There is a popular remedy that will help you lose excess weight in a short period of time. Activated charcoal has been used for weight loss for quite some time. At the end of the 19th century, some English doctors advised their overweight patients to swallow charcoal to cleanse the stomach and relieve hunger. Nowadays, people are also increasingly turning to white or traditional black charcoal tablets not only to remove toxins from the body but also to lose weight. A large number of fans of this method of weight loss is explained by the availability and low price of activated carbon. It is sold without a prescription, which inspires people to believe that it is safe for health.
Many who have heard about this unusual method are wondering whether it is possible to lose weight with the help of activated carbon and what kind of excess weight it is. People's doubts are not surprising, since activated carbon was not originally intended for weight loss. Everyone knows it as an indispensable remedy for poisoning, since these small black or white tablets with a porous surface perfectly absorb all toxic substances that enter the stomach. So how does this popular remedy enable you to lose weight quickly?
The effect of activated carbon for weight loss
In fact, you shouldn't expect any magic from using this remedy. In fact, it helps you lose weight, but only when used as an aid. Activated charcoal is initially unable to burn fat cells or to absorb large amounts of them in a complicated manner and remove them from the body naturally. Researchers note that while charcoal is able to adsorb a small amount of fat cells, it is no better than traditional supplements. That is, without diet and physical activity, the effect on weight loss is zero.
The property of activated charcoal that helps you quickly lose a few extra pounds is the suppression of hunger. If you drink charcoal on an empty stomach, your appetite will be significantly reduced. This is because activated charcoal inhibits intestinal motility. As a result, a person eats much less, which helps in losing weight. At the same time, other herbal remedies such as chamomile or mint teas can also have a similar effect on humans. However, they are not harmful to health.
It is difficult to say how many kilograms you can lose with the help of activated carbon, since it is not because it happens anyway. Focus on the advice on specific nutritional methods. The positive effect of consuming black activated charcoal while dieting is that it binds all toxins, food breakdown products and poisons present in the stomach and removes them from the gastrointestinal tract. The effect of white activated carbon is slightly different. It is based on silicon dioxide, which removes heavy metals, allergens and toxins from the blood. White coal also contains microcrystalline cellulose. Once in the stomach, it swells, absorbs and cleanses the stomach and intestinal walls of residues of gastric juice and bile as well as cholesterol. All these harmful substances are naturally eliminated from the body.
Whatever one may say, coal is still a medicine and therefore should be taken in limited quantities. Try to follow the instructions so as not to exceed the maximum allowable dosage. Otherwise, intestinal problems will occur: long-term use of activated charcoal can cause the intestinal muscles to lose their normal ability to contract. The result is constipation or, conversely, diarrhea.
At first glance, consuming activated charcoal while dieting has some positive aspects. But remember that, first of all, it is a medication, which means that it can harm your body if taken for a long time.
How to take activated charcoal for weight loss
By adhering to a diet system or fasting days and using this remedy at the same time, you can lose weight. Some experts believe that this approach improves the chances of losing weight by half the results originally promised by diets.
There are different methods of taking activated charcoal tablets:
| The essence of the approach | Quantity calculation |
|---|---|
| In the first method, you increase the dosage of the drug by one tablet every day. | First, weigh yourself. The classic scheme for using charcoal to cleanse the stomach says that one tablet is equal to ten kilograms of a person's body weight. For example, you have 80 kg. On the first day you should take three tablets - one before each meal. The next day you need to take four tablets, then five and so on until you reach eight tablets a day. |
| According to the second approach, you need to drink as many activated charcoal tablets throughout the day as your weight dictates (according to the same formula). | A person weighing 80 kg needs to take 8 tablets per day. |
| However, according to the third method, a person's weight does not need to be taken into account. | You need to take ten tablets during the day. |
In any case, taking this drug for weight loss should not exceed 10 days. After a ten-day course, you should take a two-week break. To achieve a good result, this cycle must be repeated three times with breaks.
During the diet you should not eat:
- Sweets;
- Bake;
- salted, preserved and smoked foods;
- fried food;
- spicy spices;
- Mayonnaise;
- alcoholic drinks.
In addition, you need to take vitamin complexes during the carbon diet. This is because activated carbon absorbs all the beneficial substances in your body in addition to harmful elements. Therefore, they need to be constantly replenished to avoid health problems. Also do not forget that you need to regularly drink one and a half to two liters of clean water, which also stimulates the cleansing of the body.
