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tapering of activated charcoal
I just thought I'd check in with others who regularly take activated charcoal. I notice twice when stopping the charcoal (at least I am making this connection right now) that I have a headache the next day, quite a bad one (it could also be from sleeping more relaxed and be my neck causing the headache). Does anyone taper off their charcoal? Is that a thing? It seems to me to be a good idea bc maybe more toxins are circulating around/being stirred up when taking it and then stopping suddenly those excess toxins need to settle down first?
*edited to add that I took some charcoal this morning and my headache is now gone.
@audrey I did take activated charcoal for heartburn. It seemed to happen with strong detox. Therefore, alleviating your symptom of strong detox results in a headache which seems consistent with my experience. If you have been doing the eggs for a while now and feel much better then I would suggest a small increase in cruciferous vegetables for helping gut microbiome, bile flow and reducing toxins. At 9 months I did this and it eventually got rid of occasional heartburn (headaches in your case). I increased to 35-40 grams a day but you might not be choline replenished yet so a bit lower maybe.
Here are some testimonials from other forum members.
AC improves mood and behaviour:
My adult son has been vitamin A free for about 1.5 years, but during that time he was taking SSRI antidepressants and ADHD medication so he didn't want to take activated charcoal. During the 1.5 years on the zeroA diet he has improved a little bit, but not that much. He stopped taking the medications the end of Summer this year (and went through some nasty withdrawals) and also moved out on his own about the same time. He was just home with me for 2 weeks and I had him take 2 charcoal capsules with breakfast and lunch each day. We started noticing changes after one week on the charcoal! And he did too! After 2 weeks the changes in him are amazing! He is talking, laughing, communicating, doing projects, cooking, taking the initiative and taking part in life! He just left to back to his own place, but he sees the improvement and is going to keep taking the charcoal capsules!
I've been taking activated charcoal the whole time I've been on the zeroA diet and I have steadily improved (with no detox setbacks), but I didn't really have any evidence that it was important, until now! Truly amazing!
https://ggenereux.blog/discussion/topic/activated-charcoal-really-works/#postid-6566
AC relieves headaches:
I found that I needed to take the AC about 4 times a day to help keep the headaches at bay but now I don't need nearly as much. I wasn't aware that AC only soaked up the fat soluable vitamins so that is good to know. I feel soooooooo much better than the last 16 months and feel dumb for not trying more sooner but just very thankful for your post. I was in so much pain and that just added to the depression that A toxicity causes on its very own. I am expanding my diet now too and not feeling bad because of it! It seems like the antidote, at least for me. When I got lots of sun this summer and fall, I only felt worse and never got better so it seems like vitamin D might stir things up but not be an antidote. I have tried various B supplements and didn't get relief - I tried various amounts too. I eat lots of beef and beans which have lots of the Bs and always have on this diet and before so I'm not sure if my diet is deficient or not (one thing I have not eaten for the last 30 years and will never eat again is pork, I know in my heart and mind that is bad to consume). Maybe I didn't the give the supplements enough chance though and will reintroduce them in order to open up the detox pathways and not rely on AC or enemas. But even if I have to rely on AC long term I am not worried about any ill effects others report might happen.
https://ggenereux.blog/discussion/topic/activated-charcoal-really-works/?part=2#postid-6725
AC removes mercury and prevents detox-setbacks:
I was also quite toxic from many mercury amalgam fillings. I had them all removed in 2021. I was extremely sensitive to magnetic fields and electromagnetic radiation prior to having them removed. It took several months to notice a big change in my health. I have taken activated charcoal every morning with breakfast since I started low A in 2018. The activated charcoal will bind the mercury from your liver that gets spits out with bile each time you eat anything with fat in it. I think when you get rid of the mercury stored in your liver, the body shuffles it out of other places back to the liver, where you can continue getting rid of it with activated charcoal.
I had read that it takes years or even decades to get rid of mercury stored in your brain. But I think the activated charcoal really speeds up the process! I also haven't had any detox setbacks while taking activated charcoal!
I hope that doesn't sound pushy. You are entitled to make your own decision.
Hi @christian, taking AC really makes a difference for me too, though I usually take it once a day, also on an empty stomach... like with all things though I sometimes like to stop it just to see how I feel without it, and I suspect this is why I sometimes get a headache. I will start taking it again.
Hi @audrey, I understand where you're coming from. For me, it actually kind of scares me every time I start skipping a supplement, it always seems less scary to try something new. Psychologically interesting.
Quote from Hermes on June 15, 2023, 1:22 pmHi @audrey, I understand where you're coming from. For me, it actually kind of scares me every time I start skipping a supplement, it always seems less scary to try something new. Psychologically interesting.
Psychologically interesting indeed, maybe I can understand.
I can open up a little bit so you can understand, hopefully. For me, taking a supplement is like getting support, I see them as my little helpers. Of course, not all helpers are really helpful, so there has to be some discernment. But I'm really easy to trust, and I say to myself, this is going to help. So almost all supplements are welcomed with open arms. Skipping supplements means not having that support. Can I trust my body to function well without them? Will I be able to sleep? On a deeper, much deeper level, I've never really received any encouragement to go my own way. Maybe I'm stretching it, maybe it's related to the kind of parental support you received. And food has been a safe way to modulate emotions, so that supplements could do this in a condensed form is obvious. I hope this is not too convoluted. Anyway, thanks for reading and for gently prompting me to express myself, at least that is how I read your comment above.
Thank you for sharing @christian, I find your story fascinating. It reminds me a little of how I use to take ginger every day to help my digestion. There was a point where I was afraid to stop taking it, bc it really helped with nausea, and I felt I needed that daily support, just in case, as a precaution. One day I did manage to stop the ginger but I think it may have depleted my stomach acid in the end.
Edited to add that these days I am quite afraid and putting the breaks on constantly with a lot of things, which has really disturbed my intuitive ways of eating and living. I've reacted badly to supps and certain foods the last couple of years, I have a cupboard full of unopened supps lol... in a way I feel better having them in the cupboard, unopened. Just the support of knowing they are there, but I also do not dare to take any of them, in case 'things end badly' or trigger stronger detox.