There is a popular tool that helps you get rid of excess weight in a short time. Activated charcoal has long been used for weight loss. Even in the late 19th century, some English doctors advised overweight patients to swallow coal to cleanse the stomach and dull the feeling of hunger. Nowadays, people are more and more turning to white or traditional black charcoal tablets not only to remove toxins from the body, but also to lose weight. The large number of fans of this weight loss method is 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.
Hearing about this unusual method, many are wondering 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 charcoal was not originally designed for weight loss. Everyone knows it as an indispensable remedy for poisoning, because these small black or white tablets with a porous surface perfectly absorb all toxic substances that enter the stomach. But how does this popular tool make fast weight loss possible?
The effect of activated carbon for weight loss
In fact, you should not expect any magic from using this tool. Indeed, it helps to lose weight, but only if it is used as an aid. Initially, activated carbon is not able to burn fat cells, or in some complex way it absorbs a large amount of them and naturally removes them from the body. Indeed, charcoal is able to adsorb small amounts of fat cells, but no better than conventional dietary supplements, the researchers note. That is, without diet and physical activity, its effect on weight loss will be zero.
A feature of activated charcoal that helps you lose a few extra pounds is hunger suppression. If you drink charcoal on an empty stomach, it will significantly reduce your appetite. This happens because activated charcoal inhibits intestinal motility. Thus, a person eats very little, which helps in losing weight. At the same time, other herbal remedies such as chamomile or peppermint teas can have similar effects on humans. But they will not harm health.
It is difficult to talk about how many kilograms it is possible to lose weight with the help of activated carbon, because this does not happen yet. Pay attention to the indications of special dietary methods. The positive effect of consuming black activated carbon during the diet is that once it is in the stomach, it binds all the toxins, food decomposition products, poisons and removes 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. Once in the stomach, it swells, absorbs and cleans the walls of the stomach and intestines: gastric juice and bile residues, as well as cholesterol. All these harmful substances are removed from the body naturally.
No matter what anyone says, charcoal is still a medicine, which means it should be taken in moderation. Try to follow the instructions so as not to exceed the maximum permissible dose. Otherwise, it is fraught with problems with the intestines: due to the long-term use of activated carbon, the intestinal muscles can lose their normal ability to contract. As a result, it will result in constipation or, conversely, diarrhea.
At first glance, the consumption of activated carbon during the diet will have some positive aspects. But remember that, first of all, this is a drug, which means that it can harm your body if used for a long time.
How to take activated carbon for weight loss
You can lose weight by following a diet or fasting days and at the same time using this remedy. Some experts believe that with this approach, the chances of success in losing weight are improved by half of the results initially promised by the diets.
There are several ways to take activated carbon tablets:
| The essence of the approach | Calculation of quantity |
|---|---|
| According to the first method, every day you increase the dose of the drug by one tablet. | Weigh yourself first. The classic scheme of using charcoal to cleanse the stomach states that one tablet corresponds to ten kilograms of a person's weight. For example, you weigh 80 kg. You should take three tablets on the first day - before each meal. The next day, four tablets, then five, and so on, until you reach eight a day. you should buy |
| According to the second approach, it is necessary to drink the number of activated carbon tablets determined by weight during the day (using the same formula). | A person weighing 80 kg should take 8 tablets per day. |
| But according to the third method, it is not necessary to take into account the weight of a person. | It is necessary to take ten tablets during the day. |
In all cases, taking this medicine for weight loss should not exceed 10 days. After a ten-day course, you should take a two-week break. To get a good result, this cycle should be repeated three times at intervals.
Do not eat during the diet:
- sweets;
- baking;
- salted, canned and smoked foods;
- fried foods;
- spicy spices;
- mayonnaise;
- alcoholic beverages.
In addition, you should take vitamin complexes during the charcoal diet. This is due to the fact that activated carbon absorbs all the useful substances in your body, along with harmful elements. Therefore, to avoid health problems, it is necessary to fill them constantly. Also, don't forget to drink one and a half to two liters of clean water regularly, which stimulates body cleansing.
