thereby promoting efficient nutrient uptake. Net result, 34% increase in lifespan in old lab rats.

“Charcoal added to the diet of sheep for six months did not cause a loss of nutrients, as compared with sheep not receiving charcoal. … Five percent of the total diet was charcoal. It did not affect the blood or urinary levels of calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, inorganic phosphorus, potassium, sodium, zinc, creatinine, uric acid, urea nitrogen, alkaline phosphatase, total protein, or urine pH.”

Charcoal powder added to daily feed for domestic animals including cows, chickens, pigs, saw increases in milk production, egg production and meat quality, while reducing odor by 50%.

These scientific research studies hardly demonstrate nutritional compromise. The opposite is the case — improved health and productivity.

One customer, a breeder of exotic finches, reported 0% mortality after introducing granular charcoal. Before charcoal he saw an average of 50% mortality.

While science has yet to prove conclusively that charcoal lowers nutritional uptake, any inhibiting effect on nutrients is so negligible that it has not yet proven to compromise one’s health. For instance, charcoal has been used for many years as a fecal deodorant for patients with ileostomies and colostomies. Though they may take charcoal orally three times daily for years, it has never nutritionally affected these individuals who are already at risk of nutritional deficiency.

Food Industry

The food industry routinely uses activated charcoal to improve food quality. For example, activated charcoal removes impurities from vegetable oils and makes them smooth like silk and tastier. Activated charcoal removes rancid or other unwanted flavors as well as unpleasant odors or unappealing pigments as in sweeteners, flavor enhancers, alcoholic beverages, and fruit juices.

Food Coloring

On the other hand, for centuries, it has been added to foods to enhance the black color in some artisan breads, jams, licorice, jellybeans, and caviar.

An altogether different product called “carbon black,” when made from vegetable origin, has been and is still used as a food coloring additive in Europe (E153) and other countries. BUT, carbon black is also made from various fossil fuels (coal, acetylene, petroleum) that have been linked to lung cancer from exposure to the airborne particles. OSHA lists no such hazard for airborne-activated charcoal dust. BUT, because of a false connection between dangerous carbon black and benign health-supporting activated charcoal, both carbon black and activated charcoal have been prohibited in the U.S. as food coloring agents. The confusion persists because charcoal continues to be used in European artisan foods, in Japanese confectionaries, and in Asia cuisine, AND in the U.S. Images of these colorful dishes and drinks bouncing around on the WWW internet include homegrown creations here in the US. We see contributions from home kitchens, downtown NY chefs, and even chain restaurants and a fast-food giant. I suspect these food artists perceive adding less than a teaspoon of charcoal to their recipes poses less health risks than drinking water.

“Strange but True: Drinking Too Much Water Can Kill. In a hydration-obsessed culture, people can and do drink themselves to death.” (Scientific American 6/21/2007) No such extreme health risk has ever been suggested for charcoal by any credible health journal.

The Dance on the Street

Because of the ongoing highly polarized debate over charcoal as a food ingredient, the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) formally petitioned the FDA to come forward with a clear statement covering this issue, including which products are generally recognized as safe (GRAS) and which aren’t. Until then, experimenting with charcoal recipes in your own kitchen and sharing with family and friends poses no more risk than it has for centuries. The FDA is not on a witch hunt. Of course, if you feel threatened, you can always substitute with squid ink. Hopefully public enthusiasm and reason will prevail and the FDA will come into harmony with other advanced countries, and develop protocols for the safe (GRAS) use of activated charcoal as an ingredient in foods.

Activated Charcoal Dosage for Poisoning

It has been found that stomach contents can reduce the effective adsorption of charcoal up to 50%. Therefore, when a poison has been ingested, “To be on the safe side, use, as the dosage of charcoal, approximately eight to ten times the estimated weight of the poison. Finely powdered charcoal can get to the surface of toxins better than coarsely powdered charcoal and should be used for the best results.” Dr Agatha Thrash (former Georgia Medical Examiner and board Pathologist)

But, there is a good chance we might not know the type of drug or poison or the quantity taken. So, other doctors recommend a fixed amount of 50 to 100 grams. In their classic study, Hayden, PhD, and Comstock, MD, were emphatic, “In reality, the activated charcoal dosage that should be administered to adsorb drugs from the GI tract is in the range of 100 to 120 gm.” These doctors, who had administered charcoal in hundreds of cases, were not afraid of larger doses. One tablespoon of charcoal equals about 10 grams. Fourteen capsules equal about a tablespoon of powder.

Activated Charcoal as a Detoxifier

More and more health practitioners realize that as an agent to remove toxins from the body, activated charcoal (taken orally or applied topically), is the best single detoxifier for whole-body cleansing. This includes not just the gastrointestinal system, but also the kidneys, bladder, liver, and skin. Of course, along with charcoal, one cannot forget water, both on the outside and the inside to help wash away poisons. Richard C. Kaufman, B.S., M.S., Ph.D., (Bio-nutritional Chemistry from the University of Brussels) has written extensively in the field of anti-aging. He writes, “Detoxification is an on-going biological process that prevents toxins (from infectious agents, food, air, water, and substances that contact the skin) from destroying health. Chronic exposure to toxins produces cellular damage, diverse diseases, allergic like reactions, compromised immunity, and premature aging.” As a general detox plan to counteract these daily exposures to toxins, Dr Kaufman has found two programs that, using activated charcoal regularly, have worked well for him and others.

