Greetings! Story-time Sunday for you on the blog this evening. Let’s get right to it, shall we? A couple weeks ago I got a severe ache-y feeling under my left boob area and stomach overall. A common immediate reaction would be thinking that it’s related to my appendix. But, let me stop ya right there- nope! I actually already had that little nugget of a demon removed after sophomore year spring break in college (I blame the beer bong and beach gin buckets but we’ll never know…) So, that couldn’t be the culprit.
Being into functional medicine now at this point in my life, whenever a symptom occurs, I always immediately wonder what the root cause is of said symptom. Why is my body feeling this? What caused this reaction? What system or organ or whatever is being affected this way? Is it me rushing from meeting to meeting at work and downing a green juice too fast? Is it from a quinoa overload being ravenous post hot yoga the night before? I. NEED. ALL. THE. ANSWERS.
Enter… Dr. Dani! Garrett (the hubz) likes to joke about this question provoking nature that arises anytime I feel even slightly ill… but seriously- I like to educate myself as much as possible about this stuff because me and only me knows my body’s life history. Every sinus issue, cold, ache, pain, rash, and broken bone. I try to be my own doctor as much as I can before involving other people in white coats and attempting to sum up 26 years of history in a 5 minute office visit with a conventional doc.
Ok back to my stomach ache saga- let me set the stage a bit for ya…
So there I am, rubbing Doterra DigestZen essential oils all over myself, and hour by hour this pain gets worse and worse. Rather than reaching for the additive laden Tums or Pepto at a nearby drugstore, I haul my a$$ to a trusty local Whole Foods. As I’m unbuttoning my high waisted too tight Topshop jeans, I dart straight to the main medicine aisle in the Venice Whole Foods. The first guy I can find in a signature sexy forest green WF apron quickly recommends activated charcoal pills (find them in my Amazon shop here) and a shot of a probiotic to top them off. {Side note: The employees assigned to the medicine aisle in Whole Foods are actually super knowledgeable and I highly recommend you take advantage next time you pop in your own store!}
So, I grab the goods and I’m like “Easy peasy!” I down the two together like a tequila shot and lime wedge chaser at 21 years old, then make my way back to slothing on my bed. I sit back and contemplate if I should start looking up my insurance coverage for those wacky 24 hour emergency clinics when…sure enough, the magic little black charcoal pills + probiotic work like a James Avery 90’s style CHARM bracelet and I’m fine within the hour. BLESSSSS. And no side effects (if ya know what I mean.) The pain just simply, subsided.
Moral of the story: activated charcoal is my new miracle baby and I want to share all it’s other amazing benefits with you peeps! What is this gem you ask? Well, as one of my #1 go-tos for natural medicine, Dr. Josh Axe, describes it as
“a potent natural treatment used to trap toxins and chemicals in the body, allowing them to be flushed out so the body doesn’t re absorb them.”
Simple enough right? See below for a few recent uses I’ve tested that you can implement into your own daily lives:
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Relieves Indigestion <<obvi>>: Add this to your medicine cabinet, kk? I used the Country Life brand from Whole Foods pictured in this post. Now listen to Dr. Dani- take 2 capsules when pain occurs. If you want to try it with the probiotic shot, I had taken with a Bio K Plus fermented rice milk single dose (WF has in stock).
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Whitens Teeth:You could break the capsules open to get the powder or buy separately. I have some powder mixed with Cinnamon from the Waco, TX Farmer’s Market (thanks, Mom!) I’ve also see the brand Redmond Peppermint Charcoal Earth Powder. For the last week or so I’ve been sprinkling a little on my toothbrush after brushing my teeth and scrubbing around for about 3 minutes before rinsing! Apparently it works by absorbing plaque. Love it.
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Helps Prevent Hangovers (Hollaaaa): I won’t get into all the science behind it but again it goes back to how it removes toxins from the body! All about that Detox to Retox. I’ve even had it at local juice stores in water or smoothies as a fun way to get into your system!
There are SoOoO many more use cases and research behind this natural fella but I decided to stick with the basics tonight! Ok, I wanna know. Have you tried activated charcoal? Where have you seen it around your town?
Until next time.
XOXO,
Dani
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