This post originally appeared in a slightly different form in our Summer 2008 catalog. 

I would guess my family isn’t the only one that recognizes the importance of eating greens. How many families (and women in particular) have spent part of their days choking down a glass of green grit that tastes as though it was just scooped out of the ocean? You know what I’m talking about: that green stuff made from barley. (Or, as my father calls it, barf-ley.)

The health benefits of green powders may be great, but it used to embarrass me when my 3-year-old sister had to count “1-2-3” to get Mommy to chug it each morning.

So I say, “Can’t we have a green supplement with all the same benefits, or maybe even better, in a drink that’s actually palatable?” Well, it turns out that Beeyoutiful’s Liquid Chlorophyll fits the bill!

But exactly what is so marvelous about chlorophyll?

Cheer for the Red, White, and Green

Chlorophyll is every green plant’s blood, and it’s remarkably similar to our own blood. The difference is found in only one metallic molecule. The central element in chlorophyll is magnesium, while the core element in human blood is iron. And this differing component, magnesium, is one our bodies can easily convert to iron.

Chlorophyll such as Beeyoutiful’s is usually extracted from alfalfa, which has more vitamins, minerals, and chlorophyll than almost any other plant. Not only are you getting the green energy, but also a lot of calcium and trace minerals necessary for good health along with it.

Chlorophyll can support good health, minimizing a variety of conditions such as anemia, low energy, hypoglycemia, and digestive disorders, and it’s known for detoxifying the body (especially the liver). It deodorizes the body naturally by stopping the growth of harmful bacteria, boosting the immune system, and promoting overall wellbeing.

And if detoxifying and supporting our blood cells isn’t enough of a contribution, chlorophyll is also rich in calcium, which makes it great for menstruating women, since we lose so much calcium through menstruation. The high calcium levels also make it helpful for joint and bone problems, especially hip joint conditions.

Green and Bear It

Using chlorophyll can be fun, and not something you have to endure! Beeyoutiful’s Liquid Chlorophyll is one of the most pleasant-tasting options I’ve found.

It’s so gentle at cleansing the system that it is good for people and children of all ages, and is considered safe during pregnancy. In my midwifery practice, I recommend chlorophyll for pregnant women who are really tired and have low iron levels.

Sometimes if their hemoglobin is particularly low, I have moms combine chlorophyll with Yellow Dock and a tea of Red Raspberry Leaves and Nettle to really give them a boost (in some cases, Yellow Dock can cause diarrhea, so if that happens, I stick with just the chlorophyll). Chlorophyll is high in vitamin K, which helps build healthy blood that clots well.

One benefit of using natural options such as herbs and chlorophyll is that our bodies can so readily assimilate the nutrients they need. Traditional iron pills, by contrast, have a horrible reputation for not absorbing and causing all kinds of problems. But when you’re using whole herbs, your body can assimilate what it needs and simply excrete the excess.

The pleasant mint flavor of Beeyoutiful’s chlorophyll makes it easy to take straight or diluted in a glass of water. I’ve never known anyone yet to mind the taste! It’s great to have on hand during labor to sip on to help boost energy, and if a woman hemorrhages after delivery, chlorophyll is usually the first thing I give her afterward to rebuild red blood cells and her overall blood volume. You can’t overdose on it, and when someone has bled a lot, chlorophyll is like giving your body a transfusion since it’s so similar to our own blood.

Good for Baby, Too

In addition to being good for rebuilding blood loss, chlorophyll is also great for lactating mothers. Not only should it help support milk production, it’s also believed to increase the iron levels in breast milk. I recently saw a mom for a six week post-natal checkup, and she mentioned that, since she went back on chlorophyll, she noticed her baby wasn’t so fussy. (A lot of you who have had colicky babies might want to give it a try for that reason alone!)
I put one mother on chlorophyll while pregnant with her sixth baby because her iron level was low. It brought her count up to a much better level, and also boosted her energy. She stopped taking it after her son was born, but it wasn’t long before she came to me saying how exhausted she was.

I checked her hemoglobin again, and sure enough, it was low. I told her to go back on the chlorophyll and just stay on it. When her baby was only eight months old, to her surprise she conceived again, but could hardly believe she was pregnant because she still felt so good. She didn’t experience the usual nausea, nor was she as wiped out. Now I hear her singing the praises of chlorophyll to other tired, anemic, pregnant women!

One thing that was pointed out to me recently is that some other popular chlorophyll supplements contain parabens, a chemical preservative. Beeyoutiful’s all-natural chlorophyll, as you might guess, doesn’t have it any such additives.

As a midwife, I tend to focus on the benefits of chlorophyll for pregnant women, but you should know that its healthfulness is good for everyone. I believe chlorophyll should be in all refrigerators! It has no known side effects or toxicity levels, delivers many great nutrients, and offers a pleasing taste and more health benefits than that obnoxious glass of barf-ley!

written by Amy Leiter Brewer