From what I understand it is used when you have amalgam removed. You take it just before and after the appointment. It goes down into the gut and soaks up any stray bits of mercury that get in the intestines, then goes out in the BM. It soaks up everything in there, food, supplements…the lot, so its not a long term thing to take. “Activated charcoal” is the most absorbent stuff. That’s what I know about charcoal, I’m sure there is more.