Activated Charcoal Lemonade

By now you may have heard "activated charcoal" swirling around the health-o-sphere. I'll admit, it definitely doesn't sound appetizing or even remotely close to fitting inside of the category of "healthy", but this jet black substance has gained a ton of popularity, and for good reason!

What is Activated Charcoal?

Activated charcoal is a natural substance often used in the medical system to treat various forms of poisoning or drug overdoses, and has become increasingly popular in health food stores as a natural way to promote safe and effective detoxification and reduce gas and bloating.

How Does Activated Charcoal Work?

Activated charcoal is a very porous substance and works by trapping toxins and chemicals in its millions of tiny pores.

It doesn’t absorb the toxins, however. Instead it works through the chemical process of adsorption. In the body, absorption is the reaction of elements, including nutrients, chemicals and toxins, soaked up and assimilated into the blood stream. Adsorption is the chemical reaction where elements bind to a surface.

It's important to note that it's not effective when corrosive poisons are ingested, or heavy metal, iron, lithium, potassium or alkali poisoning.

How to Use Activated Charcoal

Although activated charcoal is safe, it shouldn't be used every day or on a regular basis. Instead, it's a helpful tool as part of a short-term detox regimen or for occasional use when something harmful is ingested. Of course, always speak to your health care practitioner before using any health products that you're unsure about!

Activated charcoal can be found in capsule or powder and easily added to various recipes or simply in water. Today we're sharing a delicious Activated Charcoal Lemonade recipe that is sure to become a new summer detox fave -- we're big fans of it over here at the Academy ;-)

Activated Charcoal Lemonade Recipe

Ingredients

• 8 cups filtered water
• 3 lemons, juiced or freshly squeezed
• 3-4 tbsp honey (or maple syrup for Low FODMAP modification)
• 1 tsp activated charcoal powder
• pinch sea salt

Directions

1. Add water to large pitcher
2. Freshly squeeze or juice lemons, ensuring seeds are properly filtered out, and add to pitcher with water
3. Stir in honey, activated charcoal, and sea salt
4. Enjoy chilled or with ice!

This recipe is so simple and a great addition to a detox plan. Thinkin' about doing a detox but not sure where to start? Learn more about our 3-Day Gut Detox program!

P.S. Check out our recipe video here!

In health,

The IBS Academy