![]() ![]() Advocates claim they can pull heavy metals out of the body and work as a deep cleansing agent in the body. You’ve been told to tuck into your greens for yonks, and for good reason, but how about supplementing your diet with chlorophyll?Īs well as chugging chlorophyll as drops in your water, you can take it in tiny pills or smoothie powders derived from chlorella and spirulina which are both algae. This oxygenating good guy keeps the plant world lush and ticking over. Plants need chlorophyll for photosynthesis - to absorb energy from the sun to make their own food. That means that some people taking chlorophyll supplements may develop severe photosensitivity (becoming much more likely to get a sunburn) or pseudoporphyria, which causes extreme skin fragility and blisters to form on the hands and feet.Chlorophyll as a liquid supplement comes in drop form that turns your water a deep green it's the molecule that makes nature green. ![]() "Chlorophyll is a photosensitizer it helps plants absorb sunlight (including UV light) in order to store energy," Syed said. Supplement dosages range from 2 milligrams per droplet to 100 milligrams per tablet.Īnd remember that information about photosynthesis? Turns out that what's good for plants isn't necessarily good for humans. She added that the average person should limit daily chlorophyllin dosing to 300 milligrams or less and consider restricting use to three months. "Our database rates chlorophyllin as 'Possibly Safe' for most people when used by mouth," McIntyre said. McIntyre said it is not yet clear whether chlorophyll supplements are safe but that there is some evidence to support the safe use of the water-soluble chlorophyllin supplements. "If chlorophyllins were co-administered with certain anti-cancer agents, or if somebody 'self-medicated' during cancer treatment with large amounts of chlorophyllin obtained from a health-food store, the effective dose of chemotherapy could be diminished inadvertently - not what you want!" Dashwood said. But, again, there's not enough data to widely recommend these supplements for cancer prevention or treatment. Studies in humans by Dashwood and others have found that both chlorophyll and chlorophyllin may help protect the body from carcinogens, including heterocyclic amines (produced while cooking meat at high temperatures) and aflatoxins (from improperly stored peanuts or corn). "So, the effects of chlorophyll on cancer remain unclear." "Some early-stage animal research only confuses things, as it shows that chlorophyll may both increase and decrease cancer risk in mice," McIntyre said. But Chelsey McIntyre, a pharmacist and the managing editor of the Natural Medicines Research Collaboration at TRC Healthcare, says there's not enough clear research yet. Her TikTok friends are big proponents of makeup, heavy-duty concealer and built-in app filters that create a healthy glow.Īs for cancer, there have been studies using both chlorophyll and chlorophyllin in mice, rats and trout, which showed some efficacy. "Social media isn't exactly known for realistic portrayals of what people actually look like." My 14-year-old daughter concurs. "Another, much simpler, explanation is that they could be covering up the acne with makeup," Syed said. So how do TikTok influencers come by that healthy, glowing skin? Syed notes that the increase in water consumption could be enough to make a difference. "None of them were studying oral supplementation of chlorophyll, and they were very, very small pilot studies that were not tested against a placebo, so even this small amount of evidence is very weak." "The studies showed a very mild effect on acne, nothing to the effect of what is being portrayed in these videos," Syed said. ![]() While there have been a few small studies using chlorophyllin for treating acne, he said, nearly all of them used a topical formula. ![]() However, "I do not currently recommend chlorophyll supplements for treating wrinkles or acne," said Zain Syed, a dermatologist in Lutherville, Maryland, and the president of the Maryland Dermatologic Society. Before-and-after posts on social media often claim that using chlorophyll for seven days can reduce acne and eradicate wrinkles. ![]()
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