Fad or Fact with Lively Lauren Nutrition

Q: Chlorophyll drops in water has continued to be a growing trend in the health and wellness space. Many of my clients, family and friends are curious whether chlorophyll drops and greens powders have any effect on your health, including immunity, weight loss and developing chronic disease, and if they are worth the price tag. What’s your recommendation to counsel them?

A: With the increasing interest in boosting immunity using foods and supplements, many are searching for ways to increase their intake of certain vitamins and minerals to boost immunity and improve their overall health. Especially, ways to make this a cheaper commitment. The good news is that there are many vitamins and minerals in foods that we can increase our intake of to build up our immune system that won’t overwhelm your wallet. The transparent news is that there is no one-size-fits-all supplement, like chlorophyll, that can cure us all and give us the strong-as-steel immunity we are all looking for.

Chlorophyll is high in many antioxidants, vitamins and minerals and has many immune-boosting properties that we can all be on the lookout for. Chlorophyll is one of compounds found in greens that provides nutrients. Chlorophyll is a rich source of Vitamin A, C, E, and K and minerals like Magnesium, Iron, and Calcium. Vitamin C is incredibly known for its immune-boosting properties as well as Magnesium and Iron. With this, we can safely say that chlorophyll can benefit your overall health. Some better questions to answer are, how significant is the benefit, does the benefit warrant the cost, and could you get the same benefits from cheaper foods or supplements?

Powerful Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Properties

Chlorophyll is known for its antioxidant and inflammatory properties but what does that really mean? For a vitamin or mineral to have antioxidant and inflammatory properties would mean that that vitamin or mineral has successfully reduced the number of free radicals in the body. The natural compound is essentially successful in protecting the body from oxidative stress and therefore protects against inflammation. Many autoimmune disorders, cardiovascular diseases, various cancers, diabetic complications, and bone/joint inflammatory diseases are a result of chronic inflammation. Now that you have a better understanding of exactly how powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties could benefit your overall health, we can dive into where adding chlorophyll or powdered greens in your water comes into play.

A research study conducted in 2017 found that chlorophyll cells from Ethiopian Kale (B. carinata) extracts successfully reduced the amount of aflatoxin-induced DNA damage in animal cells. The research also concluded that increasing B. carinata extract concentrations in the body promote cytostasis. What does this mean for us humans? Well, it could cause you to draw a few different conclusions but based on the facts and evidence-based data, we can conclude that chlorophyll plays a role in your body’s ability to reduce toxin-induced DNA damage and successfully inhibiting cell growth and multiplication, including cancer cells. In partnership with other methods, vitamins and minerals, there is evidence that chlorophyll can support reducing oxidative stress and inflammation in the body.

Efficiency in Growth and Lipid Production

The development of using some chlorophyll products to promote wound healing and alleviate skin conditions can also be supported by evidence-based research done in plants and animal/human cells. In a research study done in plants, researchers found that Chlorophyll B increases efficiency of photosynthesis, growth, and lipid production in plant cells. In another research study done on animal/human cells, there is evidence that applying a chlorophyll compound called SSC to persistent open wounds promoted wound healing and reduced local inflammation. In a similar study, researchers concluded that an SSC solution also reduced the number of acne lesions, enlarged facial pores, facial oiliness, facial blotchiness, and facial redness compared to their baseline data. I partnered these findings with another research study that concluded chlorophyll cells can reproduce endoplasmic reticulum cells within the cell walls to further show that chlorophyll can help build and protect cell walls in animal and plant cells.

MY RECOMMENDATION FOR MY READERS

My recommendation for my readers would be to use this research to show the benefits of chlorophyll as an addition to an individual’s diet. I refrain from presenting this as a cure for obesity and chronic inflammation rather use it as supplementation to other methods to treat those conditions and help develop healthy habits. Additionally, I wouldn’t make this suggestion to anyone who is looking for affordable ways to supplement their health since chlorophyll extracts can be pricey and are often diluted versions. It could also be that your gut is moving more smoothly, your skin is looking clearer, and you feel more energy because you are drinking an additional 12-24 ounces of water each morning.

Many green powders on the market are made up of a company’s own proprietary blend, which leaves consumers and experts at a loss for the exact amount of these ingredients in the product. In addition to some ingredient labels being incredibly misleading, some are very clear in presenting their products as healthy on the front label and filled with sugar and other additives on the back of the label. Use this as another warning to always read the label on the back of a product before you buy it. Rather than shopping for greens powders and chlorophyll drops, I find it more beneficial to purchase microgreens each week at my local farmer's market. I purchase a large mix of broccoli sprouts and arugula sprouts for $12 that provides me enough to have microgreens at almost every meal throughout the week. Amongst chlorophyll and the other vitamins and minerals mentioned above, microgreens have other health promoting compounds that make them even more of a worthy grocery purchase.

Chlorophyll can be found in many different foods that can be added to an everyday diet seamlessly without drastically increasing the grocery bill. Plants like microgreens, spinach, parsley, green beans, arugula, leeks, endive, sugar peas, and Chinese cabbage are all high in chlorophyll content. Also, remember the bioavailability and metabolism of chlorophyll in the body. Animal studies concluded that only about 1-3% of chlorophyll is absorbed by the body, while the rest is excreted in feces. After sifting through copious amounts of research, I found that there is limited research supporting the claims that chlorophyll has a significant effect on human health, including immunity, weight loss and developing chronic disease. However, there is evidence that chlorophyll could be a supplement to improve overall health.