Numerous research projects in the USA and Europe indicate that chlorella can also aid the body in the breakdown of persistent hydrocarbon and metallic toxins such as DDT, PCB, mercury, cadmium and lead, while strengthening the immune system response. In Japan, interest in chlorella has focused largely on its detoxifying properties — its ability to neutralize or remove poisonous substances from the body.

This detoxification of heavy metals and other chemical toxins in the blood will take 3-6 months to build up enough to begin this process depending on the dosage of chlorella a person is taking. It is also this fibrous material that greatly augments healthy digestion and overall digestive track health.

Chlorella plays a particularly crucial role in systemic mercury elimination because the majority of mercury is rid through stool. Once the mercury burden is lowered from the intestines, mercury from other body tissues will more readily migrate into the intestines — where chlorella will effectively remove it.

I was fortunate to team up with Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt, the world's leading authority on mercury detoxification, to write a ground-breaking paper that reviewed evidence supporting amalgam toxicity and described practical and effective techniques — like the use of chlorella — to facilitate mercury elimination. It was first published in the Journal of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine in March of 2001.

How Does Chlorella Help Your Body?

Chlorella is comprised of a fibrous, indigestible outer shell (20%) and its inner nutrients (80%). It is the fibrous material that has been proven to actually bind with heavy metals and pesticides like PCBs, that can accumulate in our bodies.

A clean bloodstream, with an abundance of red blood cells to carry oxygen, is necessary to a strong natural defense system. Chlorella's cleansing action on the bowel and other elimination channels, as well as its protection of the liver, helps keep the blood clean. Clean blood assures that metabolic wastes are efficiently carried away from the tissues.

Will Chlorella Help Iron Overload?

While effective in removing mercury, chlorella will not do the same thing for iron. Chlorella contains iron and will actually raise iron levels. Although iron is an essential and important nutrient, excessive levels can cause significant harm.

Research has demonstrated a relationship between elevated iron and a number of diseases, including atherosclerosis, heart disease and type-2 diabetes. Iron appears to be a catalyst in the formation of dangerous free radicals — it is really an "anti-antioxidant", the exact opposite of an antioxidant.

Men tend to have higher iron stores than women; hence, they suffer more frequently from elevated iron levels. Pre-menopausal women are less likely to suffer from iron overload since they lose iron each month during menstruation. However, after menopause, women also tend to accumulate iron.

Measuring your iron levels is an important tool in maintaining optimal health anyway; however, I particularly recommend that men and post-menopausal women have their iron levels checked prior to using chlorella (or other iron-containing supplements). The best way to do this is through a measure of serum ferritin level in conjunction with total iron binding level.

Chlorella is High in Chlorophyl to Help You Process More Oxygen

Chlorella gets its name from the high amount of chlorophyll it possesses. Chlorella contains more chlorophyl per gram than any other plant. Chlorophyl is one of the greatest food substances for cleansing the bowel and other elimination systems, such as the liver and the blood.

The problem we find here is that food greens contain less than half of one percent chlorophyll. Alfalfa, from which chlorophyll is commercially extracted, has only 8 or 9 pounds per ton, about 0.2% when extracted, and alfalfa is one of the plants highest in chlorophyll. Commercial liquid chlorophyll often contains only about 1% chlorophyll.

Green algae are the highest sources of chlorophyll in the plant world; and, of all the green algae studied so far, chlorella is the highest, often ranging from 3 to 5% pure natural chlorophyll.

Chlorella Will Improve Your Digestive System

Since chlorella has such a high chlorophyll content, people find chronic bad breath is often eliminated in just a few days on chlorella. Foul smelling stools are also greatly improved and chlorophyll has been attributed to relieving constipation.

Chlorella supplements can speed up the rate of cleansing of the bowel, bloodstream and liver, by supplying plenty of chlorophyll.

Contains Natural Digestive and other Enzymes

Chlorella contains enzymes such as chlorophyllase and pepsin, which are digestive enzymes. Enzymes perform a number of important functions in the body. In fact, you can not even blink without the presence of enzymes. Chlorella has many different types of enzymes that our bodies need.

It is essential that any algae you take is NOT freeze dried or pasteurized. If it is, then you have lost the crucial benefit of enzymes such as these.

Chlorella is Alkaline and Helps Balance Your Body's pH

It is important that we maintain a balance body pH of ideally about 7.2-7.4, which is about neutral. However, because of our poor diet of junk food, fast food, overcooked, processed foods, especially soft drinks which have a pH of 2.7, most of us are not balanced. The above foods are several thousand times more acidic than our bodies.

This is important because most diseases start and live and thrive in an acidic environment and do not live well in an alkaline environment. Cancer rates have risen steadily until now that fully one third of all people in the United States will get cancer in their lifetime!

The rise of fast, junk and processed foods match those of rising cancer rates. Thirty years ago, cancer in children was almost unheard of. Now they have entire hospital wards given over to children with cancer. Eliminating processed foods with whole foods like chlorella will help to virtually eliminate your risk of developing cancer in the future.

Increase Beneficial Good Bacteria in Your Intestine, Eliminate Bad Breath and Decrease Constipation

The fibrous materials in chlorella will also improve digestion and promote the growth of beneficial aerobic bacteria in the stomach. This is something you will notice about chlorella soon after first taking it.

When you eat chlorella the beneficial bacteria in your intestinal tract, like Lactobacillus, multiplies at four times the normal rate. This improves your digestion and your body's ability to take in nutrients greatly. Proper digestion, augmented with the necessary enzymes, is one of the keys to your great health!