The charcoal food trend may be Instagram-worthy and keep you on everybody’s popularity list, but as it turns out, it’s not healthy for you to eat!
Everything from charcoal infused snacks, drinks, and other treats have taken the world by storm. It doesn’t matter if it’s pancakes or ice cream, it’s becoming continually more popular and addicting due to the fact it has detoxifying powers.
New studies from throughout the U.S. have revealed that there are many side effects that come with consuming the trendy-colored foods. Eating them repeatedly can affect your medication, especially your birth control.
Basically, our body detoxifies well enough on its own so these additional supplements that are found within the activated charcoal affect the bodies natural abilities to do so. It’s like when taking other additives in hopes to detox our bodies, it throws our whole balance off and health complications can arise. That includes defecting our medications, particularly if you eat them close to the time you took your medication.
Dr. Rosini Raj told Inside Edition, “If you’re repeatedly doing this, it can build up and it can also interact with medications you’re taking, so if you take it around the same time you take prescription medicine, that medicine may not be absorbed by your body so it may not be as effective.”
As a result of this news, the entire state of New York has put a ban on “goth” foods.
The Department of Health released a statement that restaurants and cafes aren’t allowed to serve food with activated charcoal in it because it’s “prohibited by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an additive or food coloring agent.” That came after the studies proved it had long-lasting effects from continual consumption.
Because of this alarming news, many places in the food industry outside of the state have banned from selling charcoal activated foods as well.
Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream in New York, aka the birthplace of charcoal ice cream’s popularity, had to dump $3,000 worth of the ice cream once the city’s health department announced it was cracking down on the food and busted them during an annual health inspection. They had been serving this product since 2015 and passed multiple health inspections since, until June.
No other states or cities have experienced the ban as of yet, but it wouldn’t be surprising if it comes soon. The fact that the side effect is only coming out now is truly alarming! And that’s entirely why the ban was put in place, to protect our health.
Doctors are saying you can have the occasional treat, but to keep it to a bare minimum. (So you are safe to do it for the gram every once in a while). So feel free to indulge in black pizza’s, coffee shops, and juice bars while you can before laws become stricter in those places too.
Featured image via Toa Heftiba on Unsplash
