This remedy was one of a few natural medicinals, such as sulfur, doctors have long used for a variety of conditions. It's not simply charcoal, per se, created by burning wood down to char and produced in the absence of oxygen. To produce activated carbon, aka activated charcoal, it's treated with oxygen. According to Difference Between:
"When charcoal is activated, it is processed in a way to increase the porosity. Because of this, activated carbon will have a large surface area, which can adsorb substances effectively.
This primarily increases its effectiveness as a filter. Therefore, activated carbon is mainly used in water filters, in chemical purification process[ing] and in medicine. As we use them, the impurities tend to accumulate in the carbon surfaces. So the disadvantage of using this is that they become less effective as we use them."1A fine black powder created by mixing bone char, peat, petroleum coke, coal, olive pits, sawdust or coconut shells, activated charcoal is "activated" when it's processed at extremely high temperatures, which changes its internal structure, reduces its pore size and expands its surface area.2 It's not absorbed by your body, so it's free to carry surface-bound toxins from your body and dispose of them through bowel movements. Authority Nutrition explains:
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