Introducing Chlorophyll into your Diet
Revised and Edited by Hunter Stahley
Have you ever eaten a salad and truly been amazed at how vibrant and colorful it was? Have you ever taken a minute to step outside and genuinely appreciate the beauty of the scenes surrounding you? The crisp blades of grass, the thorny rose bush, or even a simple vine wrapping itself up and around a tree all have a natural beauty to them that is truly like no other. One element that contributes to this natural vibrance of plants is something called Chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is a naturally occurring pigment in plants that is responsible for light absorption, giving plants their energy to grow and thrive. This magic pigment, however, is something that not only benefits plants, but also benefits the health of people!
The Amazing Colors Nature Provides
In the pharmaceutical industry, there is a growing demand for substances that do not put patient’s health at risk. This has led to the need to find a naturally occurring substance that gives a vibrant color to medicines, food, and even cosmetics! Chlorophyll is used in so many industries today as a natural coloring agent, without the need to use harsh synthetic coloring agents or chemicals. The natural green of chlorophyll is hard to match in a laboratory setting, and because of this, scientists all over the world were able to discover all the benefits of using chlorophyll. Several other plant-derived coloring agents are used industry wide, such as turmeric, beetroot, and annatto. The natural rainbow of life supplies the purest version of color to items that we use every day!
Chlorophyll in Nature
Chlorophyll is one of the most abundant colorants found in nature and plays such an important role in supporting a plant’s life cycle. Plants receive their energy through a process called photosynthesis, and chlorophyll plays a key role in that process. In any part of a plant that has a green color, it is certain that the color is coming from chlorophyll. When sunlight hits a plant, the job of chlorophyll is to receive and store that sunlight and transform it into usable energy. This energy is then used to convert carbon dioxide into glucose, a form of sugar. Because plants that use the process of photosynthesis are the only organisms to get direct energy from the sun, chlorophyll is where every living creature retrieves its energy. According to National Geographic, “food webs in every type of ecosystem, from terrestrial to marine, begin with photosynthesis, chlorophyll can be considered a foundation for all life on Earth.”
Chlorophyll Health Benefits
Not only is chlorophyll the base of all living things on the planet, but consuming chlorophyll directly has some amazing health benefits. The consumption of chlorophyll stimulates blood circulation and improves oxygenation throughout your circulatory system. Aesthetically, we all care about our skin and the appearance of how healthy it looks. Luckily, chlorophyll has properties that reduce skin inflammation and tends to heal sun damaged skin. According to a 2015 study, “involving 10 people, [it was] found that using topical chlorophyllin over 8 weeks improved sun-damaged skin” (Sigler et al).
Chlorophyll also has cancer prevention properties. In recent and past studies conducted, it has shown that oral chlorophyll consumption had significantly reduced the growth of new tumors on, but not limited to, the pancreas, liver, and stomach. Chlorophyll has natural properties that prevent cancer causing toxins to enter the body and inflict harm on our most important organs.
Some other benefits of oral chlorophyll consumption include, but are not limited to:
- Stimulates red blood cell production
- Lowers cholesterol levels
- Improves metabolism
- Neutralizes high pH levels
- Treats bacteria causing bad breath
- Eliminates heavy metals and toxins from your bloodstream
Ways to Consume Chlorophyll
There are a variety of ways to introduce chlorophyll to your diet. Edible forms of chlorophyll come in drops, juices, capsules, and so much more! For a quick and easy form of ingestible chlorophyll, Capsuline offers vegetarian chlorophyll capsules. These capsules can be filled with any type of supplement, vitamin, herb, or anything else you would want to consume. Because these capsules already have chlorophyll in them, there is no need to purchase another chlorophyll product to fill them with. However, many people choose to purchase chlorophyll drops, and fill the capsules with them, to double the intake.
Another current trend that makes chlorophyll consumption very easy is chlorophyll water. This is a natural spring water, fortified with nutrients, minerals, and naturally occurring chlorophyll. Usually, there will be an added flavor to the water, such as peppermint or citrus.
There are also many different plants that are rich in chlorophyll, such as wheatgrass, alfalfa, and spinach. These plants, naturally rich in beneficial vitamins and minerals, also contain copious amounts of naturally occurring chlorophyll, because of the way they grow and convert energy. Sometimes, it can feel like a hassle to introduce so many vegetables, especially raw ones, into your diet. Most of these different plants come in powder forms, which can easily be converted into a chlorophyll rich capsule and taken once a day without the stress of coming up with recipes to hide the sometimes not so pleasant taste.
To wrap things up, chlorophyll is an amazing substance to introduce to your diet. Whether that be in a capsule, in a drink, or even in simple vegetables, it has many benefits to your health and well-being. To learn more about our chlorophyll vegetarian capsules, click here.
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