Chlorella

Due to the ability of algae to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen, chlorella, along with other algae, played an extremely important role in shaping a living habitat for creatures on the planet’s surface.
Research has shown which is the best chlorella for human consumption, and these strains are now cultivated and grown all over the world. The most widely studied and most beneficial form of chlorella is chlorella vulgaris.4 Chlorella expert Toshihiro Kanno Ph.D states that, “More than 500 scientific studies have been published proving chlorella’s safety and effectiveness.” The people of Japan have a deep appreciation for Chlorella and it is one of their most commonly used supplements. They began compiling research on chlorella powder in the 1940′s and have amassed a plethora of scientific data to support the health benefits of chlorella. Their research spawned a huge interest in chlorella that has led to its enormous demand that we see today.
Over the last decades it was realized that chlorella has a very tough cell wall and that in order for its nutritional benefits to be conferred onto humans, the cell walls must be broken. This is perhaps one of the most important chlorella facts to realize. Many companies now sell broken cell wall chlorella and scientific research verifies that this is the most potent and best chlorella that you can buy.

Health Benefits of Chlorella:

• Numerous studies have concluded that substances in chlorella, such as sporopollein, have the ability to cleanse neurotoxins and toxic heavy metals including mercury, uranium, lead, arsenic, and cadmium.5
• Japanese studies were able to show that chlorella also supports the optimal functioning and cleansing of the liver, the chief organ in detoxification.*
• Dr. Gabriel Cousens in his book Conscious Eating cites another important piece of information to this list of chlorella health benefits. Chlorella vulgaris has a compound known as chlorellan, which stimulates the production of important defense cells in our immune system.6
• Chlorella contains a substance known as Chlorella Growth Factor (CGF) that has been shown to assist in the repair and regeneration of human tissue.7 CGF has also been found to be a powerful catalyst in the healthy development of a fetus.8
Chlorella Growth Factor (CGF): Is a special extract of the micro-algae chlorella. It is a special compound which can be dissolved in hot water. It is mostly from the cell nucleus of chlorella, a concentration of DNA and RNA.
Chlorella is the highest known source of chlorophyll, about 2 percent by weight, ten times the amount found in alfalfa. “Dr. Bernard Jensen”
Chlorella is an edible microalgae discovered in the late 1800s by a Dutch biologist. Because it was found to be over 50 percent protein, German scientists during World Wars I and II investigated it as a possible means of alleviating wartime food shortages. After World War II, the Carnegie Institute in Washington, DC picked up where the German scientists left off and found a way to grow chlorella commercially. The Japanese took over the development of chlorella at that point and have made on of the finest health food supplements in the world from it.
Chlorella is a most unusual single-celled plant, with a two billion-year history on this planet, as scientists have discovered from fossils. Under fertile growing conditions, each chlorella cell divides into four new cells every 20 to 24 hours. This amounts to about 40 tons per acre annual harvest, as compared to under half a ton of soybeans, or two tons of rice, per acre per year it contains 18 of 22 known amino acids essential to human nutrition.
The nutritional profile of chlorella is impressive. Vitamins B-1, B-2, B-3, B-6, C, E, pantothenic acid, folic acid, biotin, PABA and inositol are found in chlorella. Over 20 micrograms of B-12 and over 100,000 I.U. of vitamin A are found per 100 grams, along with 260 mg of calcium, 330 mg of magnesium, 130 mg of iron, 100 mg of zinc, 530 mcg of iodine and 1,000 mg of phosphorus.
Chlorella is the highest known source of chlorophyll, over 2 percent per weight, chlorophyll is effective in detoxifying the liver and bloodstream, cleansing the bowel and feeding the friendly bowel flora.*
Iron is more easily absorbed from the bowel in the presence of chlorophyll.* By far, the most fascinating feature of chlorella is found in its recorded cases of healing and prevention of disease.*
During a three-month cruise, 458 Japanese sailors of the marine defense fleet were given two grams of chlorella tablets daily, while 513 sailors on sister ships served as controls, receiving no chlorella. The cruise was made in hot, tropical weather and the men worked hard. Over the 3-month voyage, 903 colds were reported among the 513 controls, 41 percent more than the chlorella-supplemented group, with 571 colds. Average weight loss among controls was 3.31 lb. While in the chlorella group, it was 1.5 lb. The chlorella-supplemented sailor showed a significantly higher resistance to cold viruses and weight loss. 9
