General Info: fine powder with a wide range of medicinal and cosmetic uses as a potent natural treatment. It is also a commonly used incense ingredient to aid in burning. Superheating natural sources of carbon, such as wood, produces activated charcoal. Activated charcoal is not the same substance as that found in charcoal bricks or burned pieces of food. The manufacture of activated charcoal makes it extremely absorbent, allowing it to bind to molecules, ions, or atoms and remove them from dissolved substances. Making activated charcoal involves heating carbon-rich materials, such as wood, peat, coconut shells, or sawdust, to very high temperatures. This “activation” process strips the charcoal of previously absorbed molecules and frees up bonding sites again. This process also reduces the size of the pores in the charcoal and makes more holes in each molecule, increasing its overall surface area. As a result, one teaspoon of activated charcoal has about the same surface area as a football field.

Historical Uses: People have long used activated charcoal as a natural water filter. Just as it does in the intestines and stomach, activated charcoal can interact with and absorb a range of toxins, drugs, viruses, bacteria, fungus, and chemicals found in water.

Medicinal Properties: Used in the emergency treatment of certain kinds of poisoning. It helps prevent the poison from being absorbed from the stomach into the body. Sometimes, several doses of activated charcoal are needed to treat severe poisoning. Often used in emergency rooms to treat overdoses. The black powder stops toxins from being absorbed in the stomach by binding to them. The body is unable to absorb charcoal, and so the toxins that bind to the charcoal leave the body in the feces.Some people claim it can also reduce flatulence, promote kidney health, and lower cholesterol levels. Dozens of teeth-whitening products contain activated charcoal. Researchers have reported that activated charcoal can help draw microparticles, such as dirt, dust, chemicals, toxins, and bacteria, to the surface of the skin, which makes removing them easier. Charcoal may absorb smells and harmful gases, making it ideal as an underarm, shoe, and refrigerator deodorant. Activated charcoal is also reported to be able to absorb excess moisture and control humidity levels at a micro level.

Magical Uses & Associations: unity, purification, banishing, cleansing, protection

Form: powder

Scent: odorless

Precautions: People taking medications should talk with a doctor before taking oral activated charcoal products, as these may interfere with absorption of their medication.

This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. For educational purposes only.