Cascara Sagrada And Activated Charcoal - When To Use Which / How To Combine?

[FredSonoma]

If my understanding is right, Cascara is for constipation and Charcoal is for diarrhea? I don't really have either - but I do have major bloating and am sooo sensitive to the smallest fk-up causing a "serotonin reaction." Which one seems like it'd be better?

I just want to fix this fking bloating... which would make make me think the cascara will help to get crap out (but my bowels are already kinda loose), but the charcoal would help kill bacteria. Should I take both? I just ordered cascara and got a bottle with silica in it... didn't realize it had that... should I bother to get another brand or taking silica a couple times shouldn't be too bad?

 

[answersfound]

Charcoal is not "for diarrhea" but it can cause constipation which is why it is often taken with cascara. I would not take anything with Silica, but it's up to you.

 

[tara]

Charcoal for soaking up whatever organi compounds are in its path, constipating for some people.
You could try the charcoal, and if you get constipated, use the cascara sagrada you have to move things on. Then if you like the effects of the cascara, and want to use it more regularly, maybe worth getting some without the silica?

Unless you have strong reasons, I wouldn't take the charcoal more than every 3 days to a week - it may soak up too much of your vitamins and minerals.

 

[Makrosky]

Charcoal for soaking up whatever organi compounds are in its path, constipating for some people.
You could try the charcoal, and if you get constipated, use the cascara sagrada you have to move things on. Then if you like the effects of the cascara, and want to use it more regularly, maybe worth getting some without the silica?

Unless you have strong reasons, I wouldn't take the charcoal more than every 3 days to a week - it may soak up too much of your vitamins and minerals.

Where does it take the minerals from? The food? Then if you take charcoal+cascara before bed and you evacuate in the morning or before lunch you almost didn't waste any minerals. Right?

 

[tara]

post 108011

Charcoal for soaking up whatever organi compounds are in its path, constipating for some people.
You could try the charcoal, and if you get constipated, use the cascara sagrada you have to move things on. Then if you like the effects of the cascara, and want to use it more regularly, maybe worth getting some without the silica?

Unless you have strong reasons, I wouldn't take the charcoal more than every 3 days to a week - it may soak up too much of your vitamins and minerals.

Where does it take the minerals from? The food? Then if you take charcoal+cascara before bed and you evacuate in the morning or before lunch you almost didn't waste any minerals. Right?

I think it attaches to food as well as supplements.
If you don't eat much or take important supplements or medicine in the 2-3 hours before sleep, that would probably be a good plan.
When I've had charcoal, it's showed up 8-12 hrs later, and kept coming for a day or two.

 

[Makrosky]

post 108015

post 108011

Charcoal for soaking up whatever organi compounds are in its path, constipating for some people.
You could try the charcoal, and if you get constipated, use the cascara sagrada you have to move things on. Then if you like the effects of the cascara, and want to use it more regularly, maybe worth getting some without the silica?

Unless you have strong reasons, I wouldn't take the charcoal more than every 3 days to a week - it may soak up too much of your vitamins and minerals.

Where does it take the minerals from? The food? Then if you take charcoal+cascara before bed and you evacuate in the morning or before lunch you almost didn't waste any minerals. Right?

I think it attaches to food as well as supplements.
If you don't eat much or take important supplements or medicine in the 2-3 hours before sleep, that would probably be a good plan.
When I've had charcoal, it's showed up 8-12 hrs later, and kept coming for a day or two.

Then I assume everything taken after the charcoal will be behind it in the bowels so they won't be in the same place at the same time. I don't know if I explained it well, to put it in another way : If you take the charcoal before bed and then have breakfast the morning after, there will always be a physical distance in the bowel of 8 hours between the two, so it will never interfere with breakfast absorption. If the charcoal takes 2 day to get out, then the breakfast will take 2 days + 8 hours. Am I seeing this correctly ?? Or it doesn't work this way ???

 

[tara]

My assumption, on the basis of black stooll colour for a day or two, is that the passage of things through the gut is not so cleanly time-separatedseparated. Likely there is charcoal hanging around all along the tube for a day or two after I'd swallowed it, so the some of the previous and next day's nutrition may be lost to it. That might be OK once or twice a week, but not so good every day. Probably, like many things, the balance of pros and cons depends on individual context - whether your problems stem more from nutritional deficiencies or from removable excesses.

 

[Amazoniac]

As Travisord would say: "you would expect that" given the properties of charcoal, it could form clusters in the intestines and worsen constipation. And although rare, there are indeed a few reports of obstruction.
http://www.annemergmed.com/article/S0196-0644(03)00604-8/pdf
This is how I interpret: if you didn't react well, don't insist.

 

[Waynish]

My understanding is that anything combined with activated charcoal has reduced action. Any exceptions?

 

[RobertJM]

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