There is one popular tool that helps you get rid of excess weight in a short time. Activated charcoal has been used for weight loss for quite some time. Even in the late 19th century, some English doctors advised their overweight patients to swallow coal to cleanse the stomach and suppress hunger. Nowadays, people are also increasingly turning to white or traditional black charcoal pills to not only remove toxins from the body, but also to lose weight. Many fans of this weight loss method are explained by the availability and low price of activated carbon. It is sold without a prescription, which leads people to believe that it is safe for health.
Many who have heard about this unusual method are interested in whether it is possible to lose weight using activated carbon and what kind of excess weight loss it can be. People's doubts are not surprising, because activated charcoal was not originally intended for weight loss. Everyone knows that this is an indispensable remedy for poisoning, because 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 help you lose weight fast?
The effect of activated carbon on weight loss
In fact, you shouldn't expect any magic from this remedy. Indeed, it helps to lose weight, but only if it is used as an aid. Initially, activated carbon is not capable of burning fat cells or in some sophisticated way absorbing large amounts of them and removing them naturally from the body. The researchers note that indeed charcoal can adsorb a small amount of fat cells, but no better than conventional dietary supplements. That is, without diet and physical activity, its effect on weight loss will be zero.
A feature of activated charcoal that helps you quickly get rid of a few extra pounds is hunger suppression. If you drink charcoal on an empty stomach, it will significantly reduce your appetite. This is because activated charcoal inhibits intestinal motility. So a person eats much less, which helps in losing weight. At the same time, other herbal preparations, such as chamomile or mint tea, can have similar effects in humans. However, they will not harm your health.
It is difficult to talk about how many kilograms can be lost with the use of activated charcoal, because that is not what happens anyway. Pay attention to the indications of specific nutritional methods. The positive effect of consuming black activated carbon during the diet is that once it enters the stomach, it will bind all the toxins, food decomposition products, and poisons there and remove them from the digestive tract. The effect of white activated carbon is slightly different. Its basis is silicon dioxide, which removes heavy metals, allergens and toxins from the blood. White coal also contains microcrystalline cellulose. After entering the stomach, it swells, absorbs and cleans from the walls of the stomach and intestines: gastric juice and bile residues, as well as cholesterol. In a natural way, all these harmful substances are removed from the body.
Whatever we say, charcoal is still a medicine, which means it should be used in moderation. Try to follow the instructions so that you do not exceed the maximum permissible dose. Otherwise, it is fraught with intestinal problems: long-term use of activated charcoal can cause intestinal muscles to lose their ability to contract normally. As a result, constipation or, conversely, diarrhea will occur.
At first glance, the use of activated carbon during the diet will have positive aspects. But do not forget that, first of all, it is a drug, which means that it can harm your body if used for a long time.
How to use activated charcoal for weight loss
By following a diet or fasting days and using this tool at the same time, you can lose weight. Some experts believe that with this method, the probability of success in losing weight is improved by half of what the diet originally promised.
There are several ways to use activated charcoal tablets:
| The point of view | Quantity calculation |
|---|---|
| According to the first method, the dose of the drug is increased by one tablet every day. | First, weigh yourself. The classic scheme of using coal to clean the stomach states that one tablet corresponds to ten kilograms of human weight. For example, you have 80 kg. On the first day, you need to take three tablets - one before each meal. The next day you will need to take four pills, then five, and so on until you reach eight pills. |
| The second method involves taking as many activated charcoal tablets per day as indicated for your weight (using the same formula). | A person weighing 80 kg needs to take 8 tablets per day. |
| However, according to the third method, the weight of the person does not need to be taken into account. | You need to take ten tablets a day. |
In any case, the use of 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 should be repeated three times with breaks.
During the diet you should not eat:
- sweets;
- baking;
- salted, preserved and smoked food products;
- fried food;
- hot spices;
- mayonnaise;
- alcoholic beverages.
In addition, you need to take vitamin complexes during the carbon diet period. This is due to the fact that activated carbon adsorbs all the useful substances in your body along with harmful elements. Therefore, in order to avoid health problems, they need to be constantly replenished. Also, don't forget to regularly drink one and a half to two liters of clean water, which also promotes body cleansing.
