Chlorella and Body Balance

The more excess calories we consume – from sugars and non-essential fatty acids (especially trans fats) – the more pressure we put on our body to produce cholesterol.

As well, our body makes more cholesterol when we experience a greater amount of stress. Once our body produces the cholesterol it cannot break it down. Therefore cholesterol can be removed from our body only through stools.

Chlorella has been shown, through studies, to lower cholesterol level by excreting cholesterol into the small intestine and then in the stools. The fact is that almost everyone can control their cholesterol level as well as their cardiovascular health by nutritional means alone! A report of the “Effects of Chlorella on Levels of Cholesterol in Serum and Liver ” showed that when sixteen patients were given 20 tablets of chlorella daily for three months, without any anti-cholesterol drugs, their cholesterol levels were significantly lowered.

(Research of Wakahisa Hospital of Fukuoka, Japan.)

About two-thirds of the affluent population worldwide suffers to some degree from atherosclerotic deposits. Cardiovascular diseases are our number one killers! Arteriosclerosis is the process of the gradual narrowing and hardening of the arteries and the slowing down of the blood flow, resulting in high blood pressure.

High blood pressure carries a heavier load on our heart and kidneys which, when prolonged, leads to water retention and heart and kidney failure. At a more serious level, the blockage of an artery supplying our heart can result in a heart attack. The blockage of an artery supplying our brain may result in a stroke. By keeping the blood cholesterol below 160 mg% for a two-year period, a reversal of arteriosclerosis has been known to occur.

Laboratory experiments have indicated that chlorella can significantly lowers high blood pressure and arteriosclerosis by widening the arterial vessels. Chlorella contains a greater quantity of essential fatty acids (EFA) than spirulina and 20% of these EFAs are omega-3, an artery cleansing agent and a reducer of “bad cholesterol” (as opposed to “good cholesterol”). Also, many case reports have been documented of people stating that their blood pressure problems disappeared after taking chlorella for a duration of three months to a year. (2)

Pre-diabetic low (hypoglycemic) and high blood sugar (hyperglycemic) conditions affect about 20% of the North American population. They result from consuming too much hard fat, refined sugar and starch, and too few vitamins and minerals. They are often accompanied by cardiovascular complications, causing death among diabetics.

A 1998 study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, indicated that people with diabetes type 2 have the same risks of having a heart attack as do people who have heart problems, making heart disease the #1 killer of diabetics.

In studies done with diabetic mice, chlorella had increased their life spans by 50 to 100 percent, allowing them to reach the same age as normal mice!(29)

As we mentioned earlier, studies and observations made on chlorella have shown that this medicinal green algae can stimulate the production of interferon and normalize the level of blood sugar.

Chlorella would also have the ability to normalize the cholesterol serum and to increase the blood vessel elasticity which, according to Japanese researchers, have constitute evidences of helping to control diabetes and of promoting the rapid healing of diabetic skin ulcers.

Also, “All blood sugar imbalances – diabetes, hypoglycemia, manic depression – are greatly helped, much because the protein in chlorella, like that of spirulina, is predigested and ready to work to smooth out blood sugar fluctuations.”

“Healing with Whole foods” by Paul Pitchford.

Pancreatitis is another life-threatening disease linked with poor nutrition and the excessive consumption of certain foods (alcohol, hard fats). The high concentration of chlorophyll in chlorella has been shown to inhibit pancreatitis.

Chlorophyll also stimulates the production of red blood cells in the body and helps to bring more oxygen to both the body and the brain.

Most degenerative diseases involve the body being too acidic, allowing viruses and bacteria to proliferate. Diseases such as arthritis, gout and reflux acid syndrome, and rheumatic disorders such as fibromyalgia, are all characteristic of an acid / alkaline imbalance.

An increased level of lactic acid lowers the intracellular pH. In modern societies, most of the population already suffers from acidic conditions such as heartburn, arthritis, gout, chronic bowel syndrome disease, fibromyalgia, etc. Calcium is drawn from the blood in an attempt to neutralize this acidity. Symptoms of lactic acidosis are: shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, and pain in the gut. At a later stage, it can lead to a general depletion of energy, hyperventilation, an enlarged liver, arrhythmia and eventually even to organ failure.

The body should be slightly alkaline and receive alkaline-forming foods such as fruits, vegetables, salt (in a moderate amount), micro-algae, sprouts, herbs etc.

Chlorella has been shown to neutralize acid by raising the pH level and alkanalizing the body. These helpers lead to increased levels of lactic acid and, according to numerous studies, to the alleviation of heartburns, arthritis, gout, fibromyalgia,etc. Also vital are the corrections of any deficiencies in vitamins and minerals and of problems with digestion and assimilation.

Chlorella could be part of your front-line defense to protect your body!

As an immune system booster, the antiviral activity of chlorella and its poison-absorbing qualities have been described as early as 1967, by Shirota Minoru, et al. (10)
In the Japanese scientific community, chlorella is known as a “biological response modifier“. Studies have confirmed repeatedly that chlorella can bring substantial health benefits to people with a depressed immune system.

Chlorella, by inducing higher levels of interferon, stimulates the production and activity of macrophage and T-cells, thus enhancing the immune system’s ability to combat harmful substances like bacteria and viruses.

Interferon has been shown to promote the elimination of many kinds of intracellular bacteria as well as numerous infections and viruses, running the entire gamut from cold and allergies to cancer and strokes.

• Allergies usually result from a weakened liver and inappropriate immune system responses to certain foreign substances, which trigger the production of immunoglobulin E. The administration of at least three months of Chlorella has often induced a noticeable improvement, through the cleansing of the colon and liver, promoting a stronger immune system.

  In a 1997 Japanese study conducted on children with atopic dermatitis, over sixty percent (60%) of children who were given 15 to 25 chlorella tablets showed improved skin conditions and bronchial asthma(38); and with other studies on mice, chlorella extract has shown “significant improvements” in food allergies, such as egg and milk.(39)

• Chlorella extract (CGF) has been given to patients who were being having surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy, and to others whose immune system was suppressed as a result of brain tumors. Results showed these patients’ immune systems remained at near normal levels and that they were less adversely affected by the immunosuppressive treatments when chlorella was administered.

  (Merchant, Rice & Young from the Medical College of Virginia, 1990 study.)

• Also, according to research, a diet supplemented with protein fragments called “nucleotides” can help to restore the health of the immune system, and to fight off viral and bacterial infections. Chlorella and the CGF are rich sources of nucleotides.

  In a study on mice, a diet fortified with nucleotides saved 47% of those injected with lethal doses of staphylococcus, a deadly bacterium, while the ones on a diet without nucleotides all died!(37)

• People with arthritis have macrophage cells that are particularly sensitive to viruses and other poisons. Food allergies or inflammatory bowel disease inducing arthritis are good examples of this process.

  Chlorella has shown to strengthen the intestine and to help clear away toxic substances. This protects the body from infiltration by bacteria, fungi and toxins through the bowel wall, thus preventing the damaging of the joints. Also the high level of Vitamin A and Beta-carotene in chlorella may help suppress inflammation due to rheumatoid arthritis (12).

Arthritis is an acidic condition of the joints and chlorella has been shown to neutralize acidic conditions by raising the pH level of the body, making it more alkaline. Many people have claimed as well that chlorella has helped their gout, a condition caused by elevated levels of uric acid that precipitate in the joints and tissues. Patients who suffer from arthritis or chronic bowel syndrome disease have been treated with the use of chlorella. Small doses are taken initially and then increased very gradually to test for sensitivity to chlorella.