Are bamboo charcoal foods really that amazing? Experts say it's a concept hyped by bamboo charcoal food merchants, and consumers should not be misled by their "detoxification and beauty" functions.
Bamboo charcoal can absorb harmful substances in the human body, purify toxins in the blood, and also help with human digestion and excretion, cleansing the intestines, and providing detoxification and beauty benefits. Based on this concept, a large number of "bamboo charcoal foods" have entered the market, such as bamboo charcoal peanuts, bamboo charcoal bread, bamboo charcoal cakes, bamboo charcoal mooncakes, and so on.
Are bamboo charcoal foods really that amazing? Experts say it's a concept hyped by bamboo charcoal food merchants, and consumers should not be misled by their "detoxification and beauty" functions.
Truth 1: Bamboo charcoal is adsorbent ≠ Bamboo charcoal can absorb toxins
Bamboo charcoal itself has an adsorbent effect and can be placed in a room or refrigerator as a dehumidifier, deodorizer, etc., and can also be used as fuel, just like charcoal.
In daily life, bamboo charcoal is more often used in products such as clothing and cool mats. Using bamboo charcoal to purify water, air, and deodorize utilizes its physical functions.
However, the adsorption properties of bamboo charcoal are not the same as the principle of absorbing toxins in the human body. Moreover, neither domestically nor internationally, there is currently any approval for the use of bamboo charcoal in food. Therefore, the so-called function of bamboo charcoal foods to absorb toxins in the body is not credible.
Truth 2: Under normal circumstances, there is no need to deliberately detoxify
The human body can generally expel toxins on its own. Normally, the food ingested by the body travels from the mouth to the digestive tract, then from the stomach to the small and large intestines, which are the main sites for digestion and absorption. Nutrients, etc., are digested and absorbed in the small intestine.
Under normal circumstances, the flora in the human large intestine is also in a balanced state. Except in special cases where too much meat and too little dietary fiber are consumed, it does not accumulate many toxins. Therefore, there is no need for deliberate "detoxification".
As for the toxic substances produced by human metabolism, after being detoxified by the liver, they are generally excreted from the body through sweat or by the kidneys in urine, which has nothing to do with directly eating bamboo charcoal.
Truth 3: Bamboo charcoal foods cannot come into contact with toxins in the body
Whether it's activated charcoal or bamboo charcoal, neither can be absorbed by the human body, cannot reach the blood, let alone the body's tissues.
Assuming that "harmful substances" really exist in our bodies, they are produced during cellular metabolism. These "toxins" travel from cells into the blood, then to the kidneys, where they are either filtered out by the kidneys and excreted in urine, or recirculate with the blood.
In other words, "toxins" never get a chance to return to the digestive tract, and activated charcoal must be in direct contact with the substance it adsorbs to work. Therefore, for "harmful substances in the body" or "blood toxins," activated charcoal can only be a bystander in the digestive tract. Bamboo charcoal passes through the intestines, but the "toxins" remain in the body.
Truth 4: Bamboo charcoal foods do not have a legal status
In fact, bamboo charcoal is not allowed to be used as a food ingredient in China. Only a substance called "vegetable carbon black" is listed as a food additive, but the premise is that it must be a vegetable carbon black that has obtained a food additive production license to be added.
However, the role of vegetable carbon black is for coloring and adjusting texture. Both as a food ingredient and a food additive, the state clearly stipulates that it is not allowed to promote medical or health-care functions.
In addition, some experts have pointed out that bamboo charcoal produced at high temperatures contains some carcinogens. Moreover, neither activated charcoal nor bamboo charcoal can be absorbed by the human body and is difficult to excrete, which can cause constipation and may even be inhaled into the lungs, causing pneumoconiosis.
Truth 5: Bamboo charcoal foods have no health-care functions
For a certain food to claim a specific health-care function, it must be approved by the relevant national departments. In the current scope of functional approvals for health foods, there are no standards related to bamboo charcoal foods absorbing toxins in the body. Moreover, even as a health food, it should be a specific product, not a category of food.
If a certain product contains bamboo charcoal, it may be part of the product's formula, not the raw material. Bamboo charcoal does have a certain adsorption capacity, but this does not mean that after entering the human body, it can definitely absorb toxins and excrete them. Bamboo charcoal foods are an exaggeration by merchants. Even if bamboo charcoal has this function, it has not yet been proven by scientific experiments.
Truth 6: Bamboo charcoal is not a substance that can be added to food
So-called bamboo charcoal foods are foods that have a certain amount of edible bamboo charcoal powder added to them. A substance is added to food mainly through three channels: food raw materials, food additives, and food processing aids. Taking bamboo charcoal peanuts as an example, peanuts are the food raw material.
Currently, in China's "Food Additive Use Standard" catalog, bamboo charcoal is not listed as a food additive. Therefore, bamboo charcoal cannot enter food as a food additive.
In addition, so-called food processing aids are substances needed in the food processing process, that is, substances used during food processing, but such substances cannot be included in the final product. Therefore, from the perspective of any ingredient, bamboo charcoal is not suitable for food.
Expert Advice
Avoid purchasing bamboo charcoal foods as much as possible
The concept of bamboo charcoal foods is more of a promotional method by merchants. For ordinary consumers, for a food that has not yet been approved by the state and whose functions are questionable, it is best not to choose it.
Experts remind that if consumers have already eaten bamboo charcoal foods, there is no need to panic. Because the function of bamboo charcoal absorbing toxins in the human body is not yet conclusive, it will not cause great harm after entering the body.
Concept Clarification
Bamboo Charcoal vs. Activated Charcoal
Medical activated charcoal can adsorb toxic substances
Activated charcoal also has strong adsorption properties. Activated charcoal is produced through a special process, which is different from the production process of bamboo charcoal, so it has stronger adsorption properties. The surface area per gram of activated charcoal is several to ten times that of bamboo charcoal.
In medicine, activated charcoal is used to adsorb toxic substances that enter the gastrointestinal tract orally, in order to adsorb them before they are absorbed so they can be excreted from the body. The dosage is generally several tens of grams, and it is used directly, unlike the so-called bamboo charcoal foods of today, which are used in small amounts and are fully mixed with food raw materials first. Whether it still has adsorption properties remains to be verified.