If you’re a TikTok regular, you might have come across the viral beauty/wellness trend that is chlorophyll water not too long ago.
The dark-green pigment-infused beverage is being touted as a potent detox drink, with health benefits including clearer skin, enhanced complexion, improved gut health, and weight loss.
If you think back to high school biology, you’ll know that chlorophyll is the pigment in plants that gives them their green colour, and also helps them turn sunlight into energy via the process of photosynthesis.
While naturally present in green leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale, the trend rests on the idea that we are able to get the same - or even better - effects by ingesting chlorophyll directly.
Chlorophyllin, which is the water soluble form of chlorophyll, is in fact a potent antioxidant and a good source of essential nutrients like vitamin A, C and K.
In addition, chlorophyll is said to protect against free radicals in the body, which are responsible for causing oxidative stress and cell damage.
While studies on the effects of liquid chlorophyll are limited, with most conducted on animals rather than humans, multiple sources have claimed that drinking a glass of chlorophyll water a day can have the following benefits:
- Clear skin and enhance complexion
- Reduce bloat
- Improve digestion and gut health
- Eliminate fungus in the body
- Help prevent cancer
- Aid weight loss
- Detoxify blood
- Heal wounds
- Stimulate immune system and liver function
- Clean intestines
- Prevent bad breath
- Combat yeast infection
While there are no known major health risks of consuming chlorophyll, it may in some cases cause green discoloration of urine or Gi disress, according to dietician Alex Aldeborgh.
Whether it's the increased water consumption or chlorophyll liquid providing these purported health and skin benefits, there’s no harm in trying it out for yourself. And with celebs like Kourteny Kardashian and Mandy Moore swearing by it, it may just be the miracle detox drink for you.
