Going on holiday soon? Packing some charcoal could save you from unnecessary discomfort.

There are so many factors that are out of your control when going on holiday. There's not much you can do about delayed flights, lost baggage or bad weather. You rarely know how hygienically your food has been prepared or what sort of water has been used to make the ice in your cocktail. So don't let a tummy upset spoil any part of your precious holiday, you've waited two years for it! 

How does charcoal work?

A piece of charcoal may look and feel solid in your hands. Yet it posesses a labyrinth of microscopic pores and tunnels that are invisible to the naked eye. When a piece of carbon-rich material - usually wood - is burnt at a temperature as high as 1000 degrees Celsius, all of its components except carbon turn into vapour. The high pressure building-up inside the solid material drives these vapours out, leaving behind a carbon skeleton that is highly porous. Once within our body, charcoal binds with toxin particles forming a stable toxin-charcoal complex. This complex is larger than the microscopic channels in the gut walls through which the free toxin particles would easily pass. Therefore the absorption of toxins through gut membranes is restricted. Since the foreign particles are safely concealed within the pores of the charcoal structure, they do not get a chance to harm our tissues. This in turn prevents enzymes reacting upon the toxins thus eliminating the risk of poisons being metabolised and harming the liver tissues.

Since our bodies cannot absorb nor break down charcoal, it is then excreted along with the toxins they are carrying. As a result, the poisons are safely driven out of our systems before they get a chance to harm us. The porous nature of the charcoal structure increases the surface area available for adsorption thereby enhancing the rate and capacity of detoxification.

A piece of charcoal can adsorb up to two hundred times its own weight in toxic and pathogenic material

Charcoal acts as a powerful oxidising agent as well. It contains a large amount of oxygen within the microscopic holes of the carbon structure. These oxygen molecules react with most foreign materials oxidising and converting them into harmless matter. This property is particularly useful in nullifying toxins found in our gut.

Antimicrobial properties of charcoal are well known as well. Charcoal can arrest and suppress disease-causing bacteria, fungi and viruses. 

Artificially 'Activated' (Medicinal) Vs Naturally 'Active' (or Potentised)

Modern man, driven by the desire to make everything better and fast, has found ways to 'activate' a substance already active. 'Activated' charcoal is produced by treating charcoal with steam, hot air or chemicals. This treatment eats away the carbon structure, increasing the number of pores in the process. This results in a greater surface area for adsorption. The more pores there are the more activated the charcoal is. Accordingly we can now find activated and superactivated charcoal on the market.

These 'activated’ and 'superactivated' charcoals claim to have such super adsorptive powers that they can rapidly trap greater amounts of materials. This claim is true. These greedier versions of benign ‘natural’ charcoal can arrest more toxins in lesser time. But there is a catch.

Activated charcoal is non-selective; meaning that it cannot tell apart a vitamin molecule from a toxin

Therefore they will remove not only toxins but most of the essential nutrients such as minerals and vitamins as well. They will also damage those friendly microbes in our gut who help us with digestion and disease control. 

Naturally active is best

Of course this doesn’t mean that you have to hunt down pieces of natural charcoal from your bbq. Now you can find a purer form of naturally active charcoal in a more appealing package. Pure, Non-Activated Hardwood Charcoal capsules contain pure hardwood charcoal which is produced in a more methodical manner and which has been potentised using a special process unique to our supplier. They are gentler than the medicinal strength 'activated' charcoal and safer for long term, daily use. This naturally active charcoal works at a more natural pace with the body, thus supporting and not suppressing your immune system. You can use it daily without experiencing any short or long term side effects.

If you ever worry when going on holiday that you may suffer from holiday tummy then pack some pure natural hardwood charcoal to detox safely, gently, daily.

Enjoy your holidays :-)