Activated Charcoal
Ask almost any nurse about activated charcoal and they
will know what you are talking about. Yet charcoal is not a drug.
Paula J.
Wart, writing for Vanderbilt University, says, “ Activated charcoal is
commonly used in emergency treatment for specific kinds of poisonings and drug
overdoses to keep the poison from being absorbed from the stomach into the
body. Researchers have found that activated charcoal is more effective than
Syrup of Ipecac, leading to the recommendation that all homes include
activated charcoal in their medicine cabinet.”
Renowned
herbalist, Jethro Kloss, in his classic, Back To Eden, writes, “Charcoal
is an adsorbent (not absorbent) and it will adsorb and condense many times its
own volume of various gases…It is excellent taken internally for acid
dyspepsia and also for gas, fermentation, and heartburn…a charcoal poultice
is good for relief of inflammation in the eyes. It is also a most excellent
poultice for gangrene, old ulcers, and
sores…Charcoal is truly a universal antidote.”
Activated charcoal is a tasteless, odorless substance
made by burning certain types of wood under controlled conditions in order to
produce a very large adsorptive surface. Unlike a sponge which is absorptive
in its action, charcoal is adsorptive in its action.
In other words it acts like a magnet. It attracts
substances to itself and holds them tightly to its surface. “Charcoal can
adsorb up to 250 to 350 times its own weight.”
Paula J. Wart, in her University of Vanderbilt article,
says: “It's believed that ancient Egyptians used charcoal to cure an
assortment of ailments. Scientists have been aware of the beneficial
properties of charcoal since at least 1813, when a chemist named Bertrand
swallowed five grams of arsenic trioxide mixed with charcoal with no adverse
effect. It would be unwise to try that sort of experimentation, but Bertrand
proved the benefits of activated charcoal as a
treatment for accidental poisoning.”
Kloss adds: “A dramatic demonstration, conducted in
1813 by the French chemist Bertrand, vividly demonstrated the almost
miraculous adsorptive properties of charcoal when he drank five grams of
arsenic trioxide mixed with charcoal and survived. A few years later, about
1830, a pharmacist by the name of P.F. Touery, attempting to prove that
charcoal was an excellent antidote, took a massive dose of strychnine (ten
times the usual lethal dose) with 15 grams (half an ounce) of activated
charcoal before the French Academy of Medicine…and suffered no apparent ill
effects. But for anyone to try such an experiment today would be considered
very foolhardy and dangerous.”
AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT POISON
CAN DO
Although charcoal cannot bind all poisons it can bind
very many. For example it can adsorb and thus neutralize such poisons as DDT,
dieldrin, strychnine, malathion, parathion etc., which are industrial toxins.
A small sample of medicinal drugs which charcoal will adsorb would include
aspirin, barbiturates, cocaine, opium, nicotine, morphine, penicillin, sulfas
etc.
Charcoal will also bind many inorganic chemicals
including mercury, phosphorus, chlorine, iron, lead, and silver.
“In any type of acute poisoning, the best thing to
do is to induce vomiting,” says the Natural Remedies Encyclopedia,
“followed with a large dose of activated charcoal, diluted in water, to
render most substances harmless. Usually (30-60) grams (about1/2) cup is
needed, suspended in water and taken as soon as possible after the injection
of any toxin”
An article in the, Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative
Medicine, on Charcoal pointed out: “In addition to being used for
most swallowed poisons in humans, charcoal has been effectively used in dogs,
rabbits, rats and other animals, as well. It can also absorb gas in the bowels
and has been used for the treatment of gas or diarrhea. Charcoal's other uses
such as treatment of viruses, bacteria, bacterial toxic by products, snake
venoms and other substances by adsorption have not been supported by clinical
studies. By adding water to the powder to make a paste, activated charcoal can
be used as an external application to alleviate pain and itching from bites
and stings.”
PRACTICAL USES
Charcoal can be taken to stop intestinal gas by mixing a
spoonful in half a glass of water, followed by a second glass of water. It is
also very good for diarrhea.
In cases of colitis or unusual chronic inflammations of
the bowel a charcoal “slurry” solution can be made by stirring, powdered
activated charcoal in water. Then drink only the cloudy solution formed after
the mixture has set for a couple of hours. This will reduce inflammation
locally and provide considerable relief.
Charcoal can also be used in a poultice. A poultice is a
salve of one or several substances combined with a little hot water, which is
afterwards spread on a damp cloth and placed over an infection which is
usually, but not always, on or just below the surface of the skin.
The very successful herbalist Jethro Kloss wrote, “Poultices
made of charcoal are excellent for insect bites, stings, poison oak,
inflammation around the ears and eyes, to dress and disinfect wounds,
cellulites, boils, carbuncles, and abdominal pain. They also act as a
deodorant and antiseptic.”
SPIDER BITE
MAKING A CHARCOAL
POULTICE
1)
Take a spoon and a bowl and make equal parts of powdered activated
charcoal and ground flaxseed.
2)
Add enough hot water to make a paste.
3)
Quickly place the salve on a piece of warm damp cloth (non-synthetic)
before it cools.