Charcoal Works

How does activated charcoal work? While there is a lot of science there is also a lot of mystery. For those who may be critical because there is no complete “scientific” explanation as to how charcoal works, may I point you to the classic drug reference for students and practitioners, The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics by Goodman and Gilman. Goodman writes, “There are few drugs, if any, for which we know the basic mechanism of action. Drug action is not drug effect. The effect results from the action of the drug.” For example, regarding the use of nitroglycerin to moderate attacks of angina, Gilman goes on to write, “The mode of action of nitrates to relieve typical angina is not fully understood.” The same may be said of charcoal. The positive effects of charcoal as a remedy are well documented. While the complete answer as to how charcoal works remains unclear, as it does for most drugs, there is one big difference. Charcoal has no known poisonous side effects.

Activated Charcoal Side Effects

Activated charcoal has a long-standing international reputation of being a powerful binder of toxins. But, when it is introduced into a body that is chronically dehydrated, and/or fed with highly processed foods lacking natural fiber content, and/or a body that gets little to no exercise, and/or is drugged with caffeine and various patent medicines, it is no wonder the bowels can become more sluggish or constipated. Charcoal may be the proverbial straw that … but it is not the cause of constipation. It is significant to know that hospital reports of bowel impaction associated with AC are in cases of drugging where the bowels are already severally impacted before introducing charcoal.

The main remedy for constipation is prevention: lots of pure water, whole grains, fruits and vegetables with lots of natural fiber, daily exercise, and avoidance of caffeinated foods/beverages.

A popular European natural remedy for constipation is radish root and charcoal. Rather than constipation, many people report the exact opposite: regular small dosages of charcoal help to regulate their bowel movements.

Gas and Diarrhea

Activated charcoal tablets for gas do work. Nay-sayers may abound, but why do they use activated charcoal in nuclear submarines and on the International Space Station? You can’t just open a window when there is foul odor in the room. Large granular activated charcoal air scrubbers are used on nuclear submarines to maintain air quality while activated carbon cloth is used on the ISS. No wonder eating activated charcoal works so well for bad breath (including gingivitis), stomach gas, belching, heartburn, indigestion, and flatulence. Activated charcoal’s reputation started with its use in military gas masks during the World Wars and continues to the present.

Activated charcoal for diarrhea works. To diffuse the inevitable, at the first hint of upset bowels, take charcoal capsules with a glass of pure water, or a couple teaspoons of powder stirred into a glass of warm water. The diarrheal agent is usually some irritating or inflaming chemistry, and the bowels want to get rid of the offending irritant. Diarrhea is a natural body defense, but in some cases and some climates it can quickly become life-threatening as the body loses vital electrolytes. The main treatment becomes rehydration salts. Additional charcoal can help the rehydration salts restore equilibrium. When I worked on remote islands in Micronesia, I asked one public health worker if she ever had occasion to use charcoal. She confirmed one severe case of cholera. The patient, who was destined to succumb to the intense diarrhea, recovered after first receiving charcoal and then the salts. I had the same report from a nurse for a 900-man prison in northern Uganda with inmates, guards, and the prison warden all suffering from severe diarrhea. Within one week after taking ground powder prepared from lump cooking charcoal, there was a complete turnaround. Nursing homes stateside have reported similar results with activated charcoal.

Some have asked, “Does activated charcoal absorb sugar?” The answer is no. While part of activated charcoal’s original reputation goes back to removing unwanted color pigments in sugarcane syrup, the charcoal does not absorb sugar, or, as stated above, any other food nutrients.

Dairy products.

The effectiveness of activated charcoal as a detoxifier is minimized when combined with dairy products. So, fancy ice creams, yogurts, parfait deserts, cheeses, mixed with food grade activated charcoal may look mysterious and goth, but apart from the visual appeal, the AC has little to no detox benefit on the body.

Food Fads – Past to Present

Charcoal as a coloring in various [health] foods has trended in the health industry for some years. While it is somewhat of a new thing in the U.S., it is not new worldwide. Charcoal has been used in Japanese confectionaries for a long time. Some Korean, Chinese, and European dishes with charcoal go back centuries.

Willow Charcoal Tablets — “Every person is well acquainted with the great benefit derived from willow charcoal in gastric and intestinal disorder, indigestion, dyspepsia, heartburn, sour or acid stomach, gas upon the stomach, constant belching, fetid breath, all gaseous complications and for the removal of the offensive odor from the breath after smoking.” 1908 Sears Catalog.

Charcoal Biscuits.

