Charcoal Food And Drink Could Be Making Your Contraception Less Effective

Don’t overdo it, you guys.

Charcoal Food And Drink Could Be Making Your Contraception Less Effective

by Tara Lepore |
Published on

Activated charcoal. It’s the food trend of 2017, as millennials stop buying avocados in bulk and add the black stuff to their Amazon basket and restaurant order instead.

From lattes to ice cream, pizza to lemonade, this wonder ingredient has soared in popularity for its detoxifying power and ability to help ease digestion. It’s even being used as a face mask and teeth whitener, and, being an ingredient that’s all over Instagram - it’s definitely having a moment.

But experts are now suggesting that due to the absorbency of the black stuff, your charcoal-based pizza could be decreasing the efficiency of your birth control pill. Ackk.

Here’s why: activated charcoal is used in hospital by doctors to counteract lethal drug overdoses, as it absorbs excess toxins from your body. Although the goth-worthy hue looks as if it could hold magical powers, it can’t determine what’s toxic and what isn’t (obviously - that would be one impressive scoop of ice cream).

So if you’re drinking/eating the ingredient alongside taking medication, there’s a chance it could affect the med’s effectiveness. Which, yes, includes the preg-preventing hormones in oral contraception such as the Pill.

Gastroenterologist Patricia Raymond told Women’s Health: 'Activated charcoal is given to people who take too much medication because charcoal is so absorbent and can counteract an overdose.

'But if you’re drinking it and you also are on any meds, even birth control pills, the charcoal is likely to absorb the drugs. So you risk having them become ineffective.'

Because of this, most companies selling charcoal as a supplement recommend you wait at least two hours after consuming activated charcoal ingredients before taking your Pill or other prescription drugs. It’s nothing to worry about massively, but as you can’t tell how long it’ll take for your body to process the charcoal, it’s good to be on the safe side.

At the moment, though, this seems like a food trend with some staying power. As long as you don’t have it for lunch every day, it can be totally safe to eat (bringing in alllllllll the likes on Insta). Just sayin’.

via GIPHY

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Follow Tara on Twitter @taralepore

This article originally appeared on The Debrief.

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