Charcoal

Dr Atta K. Bonsu

It is my prayer that every individual must have charcoal at home. Do not be lazy; take some time to prepare charcoal and use. If you cannot prepare, then you can send an order for our clinical activated charcoal. (Some of our preparations can be easily posted to you, like clay, charcoal, and other herbs).

There are so many secrets about charcoal that I cannot be negligent to announce to the world; there is no way I can conceal these facts. If I had refused to do this, then millions will die but the Lord has something to ask me, because I know much about these things. Now that diseases are “floating” everywhere, you need charcoal with you always. Everywhere you go take along some charcoal to handle emergency cases.

Charcoal was used as medicine before even the father of medicine Hippocrates was born and crowned as the first doctor. (He lived between 460 to 370 BC). Before Europeans could sail to settle in the New World (America), the Red Indians were using charcoal. Even presently, it is an indigenous medicine in United States, (not only the Red Indians). Charcoal tablets are common in American hospitals and clinics.

A few years back, 37 Military Hospital in Accra- Ghana was using charcoal tablets seriously; and of course, charcoal will save many lives in our health institutions if we revisit its use, than destroying patients livers and kidneys with chemicalized pain-killers. Before the white men reached Africa with their unnatural drugs, Ashantis, Igbos, Yorubas, Zulus and Wollofs already knew charcoal therapy. What then should I say before you start preparing your own charcoal? And above all, scientifically, what have I seen in charcoal that I am “forcing” you to use it?

Properties of Charcoal

Like a serpent was raised in the wilderness when the children of God were dying, those who heeded the advice that God gave through Moses lived without seeing death. So, today, millions of people are dying at their homes, in hospitals and everywhere, but God whose mercy remains firm, and His compassion reigns forever, still directs His loved-ones minds to that same “serpent” in the form of charcoal, lemon, garlic and herbs; those who will regard these things will surely live.

In chemistry, charcoal is simply carbon, or more properly as ultra-carbon. But almost every substance contains carbon. When the starches, protein, fats, resins and many enzymes and chemicals are burned out of wood, it leaves it as carbon. After all these substances and impurities are removed, it becomes carbon—pure vegetable matter. When examined under the microscope, it is seen to be extremely porous, with an appearance of a sponge, which has a cohesive force to absorb substance to make it rigid.

A micrograph of charcoal could give a clear indication to this. Carbon micrograph showing some holes that attract poison and toxins. Certain electrostatic properties may develop in activated charcoal during its preparation, which favour the binding and absorption of poisons.

Charcoal can absorb up to about 300-350 times its own weight of substances, it is absorptive in its action, rather than being like a sponge; which means, it works more or less like a magnet, attracting various substances and objects to it; and holding them tightly on its surface (adsorption). The mechanism and how this wonderful absorption is done and accomplished no one knows for sure—all we know is that the absorptive power of charcoal is capable of drawing and binding all toxins and poisons in the human body. That is the reason why when one is sick and dying, immediately the fellow starts taking charcoal, then life, starts reviving.

Reaction of Charcoal on the Skin, Stomach and the Blood (Micro Dialysis)

Micro dialysis of the body, the stomach and the blood by charcoal either drunk or poulticed could give a clear indication of how powerful charcoal reacts on toxins, poisons and foreign substances in the body. Since charcoal can effectively take up a wide variety of poisons and toxins when mixed together, we would understand and expect it would work very effectively in the stomach and the blood stream to take up poisons and toxins that make man sick when accumulated in the body.

When charcoal is drunk into the stomach, its porous, spongy structure will start absorbing, and even in the intestinal wall it will diffuse into the blood capillaries and get rid of toxins and poisons occupied in the blood stream.

Some may think, it is less evident, however, that charcoal could remove or extract toxins and poisons, especially drug toxins from the blood after it had taken much poisons in the gastrointestinal tract. But some experiments have shown that, activated charcoal, not only takes toxins and poisons in the stomach and the intestines, but can even attract and absorb poisons from the blood back into the gastrointestinal tract where charcoal takes them up and destroy them. This process of the wonder-work of charcoal is known in natural science as gastrointestinal dialysis. All these prove how great charcoal can be in cleansing of human body!

On the surface of the skin, after a poultice (charcoal made in the form of paste) is applied on the skin, it enters the tiny, tiny pores on the skin and get direct contact with the blood stream in the form of capillaries, these capillaries will carry charcoal with its absorptive elements to bind all poisons around the area and inactivates them. That is the reason why when one is suffering from pains, swellings, boils, carbuncles and all skin eruptions, immediately the person applies charcoal poultice, they disappear.