To lose weight with the help of activated charcoal, you can take a less long-term diet for only 3 days. The three-day nutrition system is similar to fasting days or a mono-diet, because the list of things allowed in it is reduced to a minimum. At the same time, all these products have a laxative effect, which is a very important factor when using activated charcoal for weight loss. Carbohydrates cause constipation, and these foods will help maintain normal bowel function so your metabolism doesn't slow down.
The three-day diet is based on consuming as many black carbon tablets per day as indicated by a person's weight. Divide this amount into three servings. The tablets will need to be taken before each of them, half an hour before a meal. On the first day, your entire diet will consist of a liter of kefir and water to wash down the pills. On the second day of the diet, you will have to sit on apples. It is allowed to eat two large fruits for breakfast, lunch and dinner. On the third day, which aims to gradually remove the body from the diet, a vegetable menu is presented. You will be able to eat about one kilogram of vegetables in the form of a salad or steamed. On the third day, vegetables can be seasoned a little with vegetable oil.
The three-day fasting cycle provides as many black carbon tablets per day as indicated, taking into account the weight of the person: 1 tablet per 10 kg of body weight. For white charcoal, the dosage will vary slightly. To calculate it correctly, follow the instructions for the medicine. If your weight is between 45 and 60 kg, five tablets a day will be enough for you. If you weigh 60-70 kg, take eight tablets, if you weigh up to 80 kg - 10 tablets, and more - 12.
You have to be very careful
Do not forget that activated carbon, like any other drug, has many side effects and contraindications. The list of these is quite extensive and can definitely prevent some people from using charcoal for weight loss. Some people who are contraindicated for long-term use of activated charcoal include:
- pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers;
- suffer from peptic ulcer;
- people with intestinal obstruction;
- for those with chronic constipation;
- suffer from intestinal atony;
- susceptible to bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract;
- in patients with ulcerative colitis;
- in patients with chronic low blood pressure.
But even if you don't fall into any of the listed categories, be sure to check with your doctor because long-term charcoal consumption can be harmful to your health. A person does not notice many diseases of internal organs and does not even know about the existence of the problem. However, reckless long-term use of this drug can lead to the transition of the disease to the acute stage, which is full of unpleasant consequences.
Activated carbon adsorbs absolutely everything in your body, including amino acids, digestive enzymes, vitamins and trace elements. Therefore, its long-term use can cause vitamin deficiency. In the simplest case, you will notice that your hair looks dull and has begun to actively fall out, and your nails have split and become brittle. Scattering of pimples may also appear on the skin, and the skin itself will take on an earthy hue. 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.
Also, if you regularly consume charcoal to lose weight, you may experience an allergic reaction to it. And if it is only ten days and not repeated often, the risk of side effects is reduced. However, in the instructions for the drug itself, you can read that when used for more than two weeks, absorption of fats, proteins, hormones and calcium is impaired. If the duration of drug use is exceeded, a person may feel nausea, stomach problems, manifested by diarrhea or constipation. In addition, with long-term use, coal will begin to damage the walls of the stomach and intestines. Another important point is that other drugs cannot be used when using activated carbon, as this completely neutralizes their effect on the body. In particular, this applies to contraceptive pills and special suppositories.
In addition to the great benefits that activated charcoal provides, losing weight using it can disrupt the normal functioning of the body. In this case, you may prefer a short three-day diet. However, it must be admitted that not everyone can withstand a menu that is too small. As a result, the mood and depressive state will be ruined. Again, due to poor nutrition, the pounds lost during a monodiet can quickly come back.
Many nutritionists advise that it is better to pay attention to such a simple thing as natural fiber. It is found in large quantities in many vegetables and fruits, which are easily available at any time of the year. In its effect on the digestive tract, it resembles activated carbon. Fiber also absorbs harmful substances and cleans them from the walls of the stomach and intestines. At the same time, it will not only help to cleanse the body, but will also bring a lot of vitamins and trace elements - coal can only envy this quality.
Carefully study the useful properties of the drug, but do not forget about the many side effects to evaluate whether losing weight using this method is worth the potential health problems.