Chlorella is a single-celled fresh-water green micro algae, and is thought to be one of the planet's earliest lifeforms. Since the 1960's chlorella has been popular in Japan as a multi-supplement taken to maintain health through optimal nutrition. It is so nutrient-dense it has been dubbed nature's perfect food.

As these recent articles in Marie Claire and the Telegraph explain, Chlorella is attracting a lot of attention for its myriad of health benefits. It has been shown to reduce body-fat percentage and blood-glucose levels and help those suffering from Type 2 diabetes, obesity or heart disease. Its benefits include boosting energy, aiding digestion and fighting depression.

With by far the highest chlorophyll content of any known plant, chlorella quite literally is an engine for converting the sun's goodness into living cells through the miracle of photosynthesis. Chlorella is so efficient at converting sunlight into plant matter that it can double its biomass every twelve hours - an astonishing feat considering the protein rich (60%), nutrient dense nutritional wonder that results. Chlorella has been called "the perfect food", containing as it does virtually all the nutrients the human body needs for optimal health.

Yaeyama Chlorella supports the immune system in numerous ways and helps to protect the body:

• Chlorella is a true plant and a real food.
• In a time of constantly decreasing biological values regarding our daily food (fewer minerals, vitamins etc.) and increasing overall stress to many people from pollution, Chlorella may serve as a functional food in the best sense of Hippocrates: "Let your food be your medicine; let your medicine be your food".
• Chlorella is a green spherical single celled freshwater micro-algae (smaller than a human red blood cell) and has been on earth for over 2.5 billion years since the Pre-Cambrian Period.
• Due to its small size, Chlorella has been continuously forced to create effective mechanisms in order to survive in an environment often extremely hostile to life. Climate upheavals, bacteria, viruses, fungus and any kind of pollution (e.g. high concentrations of heavy metals) are some examples of the "training conditions" for an absolutely outstanding survivor - Chlorella ("a creature of earth, wind and fire").
• Its survival to modern times is a tribute to its hardiness, rapid DNA repair without age and also to its strong defensive system against oxidative damage or destruction resulting not only from foreign invaders like bacteria and viruses, but also toxic substances such as heavy metals. Some of these abilities are more or less directly attributable to a unique combination of certain substances named "Chlorella Vulgaris Extract" (C.V.E.)

- As you will see, all these characteristics are of great importance to Chlorella's protective and healing effects on Man.

Translation of article published in September, 2002 issue of "CHA NO MA" magazine, as part of its Health Seminars series

Interview with Tokai University Professor Emeritus Kouji Morooka, M.D.

Today, health supplements are the focus of attention as more and more people look to preventative medicine and personal health care as answers to life style afflictions and the problems of aging. We interviewed Dr. Kouji Morooka, known for his studies on life style afflictions and on immunology, on the effects and effective use of chlorella, one of the oldest health foods known to Man.

Long acclaimed for its health properties, chlorella is highly regarded throughout Japan. Here, if you're not already a consumer, you're still are sure to have heard of it.

Chlorella is a marine algae that first came to light along with the first microscope studies. Over 100 years ago, Professor M. W. Beijerinck of the Netherlands was the first to culture chlorella in his laboratory. Chlorella takes its name from "chlor" for green and "ella" for small.

Of course, chlorella existed on earth long, long before it was known to Man. The many schools of thought on how chlorella came into existence include several suggesting it appeared in the oceans at about the same time the earth was born. Since, it has survived through eras of changes. Certainly, we can say chlorella is the "granddaddy" of all health foods.

Chlorella is actually a well-balanced package of essential nutrients. Along with its rich stores of protein, one of the three most important nutrients, chlorella also provides carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins, chlorophyll and its own unique Chlorella Growth Factor (CGF). The nutrient amalgam contained in Chlorella fulfills all the requirements for a superior health food. Working to maintain bodily health, prevent disease, and enhance recuperation, Chlorella can be thought of as a complete health supplement. It is truly the ultimate health food.

So what specific benefits does chlorella offer? This has been the subject of numerous studies. While its full potential is still unknown, Chlorella offers four main benefits.

First, of primary concern is that Chlorella normalizes the flow of fluids through the body. About 15% of the fluid in our body is blood, the lymph systems carries another 70%. Blood is moved through the body's circulatory system by the heart "pump"; while nearly 500 nodes filter lymph fluid as it circulates throughout the body. Both systems are fundamental to our health. If the flow of these fluids through the body is restricted, the body's ability to function properly is affected and we become susceptible to debilitating effects. We hear people complaining all the time about not being able to raise their arms or turn their heads. These symptoms are often due to a problem with obstructed flow of lymph fluids. The superior nutritional balance afforded by chlorella helps ease and normalize the flow of the essential liquids in our metabolic pathways. This is probably the single most important benefit chlorella brings us.

