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Chlorella
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Chlorella is a genus of green algae. Due to the fact that Chlorella is high in protein, calories, fat, and other nutrients, there was once a great deal of interest in the possibility of developing Chlorella-based substitutes for certain foods. This would, in theory, be a simple way of delivering food with high caloric content to the Third World.[1] Today, it is more popular as a staple of health food quackery and often marketed as a "superfood".
Hardcore woo-meisters will hawk it as part of detox diets or chelation regimens, as it allegedly flushes "toxins" and heavy metals out of the body.[2] Unsurprisingly, like many organisms, Chlorella produces its own toxins: lipopolysaccharides that can cause inflammation.[3]
Like most food woo, Chlorella is advertised on any and every diet page that will take their advertising money. With no evidence whatsoever, it is sold as a supplement that makes weight loss easier, in that vague, non-committal, not testable way that is so popular with food wooists.
References[edit]
- ↑ Warren Belasco. Algae Burgers for a Hungry World? The Rise and Fall of Chlorella Cuisine. Technology and Culture, Vol. 38, No. 3, Jul. 1997
- ↑ Quick, purchase your Mercola BrandTM Chlorella here!
- ↑ Systemic LPS Causes Chronic Neuroinflammation and Progressive Neurodegeneration by Liya Qin et al. (2007) Glia 55(5): 453–462. doi:10.1002/glia.20467.