chennai its a drink as black as night an ice cream just as dark and cold activated charcoal is making a slow but dramatic entry to menus of city restaurants and while allopathic nutritionists are a little sceptical herbalists swear by itthough activated charcoal the byproduct of burning plantbased material such as coconut shells bamboo corn or rice is one of the latest detox ingredients creating a buzz world over added to everything from lemonade to burgers and sushi it has for long been used in india to purify water as well as in homeopathic cures for poisonings intestinal gas and acidityhaving made its presence felt in around india the bulls eye black appams at the ritz carltonbengaluru being one of them it is no being introduced by chennais chefs in their menusthe first to hit the road is glomo a detox drink of activated charcoal tender coconut water and ginger launched last month by food subscription startup caboutu though it looks a little unappetising almost like diluted black paint it tastes like tender coconut water though activated charcoal is powerpacked with health benefits it is odourless and tasteless says soumya ganesh cofounder caboutu we use bamboo to make the charcoalchef and food consultant koushik shankar aka the mad chef has perfected an activated charcoal ice cream which he will launch at his new cafe sitcom set to open in june on east coast road it was my dentist who made me take note of the fact that it is an ingredient that has been used for centuries for brushing teeth in the country says shankar adding that only minute quantities of charcoal are used to get the colourformer tamil nadu agriculture university dean professor dr k k krishnamurthi refers to activated charcoal as nutritions oldest nano particle in homeopathy we have a remedy called carbo vegetables vegetable charcoal which if ingested in regulated quantities can aid digestion and prevent acidity activation of the charcoal increases its adsorptive properties says krishnamurthi a homeopathanother homeopath k sri sridhar says plant ash has been used in household cooking for years in the old days people would cook vegetables in iron vessels to the point of charring it was considered healthy he saysthe allopaths are still on the fence regarding the ebony elixir i have had several clients ask me about ingesting activated charcoal but i have not found any clearcut health benefits in medical terms so i havent recommended it im sceptical about its use in food says nutritionist shiny chandranbut at the restaurants the carbon clique seems to be growing at itc grand cholas newly opened avartana coconut charcoal infused appams buns and macaroons are making a splash with senior executive chef ajit bangera considering stringing idiappams along this line as well using plantbased charcoal in food is a doubleedged sword a pinch is detoxifying but too much of it and the charcoal is likely to remove nutrients from the body along with the