Charcoal Remedies
John and Kimberly Dinsley
In 1897, health reformer Ellen White wrote to world famous Dr. John H. Kellogg MD, (founder of the Kellogg's breakfast food company and medical director of Battle Creek Sanitarium), “I expect you will laugh at this; but if I could give this remedy some outlandish name that no one knew but myself, it would have greater influence.” After all these years of knowing and using “this remedy”, I find that this observation of charcoal, better than anything else I could say, sums up the enigma of this lusterless all-time gem of medicine.
What is Medicinal Charcoal?
• As wood burns there is often not enough oxygen to allow for complete combustion. The water evaporates off, and the carbon in the wood distills (pyrolysis or carbonization) into the black charred coals or crust we see when we put the fire out.
• This raw form of charcoal (it can be produced from several sources including wood, bone char, coconut shells, peat, coal, petroleum coke, and sawdust) is then “activated”. Under high temperatures the raw charcoal is subjected to oxidizing gases such as steam or air, which further erode the internal surfaces. The microscopic surface area of one cubic centimeter of activated charcoal unfolds to about the size of a football field.
• We have been told that black holes in space are actually intense electromagnetic fields that capture anything within range. Once caught, matter/energy is, for all practical purposes, entrapped. If nothing else, it sounds fascinating. Now who would guess that the humble little grain of charcoal has, for its size, gigantic electrostatic properties? And isn't it a marvelous coincidence that charcoal has an almost singular affinity for poisons? When noxious chemicals come in contact with the charcoal particle, they are sucked up into its myriads of little black holes with such force that they are, for all practical purposes, bound and tied. For example, lab experiments have shown that one quart of activated charcoal powder will adsorb eighty quarts of ammonia gas. Now that is a black hole! And we can actually see it!
• The principal mechanism by which charcoal binds poisons is called adsorption, rather than the sponge-like effect of absorption. Poisons are bound to the internal surfaces and generally will not release except under high temperatures. Both the internal physical structures and the electro-chemical properties account largely for charcoal's amazing ability to adsorb enormous amounts of chemicals relative to the amount of charcoal.
• USP (U.S. Pharmacopoeia) activated charcoals constitute the highest grade of activated charcoal available to the general public. This assures the buyer to be getting a very fine, black, odorless, and tasteless powder, free from gritty matter, with less than 4% ash residue, and acid-washed to remove the major part of the inorganic constituents. This best describes medicinal grade charcoal.
• Dosages: research clearly indicates, as far as poisoning is concerned, the more charcoal the better. While lower ratios have also proven antidotal, an 8:1 ratio of charcoal to drug has shown to be highly effective.
• As for what charcoal will adsorb, the list includes natural and man-made chemicals, drugs, toxins, and wastes. 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). Other antidotes are more effective.
• Will charcoal taken internally interfere with nutrient absorption? Both in animal and human studies there is virtually no cause for concern. The only research studies that hint of any interference of digestion were those using extreme quantities of charcoal. No interference was noted with wood charcoals. In fact, in one well-documented research, the lifespan of laboratory rats was increased by 34% by administering activated charcoal daily!
( V. Frolkis, et al., Enterosorption in prolonging old animal life, Experimental Gerontology , 19; 217-25, 1984 )
Like those misguided souls claiming toast to be charcoal, there are some alarmists who try to frighten people suggesting charcoal will compromise one's health nutritionally, though they are never able to provide proof. In the meantime the Federal Department of Agriculture rates charcoal as Category I – “safe and effective”.
• Having said all that, charcoal does bind certain nutrients to our benefit – such as cholesterol and triglycerides. There is anecdotal evidence that charcoal also binds certain man-made nutritional supplements.
It is precisely because of charcoal's strong affinity to chemicals foreign to the body's natural economy, that it is advised to wait 2 hours before taking charcoal if someone is taking either prescription drugs or nutritional supplements. If for whatever reason there is concern about compromising one's nutrient uptake, simply give oneself a window of 2 hours before and 2 hours after eating before taking charcoal. But, in reality there is far more concern with drinking too much water than taking too much charcoal. Charcoal's very nature does not lend itself to indulgence.
What Charcoal Is Not
If one is careful to drink sufficient water, there is no concern from taking too much charcoal.
• We need to dispel the myth that burnt toast is charcoal. It is not! It is chemically changed superheated carbohydrates, fats and proteins, which may in fact contribute to cancer.
• Since charcoal briquettes used for barbequing are infused with poisonous petroleum distillates to help them ignite, they should never be used for medicinal applications either internally or externally.
