Health Benefits of Chlorella

[Extracted from healingdaily.com]

Chlorella is a powerful detoxification aid for heavy metals and other pesticides. Numerous research projects in the U.S. and Europe indicate that chlorella can also aid the body in breaking down persistent hydrocarbon and metallic toxins such as mercury, cadmium and lead, DDT and PCB while strengthening the immune system response. In Japan, interest in chlorella has focused largely on its detoxifying properties - its ability to remove or neutralize poisonous substances from the body.

This detoxification of heavy metals and other chemical toxins in the blood will take 3 to 6 months to build up enough to begin this process depending on how much chlorella a person is taking. Chlorella is a food. As such, it is almost impossible to take too much chlorella. It is also this fibrous material which greatly augments healthy digestion and overall digestive track health.

How Does Chlorella Detoxify Your Body ?

Chlorella is comprised of a fibrous, indigestible outer shell (20%) and its inner nutrients (80%). It is the fibrous material which has been proven to actually bind with the heavy metals and pesticides - such as PCBs - which can accumulate in our bodies.

A clean bloodstream, with an abundance of red blood cells to carry oxygen, is necessary to a strong natural defense system. Chlorella's cleansing action on the bowel and other elimination channels, as well as its protection of the liver, helps keep the blood clean. Clean blood insures that metabolic wastes are efficiently carried away from the tissues.

Chlorella gets its name from the high amount of chlorophyl it possesses. Chlorella contains more chlorophyl per gram than any other plant. Chlorophyl is one of the greatest food substances for cleansing the bowel and other elimination systems, such as the liver and the blood.

Green algae are the highest sources of chlorophyl in the plant world. And of all the green algae studied so far, chlorella has the highest, often ranging from 3 to 5% pure natural chlorophyll.

Chlorella is a key detoxification tool

Hemoglobin is the protein in our red blood cells which binds with oxygen and gives blood its bright red color. Chlorophyll cells are nearly identical to hemoglobin, with one exception: Chlorophyll has a magnesium molecule at its center while hemoglobin has an iron molecule at the center of it.
This is important because magnesium is essential for the heart to function properly. Every time our heart beats, it is utilizing magnesium to do so.
Chlorophyll is effective against anemia and stimulates the production of red blood cells in the body. It also helps carry oxygen around the body and to the brain. This is why chlorella is often called a 'Brain Food'.

Several researchers have suggested the use of chlorophyll as a medical therapy for anemia.



Chlorella Will Improve Your Digestive System

Since chlorella has such a high chlorophyll content, people find chronic bad breath is often eliminated in just a few days on chlorella. Foul smelling stools are also greatly improved and chlorophyll has been attributed to relieving constipation.

Chlorella Shown To Be Helpful in Fighting Cancer

Interferon is one of our body's greatest natural defenses against cancer. One of the ways we fight cancer is to use agents to stimulate macrophage production and activity. Interferon is a natural secretion of the body which is thought to be a stimulator of macrophages and tumor necrosis factor.

Chlorella stimulates the activity of macrophages and T-cells by increasing interferon levels thus enhancing the immune system's ability to combat foreign invaders whether they are viruses, bacteria, chemicals or foreign proteins.

Chlorella Contains Natural Digestive and other Enzymes
Chlorella contains enzymes such as chlorophyllase and pepsin, which are two digestive enzymes. Enzymes perform a number of important functions in the body. Chlorella has many different types of enzymes that our bodies need.

It is essential that any chlorella you take is NOT freeze dried or pasteurized. If it is, then you have lost the crucial benefit of enzymes such as these.



Chlorella is Alkaline and Helps Balance Your Body's pH

It's important that we maintain a balance body pH of ideally about 7.2-7.4, which is about neutral. However, because of our poor diet of junk food, overcooked, processed foods, fast food, which include soft drinks which have a pH of 2.7, most of us are not balanced.

This is important because most diseases start, live and thrive in an acidic environment and do not live well in an alkaline environment. Cancer rates have risen steadily so that now fully 1/3 of all people in the U. S. will get cancer in their lifetime.

The rise of fast, junk and processed foods match those of rising cancer rates. 30 years ago, cancer in children was almost unheard of. Now they have entire hospital wards given over to children with cancer. Including whole foods like chlorella in your diet is one step you can take toward reducing your risks for cancer.

Chlorella Normalizes Blood Sugar and Blood Pressure

Studies have shown that chlorella tends to normalize blood sugar in cases of hypoglycemia. In hypoglycemia, blood sugar is too low. Proper levels of blood sugar are necessary for normal brain function, heart function and energy metabolism, all of which are crucial in sustaining good health and preventing disease.

High blood pressure is one of the major risk factors in heart attack and stroke, which account for more fatalities in the United States than any other disease. Laboratory experiments have shown that regular use of chlorella reduces high blood pressure and prevents strokes in rats.

What Time Of Day Or Night Should You Take Chlorella ?

Chlorella can be taken at any time of the day. It can be taken all at once but preferably it should be taken in small dosages throughout the day. Morning is also a good time to take chlorella, but never just before or after drinking coffee or soft drinks since caffeine is extremely detrimental to the digestive process.

Chlorella causes the bacteria in our stomachs, the Lactobacilli, to multiply at 4 times the rate of normal. This is why it is best to take with meals as chlorella helps provide very good digestion and more importantly, better assimilation of nutrients.

Can Everyone Tolerate Chlorella ?

Because of the fiber content in chlorella's cell wall and other nutritional factors, when some people begin to take chlorella for the first time they may go through cleansing reactions, sometimes referred to as a "healing crisis". This cleansing reaction comes in the form of intestinal activity such as gas, cramping, constipation or diarrhea.

This same type of cleansing reaction frequently occurs when people switch from a low-fiber, "junk-food" diet to a high fiber, natural food diet.

For this reason, some individuals may wish to start out with less than the suggested amount and gradually increase up to the recommended dose in 1-2 weeks. Very sensitive individuals may want to start with as little as 1/16 of a teaspoon per day (300 mg).

If you have not been eating many fresh raw vegetables in your diet, it is probably a good idea to start out with one 1/16 of a teaspoon with each meal and increase by 1/16 of a teaspoon every 2-3 days.

As long as you are not showing an allergic reaction (such as hives) or throwing up, you can safely continue the chlorella. In a couple of months, the reaction should decrease. And as it decreases, you can increase the dose.

Can You Take Too Much Chlorella ?

It is best to think of chlorella as a food because that is exactly what it is: one of the purest, most potent foods on earth. A person can not take too much chlorella because it is naturally detoxifying. Therefore, the fear of chlorella accumulating and becoming toxic to the body is not present.

However, there is a "comfort level" with every person where he or she knows how much Chlorella to take per day. In general, that level will be about 5-8 grams per day.

A person taking 15-20 grams of chlorella per day is not at all unheard of if someone is trying to combat a disease with the amazing medicinal properties of chlorella. It is a whole food, not a concentrate or extract, therefore you can NOT take too much of it because of its detoxifying abilities.

I spend a lot of time researching the best prices for supplements on the internet, and in my opinion the lowest prices for high quality chlorella can be found here.

Can Chlorella Be Given To Children ?

Absolutely. In fact, chlorella has been shown to promote rapid growth in children, as well as build in them superior immune systems. Children can take 1/2 to 1/4 the adult dose described above.