Boosting your health and fitness is often amplified in January with 'new year, new me' messaging from brands and influencers. Health trends come and go but this is one you may want to miss, especially if you're on medication.
Fans spotted Kim Kardashian showing off her mug of grey charcoal tea on her Instagram story, a supposedly common occurrence for the 42-year-old who has been a long term supporter of charcoal's health benefits.
This has prompted nutritionists to speak out against the charcoal trend as the results could be detrimental to your health, despite the popularity from influencers and celebs.
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Charcoal is said be able to absorb chemicals and toxins and thereby reduce their absorption in the body, leading to it being used as a detox ingredient. Usually, the charcoal comes in powder form and is added to hot drinks or smoothies as a boosting ingredient.
Kim's tea isn't the only charcoal drink the Kardashians have tried as sister Kourtney shared a charcoal latte recipe on her lifestyle website Poosh. On the website, she writes that she is a "long time lover of charcoal" and believes it can aid with bloating and gas as well as deep cleansing toxins.
Hannah Macey, lead nutritionist at Feel Complete, told Yahoo : "Active charcoal acts like a binder, so it essentially acts as a sponge, soaking up different chemicals from within the body and on the skin.
"It has been used to support the recovery of people who have been tested for certain toxins such as mould. It is also used in medication to treat drug overdoses and accidental poisoning.
"When the correct dosage is given by a professional it can bind to the drugs and poisons, and reduce how much is absorbed in the gut."
However, she also warned that there is not enough research into the long term effects of activated charcoal and although "small amounts should not cause any harm or side effects, the long-term impacts of higher doses have yet to be studied."
Another worry with activated charcoal is that it can interfere with any medication you are on because of its binding capabilities. If you take any medication orally, from the contraceptive pill to anti-depressants, adding activated charcoal into your routine could hinder their ability to work.
This isn't the first time that charcoal teas have been warned against as back in 2017, the Metro spoke to British Dietetic Association (BDA) spokesperson and dietitian Michelle McGuinness. She called the trendy charcoal drinks "another example of the unnecessary detoxing trend".
She went on to say: "Evidence for the benefits of activated charcoal is not substantial, and the negative effects could be detrimental to health and wellbeing. But more so the process of detoxing like this is not necessary for optimum health, we have well equipped kidneys and liver which do this for us."
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