Jeanne (Atl, Georgia) on 06/10/2008
I do have a few side effects to note: Activated charcoal is best taken on an empty stomach, but I do not suggest taking it first thing in the morning. I drank my heaping tablespoon in 8 oz of water 2 days ago, then oil pulled. I ended up gagging up acid after 2 minutes of oil pulling. Yuck. This was interesting because I read that charcoal is actually a remedy for Acid Reflux! Well, then I changed to taking my charcoal in the middle of the day, before lunch. That seems to work. However, it does give me a slight stomach ache. You might also try taking it at night, several hours after dinner.
One benefit to the charcoal besides not having to use deodorant or baking soda (that irritates my skin, I must admit) is that I seem to sweat less when I have this in my system. It may be a remedy for excessive sweaters, I don't know... worth a shot. And it is a general detoxer, so that's a good thing in this hot and humid weather. Question for regular users of charcoal. Do you take it every day or is it something you need to stop every so often? Thanks!
Replied By Jeanne (Atl, Georgia) on 06/25/2008
If you press on your stomach and have a painful spot that moves slowly from one day to the next, you may have clogged your colon/intestines. Tons of water helps, but acupressure massage is best to move the obstruction to your bowels and out. One last note is that I was having normal bowel movements even while my colon was impacted, so don't rely on that (constipation or elimination) to judge, but more on the location of pain and whether or not a little lump exists.
Replied By Yasmeen (Atlanta, GA) on 11/02/2014