If you listened properly in your 6th grade science class, you probably know that chlorophyll is a biomolecule found in algae and plants responsible for absorbing light in the photosynthesis process. It is most commonly known in the food industry as a green food coloring, but there has been a number of recent claims on its health benefits (google “chlorophyll health benefits“). We’ll let you make your own decision about that, but we want to let you know a few tea-related chlorophyll facts.
Green tea, obviously, has more chlorophyll than black or oolong teas. Shaded teas (gyokuro, kabuse, matcha) have more chlorophyll than non-shaded because the reduction in sunlight encourages the plant to produce larger amounts of chlorophyll in order to capture and convert the sun’s energy.
Natural deoderizer???
Our apologies. We said above we’d let you decide for yourself as to the health benefits, but this one was too amusing to leave unwritten.
Source: http://www.naturalnews.com/032913_bad_breath_chlorophyll.html
Chlorophyll is more than the natural phytochemical that gives plants their lively green hue: it is also an excellent natural remedy for bad breath and body odor. Chlorophyll has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties that stop bad breath and body odor right at the source. Instead of investing in chemical-laden deodorants, perfumes, mouthwashes and breath mints, try harnessing the power of chlorophyll to solve the problem naturally from the inside out.
As early as 1950, even conventional medical professionals were taking notice of chlorophyll`s unique ability to quell body odor and bad breath. Dr. Franklin Howard Westcott of New York City noted at that time that taking chlorophyll internally or administering chlorophyll baths were remarkably successful at resolving body odor issues.
The Counter Argument
Source: http://www.livestrong.com/article/150423-chlorophyll-underarm-odor/
What Medical Experts Say
The deodorizing properties of chlorophyll were dispelled in 1955, when researcher John C. Kephart, of the National Chlorophyll and Chemical Company, published a study in Economic Botany indicating that “No deodorant effect can possibly occur from the quantities of chlorophyll put in products such as gum, foot powder, cough drops.” National Council Against Health Fraud vice-president James A. Lowell, Ph.D., and integrative physician Dr. Andrew Weil both say that chlorophyll cannot be absorbed by the human body when taken internally.
What do you think? As a naturally occurring element in tea, our opinion is…can’t hurt!
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