Charcoal

Have you ever burnt a piece of toast, a slab of meat out on the grill, or even a marshmallow over a flame?

I have. And Mom always used to tell me that charcoal is good for you. Well, I told my son the same thing and he said, "No it's not. It can even cause cancer." So I thought I would look it up and find out who was right and who was wrong.

Well, according to Natural Health Restored Charcoal is good for you.

"Activated charcoal is an excellent natural remedy that goes as far back as recorded history. It is so effective that it definitely deserves a prominent place in your medicine cabinet.
Charcoal is safe and harmless. It will do you no harm, even if you eat lots of it. It is officially recognized as an antidote. The FDA gives it their stamp of approval as a safe and effective remedy for acute toxic poisoning.

Charcoal is a cleansing agent that is able to adsorb toxic gases, liquid toxic wastes, germs, and heavy metals.

When it passes through your digestive system, it carries these toxins with it. That prevents you from absorbing them into your blood stream.

Adsorption is different from absorption.

With absorption, something is attached into something else. An example would be some water that is sucked up by a paper towel. The water goes into the paper towel.

With adsorption, something is attached onto, instead of into. Charcoal attaches or binds things onto itself. It does not absorb them.

Activated charcoal is not the same as regular charcoal. It is a lot more powerful than regular charcoal.

Regular charcoal is made by burning wood in a controlled environment.

To activate charcoal, steam or air at a high temperature is used to oxidize it. This process makes the charcoal develop lots and lots of tiny pores. These tiny holes are what make activated charcoal able to adsorb so much more than regular charcoal can."

So I was feeling pretty vindicated but then I read further.

The same site said: "Burnt toast and other burned or charred foods are NOT charcoal. Unlike charcoal, burned foods still have their proteins, carbohydrates, mineral salts, and fats present. These charred nutrients can damage your body. They can even cause cancer! Charred foods are not a natural remedy."

So it seems we were both right...sort of.

Still, I'm not sure that eating burnt toast could cause cancer. It seems a little strange to me...I guess more research is in order.

What do you think?