Charcoal As A Natural Health Tool? When was the last time you opened a bag of charcoal and thought, “Hmm, I think this might be a tool to help me become healthier”? Uh, never! But it’s true that there are many uses for charcoal that you might have never considered before. Let’s look at these four new ways to use charcoal, and they don’t include barbecuing! Charcoal as a tooth whitener You know you’ve done it. The day you glanced in a mirror and thought, “Holy Smokes! When did my teeth turn yellow?” So you buy expensive teeth whitening toothpaste, or even schedule a date with your dentist for a teeth whitening session costing you hundreds of dollars. But what if there was a cheap alternative? Can you whiten your teeth for only pennies a treatment? Yes, you can! With charcoal! But don’t try to crush up a charcoal briquette from that bag of charcoal sitting in your garage. You’ll need to purchase a bag of food grade charcoal. And it’s already in a powdered form which makes it perfect for the many uses you will undoubtedly find for it. Want the recipe for a great tooth scrub? It’s easy: You need a small cup, bowl, or jar 1 T. charcoal powder enough water to make a paste spoon to mix your paste toothbrush (It will turn the head black or dark gray) towel to wipe up afterward NOTE:  Before you decide to scrub your teeth with the charcoal paste, be sure and do it in an area where the charcoal can be wiped up. The powder is very fine and tends to float down onto the counter, sink, and floor around you. A towel around your shoulders will also be a good idea, as it can easily float onto your shirt. BONUS IDEA:  After brushing and rinsing your mouth with the charcoal paste, you can finish your teeth brightening with a natural peppermint toothpaste. You can find links for an outstanding brand I personally use everyday at my website listed below in my bio. Charcoal as an internal cleanser How many of us have bought an expensive “Detox in a Box” from the natural health store, only to realize it’s a bunch of herbs to make you poop? Not that having a regular bowel movement is a bad idea, but who wants to spend thirty dollars for a month’s worth of defecation? Surely there’s a cheaper way to get your detox–and the solution is our handy, dandy charcoal powder! Charcoal is a highly effective, immensely cheap alternative to the expensive detoxes find on the market today. Just mix it with a few, choice ingredients, and ‘voila! You got a daily detox that won’t break the bank. No doubt, you want the recipe for a great charcoal detox. Well, here you go (I will provide links to the ingredients at the website listed in my bio.): 1 Tbsp. charcoal powder–Using only food grade, activated charcoal powder 1 cup [...]

By Dr. Mercola The simple and quick answer to the titled query is a resounding yes, activated charcoal is beneficial. In fact, it might be one of the items to put into your emergency kit. While it might not be used as frequently as vitamin C, you could call it an "essential" item because it could literally save your life. This remedy was one of a few natural medicinals, such as sulfur, doctors have long used for a variety of conditions. It's not simply charcoal, per se, created by burning wood down to char and produced in the absence of oxygen. To produce activated carbon, aka activated charcoal, it's treated with oxygen. According to Difference Between: "When charcoal is activated, it is processed in a way to increase the porosity. Because of this, activated carbon will have a large surface area, which can adsorb substances effectively. This primarily increases its effectiveness as a filter. Therefore, activated carbon is mainly used in water filters, in chemical purification process[ing] and in medicine. As we use them, the impurities tend to accumulate in the carbon surfaces. So the disadvantage of using this is that they become less effective as we use them."1 A fine black powder created by mixing bone char, peat, petroleum coke, coal, olive pits, sawdust or coconut shells, activated charcoal is "activated" when it's processed at extremely high temperatures, which changes its internal structure, reduces its pore size and expands its surface area.2 It's not absorbed by your body, so it's free to carry surface-bound toxins from your body and dispose of them through bowel movements. Authority Nutrition explains: "Charcoal's porous texture has a negative electrical charge, which causes it to attract positively charged molecules, such as toxins and gases. This helps it trap toxins and chemicals in the gut."3 You may be familiar with charcoal as a filter for bottled water, in pollution control systems and even for whitening teeth. In pill and supplement containers you've probably seen tiny packets inside that say "Do not eat," often containing charcoal for the purpose of absorbing moisture. How Did Charcoal Become so Trendy? Black ice cream, black burgers and, looking like molten gunmetal, black breads, bagels and pizza crusts are coming into vogue all over the country. As The Guardian notes, "There is one key ingredient infusing these snacks with the hue of a teenage goth's bedroom wall: charcoal."4 Charcoal, according to Waitrose executive chef Jonathan Moore, has been emerging in a number of restaurants and pop-up eateries in the last year. But while it may be a bold move for up-and-coming chefs, The Guardian warns: "That doesn't mean it's a good idea to nab a barbecue briquette from the shed and sprinkle it on your salad. Activated, food-grade charcoal is a modified form of the stuff, which means its surface area has been maximi[z]ed to make it more porous. It's popular in powdered or capsule form in many natural food stores, and is usually made [...]