This activated charcoal smoothie is packed with superfoods to heal the gut, reduce inflammation, and bind endotoxins, including lipopolysaccharide. The charcoal detox smoothie contains six ingredients: activated charcoal, papaya, collagen powder, aloe vera, almond milk, and banana.
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If you want to beat the bloat, reduce inflammation and heal your gut, this activated charcoal smoothie with gut-healing papaya is for you!
I wanted to make a smoothie with activated charcoal to help people with SIBO bind the gut-derived LPS endotoxin that causes inflammation. Many people with SIBO experience die of reactions when taking antimicrobials for SIBO due to the release of endotoxins from dying bacteria.
Drinking this activated charcoal smoothie after taking antimicrobials can help detox the body and prevent die-off reactions as activated charcoal is a fantastic binder that helps carry toxins out of the body, including LPS, a very inflammatory toxin produced by gram-negative bacteria.
Most people with SIBO or gut issues have a leaky gut and excess inflammation due to too many endotoxins produced by an overgrowth of gram-negative bacteria in the small intestine. For this reason, I wanted to make an activated charcoal detox smoothie with ingredients to reduce inflammation and heal the gut.
I used papaya in this smoothie for IBS as it is a low fodmap fruit with exceptional gut-healing properties. You can swap papaya for any other low fodmap fruit such as pineapple or blueberries.
Benefits of this charcoal detox smoothie for gut health
Activated charcoal is the star ingredient in this charcoal detox smoothie. It is an excellent binder that adheres to many different toxins to prevent the reabsorption of toxic substances into the bloodstream from the gut.
Opening up phase 3 liver detoxification is the first crucial step to supporting liver detox. Still, it is also essential to use a binder such as activated charcoal to bind the toxins in the gut.
Phase 3 liver detox involves promoting bile flow which is how toxins get out of your liver. Optimizing bile flow is one of the first steps to healing SIBO due to the antimicrobial properties of bile to prevent SIBO.
People can experience die-off reactions when optimizing gallbladder function and bile flow, dying bacteria releasing the inflammatory LPS endotoxin. Activated charcoal is one of the best binders of LPS; thus, it can be taken an hour after antimicrobials or supplements that support a sluggish gallbladder.
Collagen contains easy-to-digest and absorb amino acids and helps to heal leaky gut. The amino acids in collagen help rebuild the intestinal lining, especially the amino acids glycine and proline, which are essential for rebuilding the intestinal lining tissue.
Aloe vera juice is cooling, soothing and great for calming down inflammation along the intestinal tract.
Papaya is a wonderful gut-healing fruit that has anti-inflammatory properties to help reduce inflammation.
Tips for making the activated charcoal smoothie
It is super easy to make this charcoal detox smoothie with papaya, banana, collagen, aloe, and almond milk. Peel and discard the seeds of half of the fresh ripe papaya, then chop them into chunks before placing them in a blender.
Place all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.
Add a couple of ice cubes to make a chilled smoothie if desired.
I chose to make this detox charcoal smoothie with papaya due to its gut-healing properties, but if papaya is out of season or hard to come by, go ahead and use any other fresh or frozen fruit you desire. Papaya is a low fodmap fruit that is a great choice for anyone on the SIBO diet. Anyone doing a strict low fodmap diet or the SIBO diet will have to watch the portion size of this smoothie, but if not, go ahead and enjoy the entire smoothie!
Activated charcoal has powerful absorbent properties, so I only used ½ a tsp of activated charcoal powder, but you can use a tsp to make a more potent detox smoothie. I recommend starting low and increasing as needed with any new supplement, including activated charcoal.
Both activated charcoal and papaya are great for helping to reduce bloating, which is a common symptom of SIBO that many people experience. Enjoy this activated charcoal smoothie recipe in the morning to help detox the body, bind endotoxins, and beat the bloat!
Activated Charcoal Smoothie for Gut Health
Equipment
- 1 High speed blender
- 1 chopping board and knife
Ingredients
- 1½ cups fresh papaya
- ½ cup banana
- 1 tbsp collagen powder
- 1 tbsp aloe vera
- ½ tsp activated charcoal
- ½ cup almond milk
Instructions
- Cut a papaya in half and use a spoon to scoop out and discard the seeds. Scoop out 1 and a half cups of fresh papaya into a blender.
- Measure all ingredients into the blender with the fresh papaya and blend until smooth.
You may also like this papaya smoothie for weight loss and can add activated charcoal to make another variation of a charcoal detox smoothie!
For more information on the benefits on uses of activated charcoal for SIBO and binding LPS, I highly recommend checking out this SIBO and detoxification podcast with Dr Chris Shade. It is one of my top rated podcast episode on the root cause of SIBO and the use of activated charcoal for LPS.
Also, be sure to sign up for my gut health guide and gain access to my FREE resource library with recipe E-books for SIBO and IBS.
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