With the help of activated carbon, you can resort to a not so long-term diet designed for only 3 days to lose weight. The three-day nutrition system is reminiscent of fasting days or a mono-diet, because the list of what is allowed is reduced to a minimum. At the same time, all these products have a laxative effect, which is an extremely important factor in the case of taking activated carbon for weight loss. Coal causes constipation, and these foods will help maintain normal bowel function so your metabolism doesn't slow down.
The three-day diet is based on the consumption of many black charcoal tablets per day, depending on the person's weight. Divide this amount into three meals. Tablets should be taken half an hour before each meal. On the first day, your entire diet will consist of one liter of kefir and water, with which you need to wash down the tablets. On the second day of the diet, you will have to sit on an apple. It is allowed to eat two large fruits for breakfast, lunch and dinner. A vegetable menu is provided on the third day, aimed at gradually removing the body from the diet. You can eat about one kilogram of vegetable salad or steamed. On the third day, vegetables can be slightly flavored with vegetable oil.
A three-day fasting period provides a prescribed number of black coal tablets per day, depending on a person's weight: 1 tablet per 10 kg of body weight. In the case of white coal, the dosage will be slightly different. To calculate it correctly, see the instructions for the drug. If your weight is between 45 and 60 kg, five tablets a day will be enough for you. If your weight is 60-70 kg, take eight tablets, if you weigh up to 80 kg - 10 tablets, and above - 12 tablets.
You have to be very careful
Remember that activated carbon, like any other drug, has many side effects and contraindications. The list of them is quite extensive and can certainly prevent some people from taking charcoal for weight loss. A number of people who have contraindications to long-term use of activated carbon include:
- pregnant women and nursing mothers;
- suffering from stomach ulcers;
- people with intestinal obstruction;
- those with chronic constipation;
- suffering from intestinal atony;
- susceptible to bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract;
- ulcerative colitis patients;
- patients with chronic low blood pressure.
But even if you do not belong to any of the listed categories, be sure to consult a doctor for advice, because long-term use of charcoal can harm your health. Many diseases of internal organs are ignored by a person until this time, and he does not even know about the existence of the problem. But thoughtless long-term use of this drug can stimulate the transition of the disease to the 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 begins to actively fall out, and your nails are split and brittle. Also, a rash of pimples may appear on the skin and the skin itself will take on an earthy color. Activated carbon quickly removes important elements such as potassium and calcium from the human body. It is very important for people with heart problems. Their deficiency can even be fatal.
In addition, if you regularly take charcoal for weight loss, you may have an allergic reaction to it. And if it is only ten days and does not repeat often, the risk of side effects decreases. But you can read in the instructions for the drug itself that when taken for more than two weeks, there are disorders in the absorption of fats, proteins, hormones and calcium. If the period of use of the drug is exceeded, a person may feel nausea, stomach discomfort in the form of diarrhea or constipation. Also, with long-term use, coal will begin to damage the walls of the stomach and intestines. Another important point is that you cannot take other drugs while consuming activated carbon, because it completely neutralizes their effect on the body. In particular, this applies to birth control pills and special suppositories.
In addition to the great benefits that activated carbon brings, losing weight with its use can result in disruption of the normal functioning of the body. In this case, you can prefer a short three-day diet. But you have to admit that not everyone can withstand a very meager menu. As a result, it will result in a spoiled mood and a depressed state. Still, the pounds lost during a mono diet due to poor nutrition can quickly return.
Many nutritionists advise that it is better to focus on something as simple as natural fiber. It is found in large quantities in many vegetables and fruits that are readily available at any time of the year. It is similar to activated carbon in its effect on the gastrointestinal tract. Fiber also absorbs harmful substances and removes them from the walls of the stomach and intestines. At the same time, it will not only help cleanse the body, but also bring with it a lot of vitamins and trace elements - coal can only envy this property.
Carefully study the useful qualities of the drug, but also do not overlook its many side effects in order to evaluate whether losing weight using this method is worth the possible health problems.