Have you been seeing this activated charcoal trend popping up? I’ve been in the nutrition biz for a long time and health trends tend to come and go. One minute it’s kale, the next quinoa, the next it’s something else. You may have been seeing a dark food trend lately – and by dark I don’t mean serious or depressing, but as in the jet-black colour of activated charcoal used in everything from ice cream to pizza crust.
The health claims and applications for activated charcoal are numerous, including detoxification, digestive support, teeth whitening, anti-aging and skin health. But are these health benefits real, or is this another case of healthwashing? Let’s talk about activated charcoal and what it can really do for you.
Are the claims in favour of activated charcoal evidence based, or just more healthwashing?
What is Activated Charcoal and How Does It Work?
Activated charcoal, or activated carbon, is generally made from, coconut, wood or coal. Processors apply heat and process the carbon to boost its surface area, which makes it much more porous.
Activated charcoal works through a process called adsorption (not a typo – the ‘d’ is supposed to be there). The charcoal attracts molecules to its very porous surface, binding them up and supporting our bodies to eliminate them. This is different from absorption, where we actually soak up what we’re eating and drinking – kind of like a sponge.
You can commonly find activated charcoal in pills/capsules as a supplement (or more likely for first aid applications), powders and in beauty care products.
Activated Charcoal: Is It Healthy?
As I mentioned, there are a load of perceived benefits of activated charcoal. Some companies make it seem like it’s a miracle ingredient, but from what I’ve discovered there isn’t a ton of evidence to back up those claims.
Detoxification
Companies and health experts claim that activated charcoal is a detoxifying food, and things like charcoal beverages (lemonade, lattes, etc.) ice cream, waffles, fudge, protein bars, pudding and frosting have been cropping up on the market and on food blogs.
People assume if activated charcoal grabs onto toxins, then surely it can help us detoxify our bodies. However, the problem with using activated charcoal for detox is that it’s not selective. It binds to whatever is in your digestive tract and gets rid of it. This might remove some unwanted toxins, but it will also excrete beneficial vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. It therefore also has the potential to interfere with any prescription medications or herbs you’re taking.
I’m all on board for detoxing both my body (and my emotional life), but from a nutritional perspective if you’d like to enhance your body’s detoxification processes there are many foods available to help you – and these foods target specific areas of the body and specific toxins.
Digestion
Activated charcoal fans say that it can help with gas and bloating, but the studies are mixed about its effectiveness in this area. It’s possible that when combined with other compounds, activated charcoal can help with bloating and reduce the odour of our gas (um… did they do a sniff test?), but again, that hasn’t been undoubtedly confirmed.
Activated charcoal can be constipating as well, which can lead to the exact opposite of what we want!
Teeth Whitening + Dental Care
There are a couple of old studies from the 1980s that say brushing your teeth with activated charcoal can help whiten your teeth, prevent cavities, remineralize your teeth and reduce dental pain. However, I couldn’t find anything more recent to corroborate this.
A 2017 literature review concluded there doesn’t seem to be substantial evidence that activated charcoal can whiten the teeth or benefit oral health. Another warned that rubbing charcoal on the teeth can be abrasive and even erode enamel.
I hate to disappoint you, imbibers, but activated charcoal doesn’t bind to alcohol. This means it won’t prevent the alcohol you drink from being absorbed, so having another activated charcoal cocktail isn’t going to offset the effects of that booze.
Beauty Care (Skin + Hair)
There are many face masks and other beauty care products that declare activated charcoal can help clean and shrink pores, reduce acne, deeply cleanse and absorb toxins on the skin, reduce oiliness, remove hair buildup and hydrate the scalp.
This all sounds great, right? The problem is, I couldn’t find any evidence to support these claims (and the beauty care companies promoting them didn’t either).
I understand that nutrition science is flawed and can be biased, and natural remedies aren’t always fully investigated. Some things may work for you even if there is no science around it, and I encourage people to become their own best health practitioner. I’m no stranger to this myself – I absolutely adore my crystals and there isn’t much scientific evidence around that, either.
However, I do have a lot of concerns about the beauty care industry itself. There are so many harmful ingredients in our personal care products that I worry people will purchase these otherwise chemical filled products with activated charcoal believing the benefits outweigh the risks. We are absolutely bombarded with products meant to tighten our skin, reduce wrinkles, moisturize hair, thicken eyelashes, add glow to our cheeks, cover our imperfections, the list goes on and on. Often, these beauty regimes detract from our health more than they add to it.
Activated charcoal has been long used in hospitals to counteract certain types of poisoning. I take charcoal tablets with me when I travel in case I get food poisoning or a stomach bug.
I am always going to take a food-first approach. If you want to detoxify, improve digestive health, nourish your skin and more, there are a multitude of foods and recipes that will help you do that. The recipes on my blog and these books would be a great starting place..
If you’re going to take activated charcoal, I recommend working with your health care practitioners to ensure you are using it safely. And if you want to enjoy foods coloured black by charcoal- enjoy. Just know that the black crusted pizza is not detoxing your body in any way.
Reading Time: 6 minutes 
