Most people can vaguely remember from biology class that chlorophyll is the pigment that gives plants and leaves their green color. And wasn’t there something about photosynthesis and energy production? One thing is clear, the green dye has a lot to offer and also has a significant effect on us humans. Here we explain what happens when you consume chlorophyll regularly.
Chlorophyll is a plant-based, natural dye. It is also known as leaf green. The main task of chlorophyll in the cells of a plant is to absorb light energy from the sun’s rays. Without chlorophyll, plants could not get energy from the sun. And because the chlorophyll molecular structures are specialized to absorb violet, yellow, orange, and blue light, they appear green to our eyes. The green light of the sunshine spectrum is less absorbed and therefore more strongly reflected than the other light spectrums. Nutrition experts now know that regular consumption of foods that are particularly high in chlorophyll has very positive effects on our health. It is not for nothing that doctors recommend eating a lot of “greens” for a healthy diet. theVegetables and fruits with the highest levels of healthy chlorophyll per 100 grams are:
- Kale (189 milligrams)
- Parsley (157 milligrams)
- Spinach (95 milligrams)
- Broccoli (26 milligrams)
- green peas (10 milligrams)
- Cucumber (6 milligrams)
- Kiwi (1.7 milligrams)
Here we reveal the positive effects of a diet with a high chlorophyll intake for you.
Table of Contents
Health benefits of chlorophyll
1. Your blood health improves
Nothing is given away in evolution. Something that has proven its worth once is reused in a slightly different way elsewhere. This is also the case with the molecular structure and composition of chlorophyll. The green pigment is chemically almost identical to the red pigment in our blood, hemoglobin. While an iron molecule sits at the center of hemoglobin, a magnesium molecule sits at the center of the chlorophyll structure. Due to this similarity to our red blood pigment, chlorophyll supports the oxygen transport in our blood. At the same time, leafy greens help create new blood cells in our bodies. This happens as part of the automatic blood purification and renewal in our bodies. If you take in a lot of healthy chlorophyll, you do something for your blood.
2. Free radicals are eliminated
Chlorophyll has an antioxidant effect. This means it binds free radicals and prevents them from causing damage in our cells. Free radicals are highly reactive and aggressive oxygen compounds that are created as intermediate products in our cells. They are responsible for our skin aging and burden our immune system with oxidative stress. Chlorophyll inhibits the reactivity of these free radicals, stabilizes our immune system and ensures normal cell health.
3. Iron absorption improves
Researchers found out a long time ago that chlorophyll increases our body’s absorption of iron. When iron-rich foods are ingested with lots of chlorophyll, our body makes far more hemoglobin than if no chlorophyll were involved. In order to treat iron deficiency more effectively, it is a good idea to consume enough chlorophyll, as this increases absorption of the important trace element. The situation is similar with magnesium. As a component of chlorophyll, it helps to strengthen muscles and nerve cells in the body.
4. Antibacterial effect against bad breath
Some experts are certain: chlorophyll can help against bad breath. The chlorophyll in food is said to have an effect on protein-splitting enzymes and slow down the growth of bacteria in the mouth. These bacteria are largely responsible for the development of bad breath. The exact connections are still being investigated. A chlorophyll-rich diet with healthy leafy vegetables such as spinach or kale cannot harm oral and dental health.