English charcoal biscuits have been around for a long time. They were popularized as a digestive aid during the Wars when food spoilage was more widespread, but they existed before that. One recipe still commercially used today goes back to 1879 [Bragg’s Charcoal Biscuits – the only UK company under Royal license to make medicinal charcoal products]. Rather than binding good food nutrients, the charcoal ties up the “bad stuff” so the body can better use the “good stuff.” No wonder hospitals, 150 years later, still routinely use activated charcoal for food poisoning.

Charcoal Biscuits

• 8 lbs. of flour
• 1-1/2 lbs. of butter
• 1-1/4 lbs. of sugar
• 3/4 lb. of charcoal
• 1/2 a pint of eggs
• Milk as required

Rub the butter very finely into the flour, make a bay, add sugar and eggs, and whip up by the fingers to a thick cream, draw in the flour, into which you have previously mixed the charcoal, and make to a nice biscuit dough. Roll out fairly thin, cut out to any desired shape, wash with water, and bake in a good sound oven, taking care to see that they are thoroughly well done. P. 57

The real facts are in.

Today it is used in trendy blueberry/blackberry charcoal popsicles, parfait desert, ice cream cones, charcoal smoothies, caviar, jams, chocolates, yogurt, charcoal kisses, cakes, waffles, artisan breads, cupcakes, salt, seasonings, pizzas, pastas… the list continues.

With all this history before us, it is a good time to petition the FDA and USDA to include toxin-removing activated charcoal as a safe [and GRAS] ingredient in human as well as animal foods.

Eating activated charcoal is SAFE2. Charcoal is simple and scientific. Charcoal is affordable and available everywhere in the world. Charcoal is free of negative side effects but does require a measure of faith to get started. Charcoal is easy to take and environmentally safe to the GI tract and to the world. Charcoal is a God remedy; “He addeth no sorrow with it.” (Proverbs 10:22)

“It is only when ignited and quenched that charcoal itself acquires its characteristic powers, and only when it seems to have perished that it becomes endowed with greater virtue.” –Pliny the Great A.D. 50

“Ignited … quenched … perished … endowed.” Charcoal, as Pliny observed long ago, is an enigma, a seeming contradiction, a riddle, a puzzle. How is it that charcoal so positively impacts our personal health, the health of our children, of our pets, and of our environment? Is it mere chance that it is so universal, so common, so available, so affordable and so safe and easy to use? As I have traveled, and as I have been called on to minister to some of the sick I meet, I have come to the conclusion that charcoal is no accident. It is so perfectly suited to every class of people, every geography, and every climate that it seems to have been handcrafted with man in mind. Its history is entwined with man’s history. If inanimate nature could have a destiny, then charcoal would include man’s. It is profoundly simple, but within its simplicity I see a larger picture, an object lesson, a deep spiritual truth.”

John Dinsley is the author of “CharcoalRemedies.com The Complete Handbook of Medicinal Charcoal & Its Applications” [2005]. He and his wife Kimberly are owners of Charcoal House LLC. Together they travel domestically and internationally conducting workshops on the prevention and treatment of common diseases using simple natural remedies.

1. Yes, NASA uses charcoal in both its water and air purification systems onboard the International Space Station.
2. USP grade Activated Charcoal ash content is typically less than 1% consisting mostly of inert minerals.
3. Because activated charcoal does bind with so many drugs, it is prudent to check with a pharmacist or physician to see what concerns there might be with taking charcoal regularly as a supplement. However, if one is taking a prescription drug, a safe rule of thumb is to take charcoal two hours before or after taking medications. This is the most common recommendation given by researchers and physicians. This does not rule out using charcoal in a bath or as a poultice in conjunction with oral medication.
4. When some writers refer to charcoal as a universal antidote, the term ‘universal’ is not strictly true. Although there are over 4,000 substances that are known to adsorb to activated charcoal, there are several substances included on charcoal’s short list that are poorly adsorbed or not adsorbed at all. They include: Lithium, strong acids and bases, metals and inorganic minerals (such as sodium, iron, lead, iodine, fluorine, and boric acid); alcohols (such as ethanol, methanol, isopropyl alcohol, glycols, and acetone); and hydrocarbons such as petroleum distillates (e.g., cleaning fluid, coal oil, fuel oil, gasoline, kerosene, paint thinner) and plant hydrocarbons (pine oil).
5. See July issue “Activated Charcoal Benefits – for Pets and Livestock ”
6. V. Frolkis, et al., Enterosorption in prolonging old animal life, Experimental Gerontology, 19; 217-25, 1984
7. Activated Charcoal: Antidote, Remedy, and Health Aid, David Cooney PhD (Chemical Engineering, University Wyoming), 2016
8. Food & Fertilizer Technology Center (Asia Pacific Region in cooperation with Kwang Hwa Jung National Livestock Research Institute (NLRI) Rural Development Administration (RDA), Suwon, Republic of Korea)
9. Patient Care, p. 152, October 30, 1977
10. CharcoalRemedies.com The Complete Handbook of Medicinal Charcoal & Its Applications p. 62
11. CharcoalRemedies.com p. 276