4)
Place that area on the portion that is to be treated.
5)
Cover this area with a piece of plastic i.e. type of plastic used to
cover leftover food.
6)
Then place a wool cloth over that.
7)
Leave it on overnight, pin or tape it on.
8)
After removing, rub the part with ice or with a very cold wet
washcloth.
You might wish to repeat the above with fresh salves and
clean poultices.
Charcoal-
God’s Finest
Adsorbent
No home
should be without this remedy. It could literally save your life or the life
of your loved –ones. In the article cited in the, Gale Encyclopedia of
Alternative Medicine; noted
previously, we read, “Keeping activated charcoal at home is a good idea so that
it can be taken immediately when needed for treatment of poisoning.
For acute poisoning, the dosage is as
follows:
- Infants (under 1 year of age): 1 g/kg.
- Children (1-12 years of age): 15-30 g or 1-2 g/kg
with at least 8 oz of water.
- Adults: 30-100 g or 1-2 g/kg with at least 8 oz of
water.”
Jon Zwayer in his excellent
article on Charcoal in the publication, Faith on the Line,
explains how when he worked in a hospital emergency room he observed that the
doctors ,when receiving an overdose pateint, would first require the patient if conscious
to drink activated charcoal mixed with water. He writes: “During those years
of seeing many overdose pateints come into the ER, I never saw an overdose
patient die who was conscious and who was able to drink the charcoal slurry”
Zwayer clears up some questions and
fears about charcoal. First activated charcoal is rated in Category I(Safe and
Effective) by the FDA for acute toxic poisoning. It is also listed in the U.S.
Pharmacopoeia; and the poison
control center recommends activated charcoal for use in poisoning.
As stated earlier, it works by
adsorption an electrial reaction, and not by absorption, a mechanical action.
It adsorbs all organic and inorganic
chemicals that do not belong in the body, but does not adsorb nutrients as
some fear, or no studies have proven the same.
Activated Charcoal will however adsorb any and all medications
that one may be taking and therefore it should be taken 2 hours before or
after any medications.
Zwayer notes one experiment where 100
times the lethal dose of cobra venom was mixed with charcoal and injected into
a labotatory animal! The animal was unharmed. In other expierments arsenic and
strychnine were mixed with charcoal and ingested by humans under labatory
conditons. The subjects lived, not withstanding the fact that the dosage was
5-10 times the lethal dose.
FINAL THOUGHT
Again we see how the creator has lovingly provided
inexpensive powerful remedies for the poor as well as the well to do. If you
would like to order activated charcoal please contact us at the contact
information in this Journal.
Finally it matters little if we know the information but
refuse to make use of it and therefore I leave you with the words of the wise
man, Solomon:
“Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet
wiser; teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.” Proverbs 9:9
God Bless
K.M. Henry, M.M.
Donna’s Corner
FIBROCYSTIC BREAST DISEASE
Fibrocystic breast disease affects over 50% of women of
child bearing age in the United States today.
This is a benign lump condition which rarely turns cancerous.
The symptoms are discomfort, soreness, tenderness, lumpiness and
possible felt lumps and cysts in the breast.
These are normally round lumps which move freely and are either firm or
soft. The symptoms are most
prominent before menstruation, and almost entirely absent during pregnancy.
Fibrocystic breast are caused by excessive estrogen in
the body. They can be prevented
and eliminated by detoxifying the body through the liver and intestinal tract.
Hormonal imbalance and an overactive thyroid also induce cysts.
It is believed that the problem stems from too much estrogen that the
liver cannot filter because of congestion in the colon.
This bad estrogen is responsible for proliferating tissue where it
travels to the primary estrogen receptors of the body (especially the breast
and uterus), which causes cysts and growths.
Excessive estradiol, as well as other toxins, back up the blood stream
and enter the breasts, brain or other parts of the body to cause lumps,
congestion or other diseases in the system.
When the liver is congested, it cannot filter harmful substances such
as caffeine – found in coffee, tea, soda and chocolate. This results in blocked energy in the body as well as toxic
blood.
A correct diet and herbal therapy have proven very
effective for many people in overcoming this disease.
A few short fast followed by a diet rich in potassium foods such as:
Almonds, Apples, Bananas, Beans, Beet, Broccoli,
Carrots,
Sunflower Seeds, Wheat Bran, Figs etc.are very
beneficial in eliminating cysts and tumors.
Herbs such as:
Garlic, Kelp, Echinacea, Suma Ginko Biloba, Lecithin,
Psyllium Fiber etc.
are very powerful herbs that improves liver functions by
killing toxins, germs, nourish the pituitary gland, dissolve hardened mucus
(as in cysts and tumors), kill infections and strengthen the adrenals etc.
Potassium rich foods and herbs increase alkalinity and
eliminate acid in the body. Potassium
is also vital to help neutralize acids and toxins. It reduces excessive gastric and intestinal acidity.
The above remedies combined with daily exercise, with
plenty of fresh air and sunshine helps to prevent and eliminate the above
ailment and promotes good health. May God bless and keep you.
Donna G. Henry
