Last month I wrote about preventing diarrhea, well this month I’m writing about the other end, and so begins my cautionary tale…
I was having a party for my daughter’s birthday, and while my house was full of guests, out of nowhere, I felt horribly nauseous. I don’t know what caused it, because no one else at the party got sick, but there must have been a bit of something bad that got into me, because by that evening I was throwing up all night. I was absolutely miserable.
It wasn’t until the next day that I thought of activated charcoal (a special form of charcoal made for internal use), and how I wished that I had had some in the house, since it’s fantastic for food poisoning and removing toxins from the body. It is actually used in hospitals for treating food poisoning, since it is so effective at binding and absorbing toxins so they can be removed from the body.
The book, Prescription for Natural Cures, recommends taking three capsules every two hours for three doses to help absorb toxins from food poisoning. It works best when taken at the first signs of food poisoning, which makes it a great thing to have in the house “just in case” for your emergency kit.
Activated charcoal capsules are best used only occasionally when needed, since its mechanism of absorbing toxins is so effective that when taken long term, it can actually absorb and remove nutrients from the body causing malabsorption issues (though that’s not something to worry about when taken for acute issues).
Activated charcoal has also become a popular ingredient in toothpastes and tooth powder (we have a number of great ones at the store), since its absorbent action can actually help remove stains from the teeth and toxins from your mouth. Unlike taking activated charcoal internally, oral use is completely safe for every day.
