Does taking charcoal adsorb Nutrients......etc.
Question:
Howdy....Wanted to get your opinion on this because I didn't see anything on your site.
If the following statement is correct, do you recommend taking a nutritional shake of some sort an hour after taking the Charcoal to replenish what was taken out?
Thank you for any clarity on this subject.
For a long time there has been some difference of opinion as to whether or not charcoal will adsorb necessary nutrients as well as poisons. Dr. Holt states: "It is now very clear that activated charcoal will adsorb not only poisons but also vitamins, digestive enzymes, amino acids, and other valuable nutrients from the gut. Such losses if continued will seriously affect health, but are of no importance in situations of acute poisoning.
Answer:
I will also copy the info below but highly recommend you check out the FAQ page for more info.
(Additionally: If you can send us the studies that prove very clearly that Activated Charcoal will adsorb vitamins & nutrients, we would be very interested to see them, so please share the info.)
Will taking activated charcoal affect the nutritional value of the food I eat?
We cannot say categorically that charcoal does not depreciate the level of nutritive absorption in any way. But, both clinical observation of patients in hospitals and numerous animal studies have demonstrated charcoal poses no threat to nutritional uptake. While science has yet to prove this conclusively, it seems more prudent to say that if there is any adsorption of nutrients, it is so negligible that it has yet to be shown to compromise one’s health. For instance, charcoal has been used for many years as a fecal deodorant for patients with ileostomies and colostomies. In spite of the fact that they may routinely take charcoal orally three times daily for years, it has never been demonstrated to nutritionally effect these individuals who are already at risk of nutritional deficiency. (Patient Care p. 152, October 30, 1977)
In one animal study, Dr. V. V. Frolkis, a famous Russian gerontologist, and his colleagues, demonstrated that the lifespan in older laboratory rats increased up to 34% by feeding them charcoal in their diet! (Experimental Gerontology 1984) Toxins, including free radicals, are believed to play a significant role in aging. But these “loose canons” will form a stable matrix with charcoal in the gut until they are eliminated from the body. Researchers concluded that the binding up of these toxins in the intestinal tract before they are absorbed or reabsorbed into the system may be one mechanism that allowed the rats to live longer and healthier.
More info:
In the book CharcoalRemedies.com, there is an interesting study done years ago by Russian scientists with activated charcoal and old lab rats that shows that the activated charcoal taken orally by these rats increased their life span by 34% longer than the rats that did not receive it, although their lives had been identical all their life and remained identical except for the 
supplementation of the activated charcoal powder. It doesn't sound like they were being nutritionally compromised.
There is a lot more info about this but in closing here is another study that I just recently shared on our blog but is always worth repeating that came from the pen of David Cooney PhD (Chemical Engineering, University Wyoming). Dr. Cooney spent much of his chemical engineering career researching and studying activated charcoal, and wrote books on activated charcoal which are considered by many the benchmark of activated charcoal. I personally trust his research.
“Charcoal added to the diet of sheep for six months did not cause a loss of nutrients, as compared with sheep not receiving charcoal. … 5 % of the total diet was charcoal. It did not affect the blood or urinary levels of calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, inorganic phosphorus, potassium, sodium, zinc, creatinine, uric acid, urea nitrogen, alkaline phosphatase, total protein or urine pH.” excerpt from Activated Charcoal, Antidote, Remedy and Health Aid, by David Cooney
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Kind regards, Kimberly
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