TABLE | Activate Your Life

Here at Greenheart, we are always looking for the best new ways to purify and cleanse our bodies of the toxins that surround our daily lives (hello, city living!). In the modern world we live in, we are constantly bombarded with pesky pesticides in our food, heavy metals running through our tap water, and environmental stressors such as air pollutants. Enter Activated Charcoal—yes, charcoal—an ingredient that is causing quite the stir in the wellness world!

Commonly known in Western Medicine for its life-saving effects in emergency situations such as overdoses, activated charcoal has been used for hundreds of years in Chinese and Alternative Medicine to help with neutralizing toxins and aiding in digestive health. With the wide array of benefits it can have, there is no doubt that this is an ingredient we can get behind! Below are our top 5 reasons to try this new ingredient in your detox regimen:

1. Flushes Heavy Metals Out of Your Bloodstream: It’s hard in our current food system to truly know where our water, produce, and food items are coming from or how often they have been processed and/or sprayed with toxic pesticides. Activated charcoal adsorbs (binds) to chemicals, poisons, and other harmful ingredients we are often exposed to and helps to eliminate them via the bowels rather than re-absorbing them into your bloodstream. This makes for the most effective way to detoxify your system of harmful properties that are making it difficult for your body to perform at it’s peak.

2. Whitens Your Teeth: Drink too much wine or coffee? You can brush your teeth with activated charcoal (just wet your toothbrush and dip into powdered charcoal) and it will help to balance your oral pH, gently whiten your teeth, and prevent cavities.

3. Aids in Digestion: Activated Charcoal latches on to foods that tend to take up space in your digestive tract and stay for too long (which often causes gas and bloating). Because the activated charcoal latches on to toxins and unwanted digestive waste and eliminates them, it helps to create a more efficient gut that will better help you to absorb all of the nutrients that you are ingesting and maintain an internal ecosystem full of good bacteria.

4. Reduces High Cholesterol: In one recent study, patients with high cholesterol took activated charcoal daily for 4 weeks and saw up to a 41% decrease in bad cholesterol!

5. Helps With Your Hangover and Accidental Toxic Intake: Known for it’s fast-acting properties, activated charcoal is one of the best solutions for when you are feeling hungover the morning after or accidentally ingest something poisonous or that you may be allergic to. Moms, listen up! Activated charcoal is a great alternative solution for when your child accidentally gets their hands on something not meant to be consumed.

So what do you think—will you join us in the fight against toxins and try adding activated charcoal into your daily regimen? Leave us a comment in the section below.

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