Chlorella - A Green Algae Packed with Essential Nutrients

 

One day I was browsing on the Internet some algae to supplement my family’s diet, and I came across with Chlorella. Two days later, for my surprise, I got to see this alga under the microscope in my microbiology lab class. I was so happy to be looking at that bright green microorganism, that I decided to write a little about it. 

  

Chlorella is a tiny, single celled water-grown algae containing a nucleus and an enormous amount of readily available chlorophyll. The Chlorella has been used as a dietary supplement for hundreds of years by native tribes, but it was only in the mid 1940’s that scientists believed that Chlorella could be used to feed the growing population. Chlorella was chosen by scientists over the other foods for its high content of proteins (58%), all of the B vitamins including b12, which is most commonly found in animal proteins, vitamins C and E, magnesium, potassium, calcium, zinc and many rare trace minerals. It also contains fats, carbohydrates and fiber. In short, it has the widest range of nutrients found in a single food source. But the cost of producing Chlorella in large scale was very high, that the food industry decided to invested in soybeans and whole grain.

Chlorella has more vitamin B12 than liver and a great amount of beta-carotene, a powerful antioxidant that inhibit the growth of free radicals.The plant's photosynthetic efficiency allows it to yield more protein per unit area than any other plant. In addition, Chlorella contains all 18 amino acids (the essentials and non-essentials), therefore becoming a complete protein. That is great news for vegetarians who usually rely on mixing incomplete proteins such as rice and beans to get enough of this nutrient. 

Chlorella provides many other health benefits to humans. This algae has the highest amount of chlorophyll ever found in a plant, which helps detoxifying the blood. The chlorophyll along with many other special elements collect toxins and purge them out of the body, it really works as a toxic magnet. Chlorella’s high content of DNA and RNA can protect against the effects of ultraviolet radiation. Lutein which is also a nutrient found in Chlorella is believed to promote good vision. The Chlorella growth factor (it’s rapidly ability to reproduce it self during growth), can also help speed up the body’s own revitalization process.

I researched for many brands that sell Chlorella as supplement and I found the Sun Chlorella USA to be the best. Chlorella is a plant, therefore it contains a very rigid cell wall that must be broken in order for humans to digest its contents. This brand is very careful during this process, utilizing a machine that pulverizes the Chlorella’s outer cell wall without the use of heat or chemicals, which can damage the precious nutrients inside. http://www.sunchlorellausa.com