Second, chlorella works directly at cell level. As you know, the human body ontains nearly 60 trillion cells. Chlorella works to directly stimulate each of these 60 trillion cells. Since cells are the fundamental building blocks of every part of our body, any restriction of their natural activities has the same effect as it does with restricting fluid flow: it can lead to debilitating effects.

Chlorella provides the nutrients needed for the basic building blocks of our body: the circulatory system, the lymphatic system, and cell production.

The third benefit of chlorella is that it works to strengthen the immune system. If we want to help ourselves heal or even prevent disease, the key is to build up our immune systems. Of course it depends on what type of virus we are talking about, but as we noted earlier, most viral infections and intrusions can be successfully fought off if the cells are healthy and the metabolic pathways are clear.

Fourth is chlorella's ability to detoxify the body. Not only does it help fight viral infection, chlorella works to clear the body of other toxins and poisons. It can help our bodies to eliminate dioxins other hormone disruptors. These are the four biggest benefits of chlorella.

Chlorella normalizes the flows of body fluids, supports cell health, heightens the immune system, and detoxifies our body. These activities help us avoid a barrage of illnesses.

Specifically, it works to counter many of the effects of poor adult health due to sedentary life styles or poor nutrition. These effects arise from problems with the flow of fluids through our metabolic pathways such as blood or lymph, so clearing the pathways can help prevent problems arising from poor health practices.

The same point is applicable to how chlorella works to fight cancer and senility. Where senility is concerned, we know that much is due to poor blood flow through the brain or to cell exhaustion. When it comes to cancer, we have agents in our bodies that would normally fight cancer-causing cells but when these protectors weaken or fail, cancer cells multiply. If those cells multiply in concentrations, we call the resultant growth a cancer. So, chlorella's abilities to rejuvenate and normalize the flows of our body fluids help prevent disease.

There are many studies proving that chlorella also works to alleviate high blood pressure or diabetes, malignant tumors, and ulcers. Nor is this just about diseases. Chlorella has anti-aging properties, and more recently, has been found to help reduce obesity. Obesity is not itself a disease but it is a major contributing cause in the onslaught of many diseases.

Listing the benefits of chlorella as I've done here makes it sound like it's an all around curative and in fact, I think it is. Since it works with the basic building blocks of our bodies, it is a complete health food. However, we have to consider that chlorella is naturally occurring and is not a medication. Consuming chlorella to heighten your immunity is fundamentally different from taking medicine after you're sick.

I've given several examples here but generally, once you're actually sick with some disease, you go to the hospital where you are prescribed some medication. For example, if you suffer from asthma or pollen allergies, you'll have symptoms or reactions like sneezing or coughing. The medicine will, for a while at least, hold down your reactions and you'll be a little more comfortable. But the real problem that lies with your body systems being aggravated remains, so it becomes a cycle of symptoms appearing again, and you taking medicine to mask them again.

This is symptom or reaction management. Going a little extreme, this kind of treatment addresses only the symptom or reaction apparent at that time. Worse, any cycle of continuing consumption of strong medications means that over time, there will be side effects. Of course, the right medications should be taken whenever they are needed--I'm not saying that medicine should be avoided. Western style medicine as practiced in Japan's hospitals today is quite advanced and is an essential part of curing diseases. Japan is just beginning to practice better preventative medicine or immunology but the current setup of hospital systems does not allow them to prescribe chlorella or other health foods, no matter how natural or how free of side effects.

Requirements are different for every one and medical treatment should ideally be suited for individual differences. In other words, we have to practice medicine more personally. We must prescribe for individual bodies, considering the differences between people. It is important to be responsible for your own health. We have to watch for symptoms and reactions in treating each individual. This is called Evidence-Based Medicine and I think we should do more to include these practices in our lives.

This is something I call on all readers to do: take an active role in caring for your own health. What I want you to think about is not how to cure a disease after you contract it but how you can enhance your immunity and use it to avoid getting sick.

Doing exercise and getting rest are important too but don't forget that the World considers Japanese cooking exceptionally healthy. Maintaining a proper and well-considered diet is a key to effective preventive medicine. We need to teach our children the ins and outs of good diets even as we take care, each day, to get the proper nutrition. This is where the well-balanced nutrition available through chlorella can be of significant benefit.

Lately, there are cases of people taking stomach medicine before they overeat, but this kind of practice is exactly the opposite of preventive medicine. The point is to avoid over-eating in the first place. I spoke earlier of personal health care and evidence-based medicine. This is something we should be doing on a daily basis. In that sense, chlorella is at the cutting edge of preventive medicine. I think everyone should try chlorella, to see how it works and to use it effectively.

Dr. Kouji Morooka graduated Keio University Doctoral Course. Held posts as Associate Professor at Keio University, Professor at Tokai University, Visiting Professor at University of Windsor Canada, and Advisory Professor at the National Medical University of China, the supreme medical authority of China. Offers lectures and appears on TV as consultant on health foods approved by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Internationally known health care commentator. Author of "Science of Longevity"; and "The Liver Savior".