Is Charcoal the best way to remove toxins??

Myth: Charcoal is the best way to remove toxins from your body

I have said it before but I will say it again and keep on saying it…. Your liver and Kidneys are all you need.

A few years ago, Charcoal was the hottest new fad supplement to add to your food. Now we still find it in burger buns, smoothies, juices…. You name it!

There are a few reasons this really upsets me. Once again, we are not trusting our liver and kidneys aka our personal detox system to do there work properly. But charcoal is much more dangerous that….

Fact: Charcoal binds to all nutrients and removes them

Here is the science and evidence-based facts to remember the next time you find yourself reaching for charcoal.

Charcoal binds to all the ‘good things in your food. Charcoal isn’t picky. It can’t determine if something is a toxin or if it is a vitamin or mineral. It binds to it all and removes it from your body.

Charcoal binds to medications. I used to work at a juice bar – that served charcoal, it killed me a little bit!!! But I used to have so many people come in that were sick and order a charcoal smoothie or juice because it would ‘make them better’ or ‘remove the toxins’ that were making them sick. However, charcoal also binds to medications. This can be really dangerous. It can bind to anything from basic pain medication, antibiotics, blood thinners and even birth control.

It only binds to what is in your stomach and intestines at the time. So, if you decide to have a charcoal juice hours after a night out binging on alcohol and an early morning kebab think again. If hours have passed these will already have been absorbed into your blood stream, so the charcoal won’t assist with removing these.

Studies have found that is can slow down your bowel movements and is also known to cause nausea and constipation. This could be explained as it binds to all of the nutrients and good things that your body needs to function properly!

Charcoal supplements have gained a lot of traction and you now have to fork out a lot of $$$ for just a small tub of charcoal.

I touched on this in my first #mythbustermonday all about detoxes, but with everyone out looking for quick fixes the detox market has gone to astronomical sizes and is highly misleading.

There is a belief that our daily lives and dietary habits cause toxins to build up in our system, but there is no product, supplement or diet that can impact this. A lot of the hype behind these products and diets exist because of large marketing budgets and selective reading when it comes to ‘proving’ the benefits of it.

Food isn’t toxic, but that is what these supplements and diets try to sell us. So instead of making your food less nutritious by adding an unnecessary, indigestible compound save your dollars and instead focus on your relationship with food, and what foods really does for you.

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–Do I really need to detox?