There is one popular remedy that helps you lose excess weight in a short time. Activated charcoal has long been used for weight loss. Even at the end of the 19th century, some English doctors advised their overweight patients to swallow coal to cleanse the stomach and reduce hunger. Nowadays, people are increasingly turning to white or traditional black charcoal pills to not only remove toxins from the body, but also to lose weight. A large number of fans of this weight loss method can be 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 interested in whether it is possible to lose weight with the help of activated carbon and what kind of excess weight loss it can be. People's doubts are not surprising, because activated carbon was not originally intended for weight loss. Everyone knows it as an indispensable remedy in case of 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 charcoal on weight loss
In fact, you shouldn't expect any magic from this remedy. Indeed, it helps to lose weight, but only when used as an aid. Initially, activated carbon is unable to burn fat cells or in some complex way absorb large amounts of them and naturally remove them from the body. The researchers note that charcoal is indeed able to adsorb small amounts of fat cells, but no better than conventional supplements. That is, without diet and physical activity, its effect on weight loss will be zero.
A property of activated charcoal that 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 is because activated charcoal inhibits intestinal motility. Thus, 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 similar effects on humans. However, they will not cause harm to health.
It is difficult to talk about how many kilograms it is possible to lose weight with the help of activated carbon, because that is not why it is still happening. Focus on the directions for specific nutritional methods. The positive effect of using black activated carbon during a diet is that, when it enters the stomach, it will bind all the toxins, food decomposition products, poisons there and remove them from the gastrointestinal tract. The effect of white activated carbon is slightly 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 gets into the stomach, it swells, absorbs and cleans itself 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 removed from the body.
However, charcoal is still a medicine, which means that it should be used in a limited way. Try to follow the instructions so as not to exceed the maximum allowable dose. Otherwise, it is fraught with problems with the intestines: as a result of long-term use of activated carbon, the intestinal muscles may lose their ability to contract normally. As a result, it will cause constipation or, on the contrary, diarrhea.
At first glance, the consumption of activated charcoal during a diet will have some positive aspects. But do not forget that, first of all, this is a drug, which means that it can harm your body if you use it for a long time.
How to use activated charcoal for weight loss
By following a diet or fasting days and using this remedy at the same time, you can lose weight. Some experts believe that with this approach, the chances of success in losing weight improve by half the results that diets originally promised.
There are several methods of using activated charcoal tablets:
| The nature 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 for using coal to cleanse the stomach states that one tablet corresponds to ten kilograms of human weight. For example, you have 80 kg. Three tablets should be taken on the first day - one before each meal. The next day you will need to take four pills, then five and so on until you reach eight pills a day. |
| According to the second approach, the number of activated charcoal tablets determined by weight (using the same formula) should be taken throughout the day. | A person weighing 80 kg should take 8 tablets per day. |
| But according to the third method, the weight of the person is not taken into account. | You should take ten tablets during the day. |
In no case should the use of this medicine for weight loss 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 foods;
- fried foods;
- hot spices;
- mayonnaise;
- alcoholic drinks.
In addition, you need to take vitamin complexes during the charcoal diet. This is due to the fact that activated carbon will adsorb all the useful substances in your body along with the harmful elements. Therefore, they must be constantly replenished to avoid health problems. Also, do not forget that you should regularly drink one and a half to two liters of pure water, which also stimulates the body's cleansing.
To lose weight with the help of activated charcoal, you can resort to a not so long-term diet, designed for only 3 days. The three-day diet system resembles fasting days or a monodiet, as the list of what is allowed in it is reduced to a minimum. At the same time, all these products have a laxative effect, which is an extremely important factor for weight loss when using activated charcoal. Coal causes constipation, and these foods will help keep your bowels functioning normally so your metabolism doesn't slow down.
The three-day diet is based on consuming as many black charcoal pills per day as prescribed based on a person's weight. Divide this amount into three meals. The tablets will have to be taken before each of them, half an hour before meals. 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. 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 one kilogram of vegetables in the form of a salad or steamed. On the third day, the vegetables can be slightly flavored with vegetable oil.
A three-day fasting cycle provides as many black charcoal tablets per day as determined based on a person's weight: 1 tablet per 10 kg of body weight. For white coal, the dosage will be slightly different. To calculate it correctly, see the instructions for use of the medicine. If your weight is between 45 and 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.
You have to be very careful
Do not forget that activated carbon, like any other medicine, has many side effects and contraindications. Their list is quite extensive and can definitely deter some people from using charcoal for weight loss. Several of those who are contraindicated for long-term use of activated charcoal are:
- pregnant women and nursing mothers;
- suffer from peptic ulcers;
- people with intestinal obstruction;
- those with chronic constipation;
- suffers from intestinal atony;
- susceptible to bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract;
- patients with ulcerative colitis;
- in patients with chronic low blood pressure.
But even if you don't fit into any of the listed categories, be sure to talk to your doctor, as long-term use of charcoal can be harmful to your health. Many diseases of internal organs remain unnoticed by a person for the time being, and he does not even know about the existence of the problem. But thoughtless long-term use of these drugs can stimulate the transition of the disease to an 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 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. Also, pimples may appear on the skin, and the skin itself will take on an earthy hue. Activated charcoal quickly removes important elements such as potassium and calcium from the human body. They are very important for people with heart problems. Their deficiency can even be fatal.
In addition, if you regularly use charcoal for weight loss purposes, you may develop an allergic reaction to it. And if it is only ten days and does not repeat often, then the risk of side effects decreases. But in the instructions for the medicine 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 experience nausea, stomach disturbances in the form of 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 when consuming activated carbon, you cannot take other medications, as it completely neutralizes their effects on the body. In particular, this applies to contraceptive pills and special suppositories.
In addition to the great benefits of activated carbon, losing weight with its use can cause disturbances in the normal functioning of the body. In this case, you may prefer a short three-day diet. But, let's face it, not every person can stand too meager menu. As a result, it will lead to a spoiled mood and a depressed state. Again, due to improper nutrition, the kilos lost during a monodiet can quickly return.
Many nutritionists recommend 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 that can be easily obtained at any time of the year. After exposure to 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 to cleanse the body, but will also bring with it a lot of vitamins and trace elements - coal can only envy this property.
Carefully study the beneficial properties of the drug, but also do not forget about the many side effects, in order to evaluate whether losing weight using this method is worth the potential health problems.