Since this experiment, researchers have found a substance in chlorella that appears to increase production of interferon, a chemical in the body, which protects cells from harmful viruses. 10
At Kyushu University Medical College in Japan, chlorella was given to five patients with wounds that refused to heal under conventional medical treatment, including antibiotics. In three cases, the wounds healed satisfactorily in less than a month, while two of the more stubborn cases required about 2 months to heal.*
Effective treatment of peptic ulcers using chlorella is now well established in Japan, as well as treatment of duodenal ulcers and gastritis.11Typically, treatment consists of taking chlorella along with prescribed medication to hasten healing. X-rays have been used to verify complete healing.
Chlorella has been used in treating hypertension, diabetes, hypoglycemia, asthma, constipation and elevated cholesterol levels. Recent research indicates the substances in chlorella stimulate the natural immune system to protect the body from cancer. 12
There is a fascinating reason why chlorella seems to reverse or protect from many diseases.
In the 1950s, Dr. Fujimaki of the People’s Scientific Research Center in Tokyo separated a substance from a hot water extract of chlorella by electrophoresis, which was later named Chlorella Growth Factor (CGF). This extract was found to be rich in nucleic factors.
Early experiments with young rats, rabbits, chicks and pigs showed that adding 5 percent to 10 percent chlorella to their regular feed brought dramatic increases in weight gain and size ranging from 10 percent to 47 percent over controls. Dr. Yoshio Yamagishi then arranged to try chlorella on healthy 10 year old students, 22 boys and 18 girls, at Okuno Primary School in Tokyo, while another group of 22 boys and 15 girls the same age served as controls. Two grams of chlorella were given daily to the test group (except Sundays and holidays) for a total of 112 days.
The height and weight of all children in the experiment were recorded monthly. At the end of the experiment, the average increase for boys taking chlorella was one inch in height and 2.3 lb in weight, while the boys in the control group grew 0.6 inch in height and 1.6 lb in weight. The girls of both groups gained an average of 0.9 inch in height, but the girls who took chlorella gained 4.2 lb on the average, while the controls gained 2.7 lb. 13
Dr. Frank Benjamin believes that the loss of energy and the physical deterioration associated with aging are due to the increasing breakdown of nucleic factors (DNA, RNA) that are needed for healthy cell functioning. When he put his patients on a diet rich in DNA and RNA foods, he expected to see improvements in energy levels and well being as the nucleic components were made available for repair and replacement of cellular nucleic acids. (DNA and RNA in all living things are made up of the same basic chemical building blocks.)
To his surprise, Dr. Frank Benjamin found that not only did his patients begin to gain back more youthful energy and appearance, but health problems such as arthritis, emphysema, heart disease, deteriorating vision, memory loss and depression simply disappeared in many of them.
Dr. Frank Benjamin recommended using high RNA foods such as canned or fresh sardines, salmon, other seafood, legumes, wheat germ and green, leafy vegetables at mealtimes. Canned sardines have been thought to be the food highest in RNA, at 590 mg of RNA per 100 grams. 14
But, the latest research by Dr. Minchinori of Japan has reported levels of 10 percent RNA and 3 percent DNA in chlorella. This means chlorella is 17 times higher in RNA than canned sardines!
It is interesting to notice the overlapping of diseases that have responded to Dr. Frank’s RNA-rich diet and those that have responded to regular dietary supplements of chlorella and CGF.
Of course, that nucleic acids aren’t everything. They need to be taken together with a balanced nutritional regimen. It is of absolute importance that they be used together with the proper enzymes, peptides, sufficient vitamin B-12 and other vitamins and minerals.
One disadvantage of chlorella in the past has been its limited digestibility due to a tough outer wall, which has reduced the availability of nutrients for assimilation to around 40 percent. In recent years, a patented process for breaking down the cell wall has increased digestibility to 80 percent.