What is Chlorophyll?
Most green vegetables and plants you see contain heaps of chlorophyll. They are responsible for the green pigmentation you see in plants. Plants and vegetables need this to absorb sunlight and absorb nutrients, in other words photosynthesis. What you should also know is that chlorophyll as a number of benefits for the human body which is why it is always good to have lots of green vegetables in your diet.
Foods such as kale, spinach, wheatgrass and water lentils have plenty of chlorophyll in them. You can obtain this through supplements in powder or pill form however I always suggest having them in whole foods.
Benefits
- Acne Treatment and Skin Healing
Topical applications of chlorophyll has been shown to reduce inflammation and bacterial build up in wounds. This is especially helpful for those with acne. As the main cause of acne is due to clogged pores which become inflamed due to bacterial build up. It is rich in antioxidants and vitamin E which can help in regenerating healthy skin cells.
- Blood Building Properties
Chlorophyll has similar properties to red blood cells as well as being high in iron. Therefore it has been shown that chlorophyll helps the transport of red blood cells all over the body. Researchers show that including chlorophyll in your diet can help with diseases like anaemia.
- Detox and Cancer Prevention
Although very few studies have been done about the link of chlorophyll and cancer, some studies show that chlorophyll may limit the build up of aflatoxin, a carcinogen which causes cancer.
Some animal trials have shown that chlorophyll has significantly reduced liver and stomach cancer by 29-63 percent and 24-45 percent respectively.
Some studies of having rats ingest high concentrations of chlorophyll has shown to reduce lung and colon cancer significantly.
This shows that chlorophyll has detoxing abilities especially for the liver and colon. However, more studies would need to be conducted.
- Weight Loss
Studies have shown that people taking more chlorophyll in your diet has shown to reduce more weight than those that don’t. This could be due to a number of reasons since vegetables occupy more space in the stomach and are filled with more fiber as well as being lower in calories could be one explanation. Chlorophyll has also been linked with lower cholesterol levels as well.
- Deodorant Properties
There have been numerous studies of people that have trimethylaminuria which is a condition that causes fishy smell has significantly reduced their odour after including chlorophyll in their diet. Also there have been reports that chlorophyll can reduce bad breath although there are little evidence to support this.
- Anti-Aging
Topical chlorophyll can help reduce photoaging which is premature aging due to exposure to the sun. The study included 4 woman that applied it for 12 days. It is also rich in antioxidants and vitamin E is especially great for retaining healthy skin.
Overall chlorophyll has many benefits with very minimal side effects, such as stomach rumbling, or green stools, and some itchy burning sensation for topical treatments but these are also very rare. So include plenty of vegetables in your diet and get some chlorophyll in.