If it is your goal to get fit and be healthy, a nutritious diet plan is imperative. In the past, calories were highly misunderstood by a lot of individuals. A lot of them have focused their attention simply counting calories without taking into consideration the content of the food they eat.
This is where superfoods enter the picture. Superfoods are becoming popular among fitness buffs, athletes and those who want to improve their health. Given the number of people acquiring ailments mainly due to their diets, healthier alternative is now becoming popular not only for professional athletes but even for the average Joe.
What are superfoods?
Superfoods have high levels of essential vitamins and minerals that can meet and replenish the body’s needs for its day to day activities. Superfoods are typically plant and fish based food options that carry a wide variety of health benefits.
To some individuals, it is simply a marketing term for something that is healthy. In reality, the undeniable higher dose of vitamins and minerals make this a better option for those who want to live a healthier life. In fact, this is why a diet consisting of superfoods is highly recommended for those who perform high intensity activities such as athletes and even those involved in blue collar industries.
Chlorella as a superfood
One of the most underrated superfood options is chlorella. Typically, superfoods are associated to blueberries, yogurt, and quinoa among many others.
Chlorella is an alga that is consumed both as a health supplement and complete food in different parts of the globe. It contains high amounts of protein, essential fatty acids, enzymes, as well as vitamins and minerals.
To give you an idea about the content of Chlorella, majority of Chlorella’s content is protein. 45% of its content is protein, which makes it a great alternative food source, especially for those who are scientists who are looking to solve world food crisis.
The popularity of chlorella isn’t something new. Because of the growing population, and the impending world food problem, researchers have focused their attention efficient food options. In the 1940s, Chlorella was viewed as a possible alternative to traditional agriculture products, due to its high protein and vitamin content.
So what are the amazing benefits of chlorella to the body given all this information? Could this be a superfood option for those who want to stay healthy? Or perhaps, even professional athletes could benefit from this?
Amazing benefits of chlorella
The amazing benefits of chlorella are still underrated in the health niche. Unlike other food options, such as salmon and blueberries, chlorella is a lesser known superfood. Just to give you an idea how much are you missing by not incorporating chlorella in your diet, here are some things that you get from this superfood.
- Chlorella is an antioxidant
In a 2010 study, chlorella has been found to contain a peptide known as chlorella-11 which is known for its anti-inflammatory properties. Today, chlorella is considered by many health buffs as an ingredient to their smoothies. Due to its anti-inflammatory properties, it detoxifies the body and hastens the process of getting rid of toxins.
This explains why chlorella has wonderful effects on the skin. Because of its antioxidant properties, it enhances the way people look once they consume chlorella regularly. Aside from its antioxidant properties, chlorella also contains high level of vitamins and minerals that help the skin glow.
- Protection against chemotherapy and radiation
Another benefit of chlorella as a superfood is its ability to protect the body from radiation and chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is a treatment that not only kills cancer cells, but even the healthy cells. Killing both cells, it depletes the body’s defenses against infection.
What chlorella does is to help negate the effects of chemotherapy on healthy cells. It has a fibrous wall which could latch to cancer treatment substances and heavy metals such as lead and mercury, subsequently removing toxins and radiation out of the system.
- Cancer preventive properties
And aside from lessening the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation, chlorella also has tumor fighting properties. Given the things we are exposed to, everyone is at risk of developing cancer. Cancer cells are basically normal cells that have grown abnormally.
What chlorella does is to enhance the T-cells that fight off abnormal cells in the body. And also, it allows the body’s immune system to function better against infections.
To give you a better understanding how chlorella’s anti-cancer property works, chlorella contains high levels of chlorophyll that emits oxygen. And looking at the characteristics of cancer cells, these are mostly living in anaerobic or oxygen lacking environments.
Also, it has high levels of magnesium which corrects mineral level on cellular level. This lessens the probability of cancer forming due to incorrect mineral levels.
- Prevents diabetes and prevents high cholesterol levels
There are many reasons for us to develop type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol levels. From the stressful work environment to our daily eating habits, these are some factors that affect us in the long run. According to a study, individuals who took 8,000 mg of chlorella divided into two doses everyday exhibited lower cholesterol levels and manageable blood glucose levels.
It has been discovered that chlorella initially affects the cholesterol levels, before affecting the blood glucose levels.
- Weight loss
As the body ages, it becomes more difficult to maintain and lose weight. As your body’s metabolism slow down, the body doesn’t burn calories like it used to. What chlorella can do is to help the body get rid of unwanted weight.
What chlorella does is to improve circulation, and increase metabolism which then allows the body to burn more calories even at resting state.
- Better digestion
Digestion plays a crucial role in providing nutrition to the body. The digestive process allows the body to receive all the nutrients that it needs. It allows the body to have regular bowel movement given its high fiber content. What chlorella does is to improve the digestive system’s overall function. It has been discovered to boost the presence of probiotics in the digestive system as well.
- Better eyesight
A lot of people tend to lose their 20/20 vision from activities that they do and the food that they eat. One of the most amazing benefits of Chlorella is how it helps the eyes. Chlorella plays a huge role in protecting the eyes with its abundant content of lutein, alpha and beta carotene.
Conclusion
A lot of people are looking to improve their overall health by changing the types of food that they eat. A great number of health enthusiasts have turned to Superfoods to achieve this goal. If you are looking to mix things up in your diet, the amazing benefits of chlorella should be enough to urge more people, especially athletes and fitness buffs to include this option into their meals.