It isn't just China or developing nations that struggle to maintain air quality; on the wrong day, with the wrong weather conditions, dank air can settle upon even the most advanced cities on Earth. Almost unbelievably, what you see here is a picture taken from the end of London Bridge in March 2012.
A perfect storm of negatives happened to create this haze; dirty, polluted air was blown in from the north by a strong wind, heavy traffic jams meant traffic pollution peaked and mingled with the dirty air, and then a sudden drop in the wind that had meshed the two together left it hanging and stagnant over England's capital city. For most of the world, this is how the air is the majority of the time; the WHO estimated that 92% of the world population is continually breathing in dirty air, and that it caused three million deaths globally in the year this picture was taken.
Over the years, weve seen so many food trends come and go, such as ramen burgers, matcha, and spiked ice-cream. Nowadays, were seeing another trend making waves in the food industry. How many times today have you seen an Instagram photo of a scoop of black ice cream, or a cup of black yogurt, or hamburgers with black buns? Indeed, the charcoal trend has taken the world by storm.
So, what gives your latte that deep black shade? Activated charcoal, or coconut ash, is produced by heating coconut shells to insanely high temperatures until theyre burnt to a crisp. The ashes are then increased in size by steaming at high temperatures. Through this process, the ashes become a strong detoxifier, mostly because they become extra absorbent. This product may be purchased in pill form, and promises to alleviate hangovers, minimize the effects of food poisoning, and fight the visible signs of aging.
Activated charcoal is said to boost ones energy as a result of decreasing toxins in the body. However, no evidence proves that detoxifying can lead to increased energy. Also, while it can help cure a hangover, it doesnt necessarily remove alcohol from your blood. It is also said to aid in debloating your stomach because it cleanses your colon but again, this all anecdotal and isnt supported by scientific evidence as of yet. All we can say for sure is that it is a proven detoxifier.