Lately social media feeds are rife with the mention of liquid chlorophyll and its alleged benefits. Fitness and skincare influencers have been swearing by liquid chlorophyll which they claim will clear your skin, boost complexion, support your immunity, help with weight loss and eliminate body odour. Before chlorophyll became the internet's obsession, it made its cameo decade ago, when Marvel superhero Iron Man aka Tony Stark was shown drinking the green drink in order to detox his body from palladium.
You asked for it! Liquid Chlorophyll part 2! #liquidchlorophyll #chlorophyll #nutrition #health pic.twitter.com/zcRmj7fUWb— Dirt To Dinner (@Dirt_To_Dinner) April 30, 2021
LOVE LIQUID chlorophyll 🌱 pic.twitter.com/mVUCMP0G3Q— PLANTBEAUTY (@PLANTBEAUTY1) July 24, 2020
But what is chlorophyll water and how legitimate are the claims made by the influencers?
Chlorophyll is an essential pigment that makes plants green and healthy. It absorbs sunlight and helps convert it into energy through the process of photosynthesis for the plants. According to Healthline, chlorophyll has vitamins, antioxidants, and therapeutic properties that have the potential to benefit your body.
To make chlorophyll water, one just needs to add a teaspoon of chlorophyll liquid to water each day and drink it. A 250ml bottle of liquid chlorophyll is sold for Rs 660. Netizens on Twitter have praised chlorophyll water for making their breath smell fresh, and many have even claimed that its regular consumption has cleared their acne.
I took liquid chlorophyll for the first time yesterday and I woke up this morning and my breath smelled fresh as hell. Cannot watt to see how u smell after a workout.— Scorpio Knight (@Nappy_Danny) August 2, 2021
4 months of eating a plant based diet, drinking a gallon of water a day, including liquid chlorophyll, vitamin A, pre/pro biotics into my supplement regimen and using tretinoin + benonzyl peroxide & my hormonal acne is finally going away 🥲skincare is more than a product.— Jasmine (@jasalyssaa) August 3, 2021
As much as it is being hyped for its potency, there is actually little to no scientific or medical evidence to support that chlorophyll actually does wonders. Speaking to GQ, Dr Rupy Aujla, an NHS medical doctor who specialises in nutritional medicine and runs The Doctor's Kitchen, explained that eating green vegetables is far more beneficial than drinking chlorophyll water. Aujla told GQ that chlorophyll is one natural component of green leafy vegetables, and a few other products, used for photosynthesis in plants.
The benefits of eating plants is increased with multiple other ingredients found in dark green vegetables, such as fibre, sulforaphane. If one only drinks chlorophyll,they are missing out on lots of other beneficial ingredients and for this reason, Aujla sees no reason to recommend it.
Aujla also cautioned that even though chlorophyll is not harmful in small doses, the supplement industry selling the substance is not held to the same medical standards as the pharmaceutical industry is. There are chances of companies selling the products that are contaminated with ingredients unknown to the consumer.
However, Boston-based registered dietitian Alex Aldeborgh was less sceptical and told Forbes that there are many proposed benefits of consuming chlorophyll which include weight loss, detoxification, cancer prevention and blood-building and oxygenating. They further mentioned that the green drink may also increase platelet-related measures in the blood, which may enhance athletic performance by reducing pain and fatigue. For those looking for natural treatment of wounds, chlorophyll water is also said to help with wound healing, treating acne and skin inflammation and neutralizing odors, said Aldeborgh.
Just like any viral fitness trend, chlorophyll water seems to be the 2021 obsession.
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