In 1831, Pharmacist P.F. Touery, shocked colleagues at The French Academy of Medicine by drinking a huge dose of lethal strychnine in front of them. Miraculously, he survived. He had ingested arsenic and strychnine then chased it with activated charcoal.
In fact, activated charcoal has been used for centuries to reduce oxidative stress; lower cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood, brain, heart and liver; and prevent and stop chronic kidney disease.