There is one popular medicine that helps you lose extra pounds in a short time. Activated charcoal has been used for weight loss for a long time. Even at the end of the 19th century, some English doctors advised their obese patients to swallow coal to cleanse the stomach and dull the feeling of 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. The large number of fans of this weight loss method 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 wonder if it is possible to lose weight with the help of activated charcoal and what kind of weight loss it can be. People's doubts are not surprising, because activated charcoal was not originally intended for weight loss. Everyone knows it as an indispensable medicine for poisoning, because these small black or white tablets with a porous surface perfectly absorb all the poisonous substances that enter the stomach. So how does this popular drug enable rapid weight loss?
Effects of activated charcoal on weight loss
In fact, you should not expect any magic from using this remedy. Indeed, it helps in losing weight, but only if it is used as an aid. Initially, activated carbon is unable to burn fat cells or, in some complicated way, absorb large amounts of them and remove them from the body naturally. The researchers note that charcoal is indeed capable of adsorbing 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.
The property of activated charcoal, which helps you lose a few extra pounds quickly, is to suppress hunger. If you drink charcoal on an empty stomach, it will significantly reduce your appetite. This happens due to the fact that activated charcoal inhibits intestinal motility. Therefore, a person eats much less, which helps in losing weight. At the same time, other herbal remedies, such as chamomile or peppermint teas, can have a similar effect on humans. However, it will not harm your health.
It is difficult to talk about how many kilograms can be lost with the help of activated carbon, because it has not yet happened because of it. Focus on the indications of certain dietary methods. The positive effect of consuming black activated carbon during a diet is that, once in the stomach, it will bind all toxins, food decomposition products, poisons and remove them from the gastrointestinal tract. The effect of white activated carbon is a little different. It is based on silicon dioxide which works by removing heavy metals, allergens and toxins from the blood. White coal also contains microcrystalline cellulose. When it enters the stomach, it swells, absorbs and cleans from the walls of the stomach and intestines: remnants of gastric juice and bile, as well as cholesterol. In a natural way, all these harmful substances are eliminated from the body.
Whatever may be said, charcoal is still a medicine, which means it should be taken in moderation. Try to follow the instructions so that you do not exceed the maximum allowed dose. Otherwise, this is fraught with problems with the intestines: as a result of long-term use of activated carbon, the intestinal muscles can lose the ability to contract normally. As a result, it will result in constipation or, conversely, diarrhea.
At first glance, there will be some positive aspects of consuming activated charcoal during a diet. But do not forget that, first of all, this is a drug, which means that it can harm your body if used for a long time.
How to take activated carbon for weight loss
By following a dietary system or fasting days and using this medicine at the same time, you can lose weight. Some experts believe that with this approach, the chances of success in losing weight increase by half compared to the results that were initially promised to the child.
There are several methods of taking activated charcoal tablets:
| The essence of the approach | Quantity calculation |
|---|---|
| According to the first method, every day you increase the dose of the drug by one tablet. | First, weigh yourself. The classic scheme of using charcoal to cleanse the stomach says that one tablet corresponds to ten kilograms of a person's body weight. For example, you weigh 80 kg. On the first day, you should take three tablets - one before each meal. The next day you will have to take four pills, then five, and so on until you have eight a day. |
| According to the second approach, during the day you have to drink as many tablets of activated carbon as prescribed for your weight (according to the same formula). | A person weighing 80 kg should take 8 tablets a day. |
| But according to the third method, the person's weight should not be taken into account. | Ten tablets should be taken during the day. |
In all cases, taking this medicine for weight loss should not be longer than 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;
- baking;
- salted, canned and smoked food;
- fried food;
- hot spices;
- mayonnaise;
- alcoholic beverages.
In addition, during the period of the charcoal diet, you must take vitamin complexes. This is due to the fact that, along with harmful elements, activated carbon will adsorb all the useful substances in your body. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly replenish them in order to avoid health problems. Also, do not forget that it is necessary to regularly drink half to two liters of clean water, which also promotes 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 only 3 days. The three-day diet system is reminiscent of fasting days or a mono-diet, because the list of what is allowed in it is reduced to a minimum. At the same time, all these products also have a laxative effect, which is an extremely important factor in the case of taking activated charcoal for weight loss. Charcoal causes 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 coal tablets per day as prescribed based on a person's weight. Divide this amount into three meals. Tablets should be taken before each of them, half an hour before meals. On the first day, your entire diet will consist of liters of kefir and water, with which you have to take sleeping pills. On the second day, the child will have to sit on the apples. You can 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 provided. You will be able to eat about a kilogram of vegetables in the form of a salad or steamed. On the third day, the vegetables can be lightly seasoned with vegetable oil.
The three-day fasting cycle provides as many tablets of black coal per day as prescribed, based on the person's body weight: 1 tablet per 10 kg of body weight. In the case of white coal, the dosage will be slightly different. To calculate it correctly, see the instructions for the medicine. If your weight is in the range of 45 to 60 kg, then 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 tablets.
You have to be very careful
Do not forget that activated charcoal, like any other drug, has many side effects and contraindications. Their list is quite extensive and can certainly prevent some people from taking coal for weight loss purposes. Some of those for whom the long-term use of activated carbon is contraindicated are:
- pregnant and lactating women;
- suffer from peptic ulcers;
- people with intestinal obstruction;
- those who have chronic constipation;
- suffer from intestinal atony;
- susceptible to bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract;
- patients with ulcerative colitis;
- patients with chronic low blood pressure.
But even if you do not fall into any of the listed categories, be sure to consult a doctor for advice, because long-term use of charcoal can be harmful to your health. Many diseases of internal organs go unnoticed by a person for the time being, and he does not even know about the existence of the problem. But reckless long-term use of this drug can trigger the transition of the disease to the acute phase, 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 lead to vitamin deficiency. In the mildest 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.
In addition, if you regularly take charcoal for weight loss, you may experience an allergic reaction to it. And if it is only ten days and it is not repeated often, then the risk of side effects is reduced. But on the instructions for the drug itself, you can read that when it is taken for more than two weeks, there is a disturbance in the absorption of fats, proteins, hormones and calcium. If the duration of use of the drug is exceeded, a person may experience nausea, stomach disturbances in the form of diarrhea or constipation. Also, with long-term use, charcoal will begin to damage the walls of the stomach and intestines. Another important thing is that when consuming activated charcoal, you cannot take other medications, because it completely neutralizes their effect on the body. This especially applies to contraceptive pills and special suppositories.
In addition to the great benefits of activated charcoal, weight loss with its use can be fraught with disruption of the body's normal functioning. In that case, you can give preference to a short three-day diet. But, you have to admit, not every person can withstand too meager menu. As a result, it will result in a bad mood and a depressed state. Again, due to poor nutrition, pounds lost during a mono-diet can be quickly regained.
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 a large number of vegetables and fruits, which can be easily obtained at any time of the year. In terms of its effect on the gastrointestinal 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 in cleaning the body, but will also bring with it a lot of vitamins and microelements - this property can only be envied by coal.
Carefully study the beneficial qualities of the drug, but also do not lose sight of its many side effects, in order to evaluate whether losing weight with this method is worth the possible health problems.