Dosage and How to Administer Charcoal

How to administer and the required dosages of charcoal is very important if the victim wants to observe a good response. Charcoal is not food but an absorptive medicine. It is a natural medicine—it has no side effects. However, it could be harmful if one does not apply or take it properly. Although we have not seen any problem with long-term use, as with all treatment, yet we recommend that they be taken only as needed in every condition, especially in acute cases.

It is not proper to take charcoal for a long time without giving a break; it is not food but medicine. Since it is an absorptive substance, it has ability to absorb some life-nutrients along with toxins and poisons from the body. That is to say, while charcoal is absorbing and throwing away “waste”, some valuable nutrients can also be extracted and be thrown away together with the waste. These are some of the reasons why it is not advisable to take charcoal internally for a long period without a break.

But if there is a persisted, serious long-term problem, one can take it continuously for some time to observe changes before skipping. Some critical conditions will require daily in-take of charcoal, there are certain cases, charcoal cannot be left out, some must die to save others. Even though it will absorb toxins together with some valuable nutrients, yet some must die in order to save many.

Occasionally, someone may feel like taking charcoal to cleanse the body. I often do this especially when I travel to unhygienic environments. You can chose one week in a month and drink charcoal, several doses with water into an empty stomach, and drink lots of water to absorb and wash and throw all “waste” from the body. After this is done the individual feels clean and healthy. This occasional “washing” of the body by charcoal is often considered as prophylaxis or problem-preventer.

Materials for Making Charcoal

I have advised in this way that, it is not good and safe to pick charcoal anyhow and use as medicine. Even though most charcoal we see can be used, it is always better and safer to know the type of wood or material you are using. And remember, there are few plants that are poisonous too.

In my country, Ghana, charcoal is one of the commonest items that one can easily get. It is the cheapest among almost all commodities. You will see a big truck loading charcoal in bags, it costs nothing—even one bucket of corn will cost more than a bag of charcoal. But activated charcoal in the health shops and clinics are somehow expensive because they are specially made and prepared medicines. Our clinical charcoal in box will cost more than half bag of cooking-charcoal. That means charcoal in our clinics are more valuable than any charcoal you can have ordinarily.

A great number of items can be used in making charcoal. Wood from various trees is the most common material for making charcoal. Some use bones, but I may prefer plant-wood charcoal to bones of animals. Most simple items like corncobs, coconut shells, and palm sachets are also used for making charcoal. Best woods may include bonnet, eucalyptus, oak, “wawa”, “Odum”, mahogany, sapele, acacia, and many others. It is not the matter of getting all these items and combining them to make charcoal: No, only one can be chosen to make charcoal.

But some plants or items can wonderfully work on specific treatments. For instance, traditionally, it was known among old Akan fathers that corn-cob-charcoal with cold water drunk at once will calm a troubled heart. All charcoal can do this, but it looks as if the old people tried the corncobs and it was excellent for them. Coconut shells too work wonderfully, but the best wood I have always preferred and loved to use is eucalyptus and common mango. On special preparations to treat serious cases, collective of different woods, combined could make a trick. Our activated, clinical charcoals are mostly from combined woods (You can order for it by filling out contact form).

Burning of charcoal

Locally one can prepare a small quantity of charcoal so easily for home use. You need only small for your family, so you can do this by simply burning the wood and quenching the fire with water to get the charcoal. Do not allow it to burn into ash. You can dry before grinding into powder. You may need a knife to scrape the charcoal on woods that are not well burnt.

For commercial purposes, the ultimate in making your charcoal is very simple. You can burn the wood out door; when the wood is burning brightly, it should be covered with a large piece of tin with dirt or clay piles over the outside of the tin to retain air. This burns at the same time quenching the fire without turning into ashes. The soft parts of wood are burned out first and the hard parts remain—making a good grade of charcoal.

How to Use Charcoal

For Drink: Mix about one teaspoon of charcoal powder with ½ glasses of water and drink. The dose will also depend on what you are treating; for example, one heaped teaspoon of charcoal with little water say 1/3 glass stops diarrhoea, dy.

For Poultice: Mix pulverized or powdered charcoal with lime or lemon juice or ordinary water to make a paste or dough (poultice) and apply on swellings, pains, boils and others.

Slurry: In this way, charcoal powder is soaked in water for some days. Immediately you mix (soak) with water shake or stir it, then let it steep and allow all the charcoal to settle at base of the container leaving the water suspended on top. Collect the water on top without stirring or shaking the container, sift or filter it nicely with non-porous material and keep it for use.

It treats cancer, hypertension, heart problem, diabetes and others, but it is used with others herbs. It can also be used as drinking water for some time when treating various diseases. It is very good for ladies with whites (leucorrhoea).

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