• Charcoal is not a cure-all. However, its effectiveness in the treatment of different ailments has been documented in numerous medical journals, including the Journal of the American Medical Association, the British Medical Journal, The Lancet, and Clinical Toxicology . Today doctors, paramedics and medical centers use activated charcoal in a number of different ways: to eliminate toxic by-products that cause anemia in cancer patients; to disinfect and deodorize wounds; to filter toxins from the blood in liver and kidney diseases; to purify blood in hemoperfusions; to cut down on odors for ileostomy and colostomy patients; to treat poisonings and overdoses of aspirin, Tylenol and other drugs; to treat some forms of dysentery, diarrhea, dyspepsia, and colic; to treat poisonous snake, spider and insect bites. More recently its ability to adsorb cholesterol has been reviewed.
Excerpts from the book "CharcoalRemedies.com" Fundamentally charcoal is just carbon. In fact most chemical engineers and manufacturers simply refer to charcoal as “carbon”. But, what makes charcoal different from other carbons, like the soft graphites used in pencils or those found in hard diamonds? It has long been known that the carbon rings in graphites lie in planes and are easily shed one from another, while the structures in charcoal are more like a spherical latticework. Also, unlike the impregnable structure of diamonds, charcoal offers access to its interior. In 1985 researchers H. W. Kroto and R. E. Smalley were curious about the atmosphere of giant red stars. It was known that carbon forms cluster molecules under such conditions. Among other carbon species, they detected the carbon molecule C60 for the first time. It possessed unique physicochemical properties, extra stability, as well as some previously unexplained phenomena. To account for these features, they proposed a geodesic-like structure, one that essentially looks like the pattern on a soccer ball. Consequently the molecule was named after Buckminster Fuller, the inventor of geodesic domes (made famous at the 1967 World's Fair). Buckminsterfullerene (fondly referred to as “Buckyballs” amongst some researchers) is the chosen name for C60, whereas the name fullerene is conveniently used for this whole family of closed carbon cages. They may not be as big as giant red stars, but these microscopic cells are just begging to be filled. In 1999 Eiji Osawa, and colleagues at the Toyohashi University of Technology in Japan , demonstrated that C60 can also be extracted from wood charcoal. As a result, many researchers now visualize charcoal as a structure made up of fragments of these “Buckyballs”. Along with the discovery of nanotubes or “Bucky onions” there is the suggestion of new magnetic and electrical properties. It all sounds a little bit like science fiction. No doubt in time these latest models for charcoal will again be modified. In the meantime charcoal still mystifies even the informed. Scientists marvel as they continue to ask, “How is charcoal able to…?” Henry Schaefer is the resident Quantum Chemist at the University of Georgia and five-time nominee for the Nobel Prize. He is the third most quoted chemist in the world. He writes of his different discoveries: “The significance and joy in my science comes in those occasional moments of discovering something new and saying, “So that's how God did it!”” You may ask, “How is charcoal able to…?” God knows. NIV-1 & Hepatitis The development of new virus inactivation procedures has become an area of growing interest. This is mainly due to increased demands concerning the safety of biological products, especially blood products and recombinant proteins used in medicine. Photochemical processes now represent the most promising methods to inactivate viruses. To date, dyes have been the most widely used photosensitizing reagents in these procedures. However, in their article, Buckminsterfullerene and Photodynamic Inactivation of Viruses , chemists Käsermann and Kempf, working in conjunction with the Swiss Red Cross, explore a new interesting alternative, namely the use of C60 – buckminsterfullerene. You will remember that scientists found C60 in wood charcoal. A water-soluble C60 derivative was tested for antiviral activity. The compound showed a potent and selective activity against HIV-1 in acutely and chronically infected cells. In part, this was attributed to inhibiting the virus' ability to replicate. No adverse effects to the cells were observed. Furthermore, none of the eighteen tested mice died within the test period when the compound was injected into their peritoneal cavity. These findings should not be unexpected. Scientists have long known that charcoal impregnated swabs should not be used in viral research, as the charcoal tends to shut down viral activity. This research looked into the action of C60 in damaging the envelopes that protect a number of deadly viruses including Hepatitis A, B, C, HIV-I & II, and human parvovirus B19. This latest research represents the expanding field of charcoal in medical technology. But, whereas the average person will not be able to use the concentrated C60 available to researchers, the benefits are still resident in the lowly charcoal. More Amazing Facts For even more amazing facts about this super natural remedy, order the book Charcoal Remedies.com now. I could only hope that those who read these pages will use the information wisely. I could only wish the application of charcoal, or the other remedies mentioned, would, in every instance, always bring about the effect desired. But I have learned there are also priceless lessons in pain and suffering and waiting, and God is too wise to err. I would therefore caution those of you who are prone to leap before you look, to take time before a crisis arises, to learn as much as possible about the bodies and minds you have been made stewards of. Then, knowing the science, apply the remedies with the seed of faith.