To lose weight with the help of activated carbon, you can resort to a not so long-term diet, designed for just 3 days. The three-day nutritional system is reminiscent of fasting days or a mono-diet, since the list of things allowed in it is reduced to a minimum. At the same time, all of these products have a laxative effect, which is an extremely important factor when taking activated charcoal for weight loss. Charcoal causes constipation and these foods help maintain normal bowel function so your metabolism doesn't slow down.
The three-day diet is based on consuming as many coal tablets daily as prescribed based on the person's body weight. Divide this amount into three meals. The tablets must be taken half an hour before meals. On the first day, your entire diet will consist of a liter of kefir and water with which you will have to wash down the tablets. On the second day of the diet, you must avoid apples. You are allowed to eat two large fruits for breakfast, lunch and dinner. On the third day, aimed at gradually removing the body from the diet, a vegetable menu is offered. You can eat about a kilogram of vegetables in the form of salads or stewed. On the third day, the vegetables can be lightly flavored with vegetable oil.
A three-day fasting cycle includes as many charcoal tablets per day as prescribed, based on a person's body weight: 1 tablet per 10 kg of body weight. For white coal the dosage will be slightly different. For information on how to calculate correctly, see the instructions for use of the drug. If your weight is between 45 and 60 kg, five tablets a day are enough for you. If you weigh 60-70 kg, take eight tablets, if you weigh up to 80 kg - 10 tablets and above - 12.
You have to be very careful
Do not forget that activated carbon, like any other drug, has many side effects and contraindications. Their list is quite extensive and can certainly deter some people from taking charcoal to lose weight. People for whom the use of activated carbon for a long period of time is contraindicated include:
- pregnant women and nursing mothers;
- suffer from stomach ulcers;
- people with intestinal obstruction;
- those who have chronic constipation;
- suffer from intestinal atony;
- prone to bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract;
- patients with ulcerative colitis;
- Patients with chronic low blood pressure.
But even if you don't fall into any of the listed categories, you should definitely consult a doctor as long-term use of charcoal can be harmful to your health. Many diseases of the internal organs initially go unnoticed by people and they do not even know about the existence of the problem. However, thoughtless long-term use of this drug can promote the transition of the disease to an acute stage, which is fraught with unpleasant consequences.
Activated carbon absorbs absolutely everything in your body, including amino acids, digestive enzymes, vitamins and microelements. Therefore, its long-term use can lead to vitamin deficiency. In the mildest case, you will notice that your hair looks dull and begins to actively fall out, and that your nails have become split and brittle. In addition, isolated pimples may appear on the skin and the skin itself takes on an earthy tone. Activated carbon quickly removes important elements such as potassium and calcium from the human body. They are vital for people with heart problems. Their deficiency can even be fatal.
In addition, if you regularly consume charcoal for the purpose of losing weight, you may experience an allergic reaction to it. And if it only lasts ten days and is not repeated frequently, the risk of side effects is reduced. However, the instructions for use of the drug itself state that if it is taken for more than two weeks, there will be disruptions in the absorption of fats, proteins, hormones and calcium. If the duration of taking the medicine is exceeded, nausea, stomach problems in the form of diarrhea or constipation may occur. In addition, with prolonged use, charcoal begins to damage the walls of the stomach and intestines. Another important point is that when consuming activated carbon, you must not take other medications, as they completely neutralize their effect on the body. This is especially true for birth control pills and special suppositories.
In addition to the great benefits that activated charcoal brings, losing weight with its use can be associated with disruption of normal body functions. In this case, you can give preference to a short three-day diet. But you must admit that not everyone can withstand a menu that is too lean. The result is a spoiled mood and a depressive state. Here too, the kilograms lost during the mono diet can quickly come back due to an incorrect diet.
Many nutritionists recommend focusing on something as simple as natural fiber. It is found in large quantities in many vegetables and fruits and is easily available at any time of the year. It is similar to activated charcoal in its effect on the gastrointestinal tract. Fiber also absorbs harmful substances and cleanses them from the walls of the stomach and intestines. At the same time, it not only helps to cleanse the body, but also brings a lot of vitamins and microelements - this property can only be envied by coal.
Carefully study the beneficial properties of the drug, but also do not lose sight of its numerous side effects, in order to assess whether losing weight using this method is worth the possible health problems.