It's winter time in Poland now. It's cold and windy and cloudy. It snows from time to time. Sun seems to be kind of a weather anomaly these days.
So, I naturally eat less fruits and veggies.
I mean, I could eat as many greens as I did in the summer but I feel that such big amounts of raw food aren't the best option for me on such cold weather.
Besides, the quality of fruits and veggies isn't the same as in summer time. As I'm not a big fan of frozen food, there are mainly imported, exotic fruits available for me in the shops. And those, fortunately, are of good quality all the year long but I don't fell like eating bananas and oranges every day from morning till evening.
Anyway, I have my green smoothie every now and then. Sometimes I also prepare myself a sandwich with tomato and horseradish or bite a pickled cucumber. But it's definitely not enough.
Some time ago I was reading about detoxifying food and came across an article about chlorella. I got interested and read even more. Then, I decided I'd give it a try.
Now I'm happy I did!
OK, a few words on what chlorella really is and what it does. Chlorella is simply a green, freshwater alga . It's actually a food, not a specific substance which is only to be taken as supplement pills. But it's loaded with vitamins and minerals and has detoxifying properties - it's superfood, therefore it's taken in pills or powder. Besides, chlorella isn't very tasty (mildly speaking) and is rather costly (especially organic type) so it's most commonly (and conveniently) sold in the form of pills.
Now a few facts about chlorella's properties given on my bottle:
- of all the green plants, this alga contains the biggest amounts of chlorophyll which is needed for transporting oxygen to body cells and blood production.
- In chlorella there's a valuable protein which gives 19 amino acids needed for human body cells growth and regeneration.
- Chlorella contains loads of vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, omega-3 & omega-6 fatty acids, DNA & RNA acids, enzymes and polysaccharides.
- There's also sporopollenin - plant polymer which detoxifies your body.
- This alga contains chlorellin - natural antibiotic which destroys pathogens.
- Last but not least, the alga has Chlorella Growth Factor (CGF). This substance stimulates body cells growth and gut microflora's regeneration.
I've been taking it for about 3 months now, with one-week break every month. And I need to admit I feel great! My skin's definitely improved, my hair's somewhat thicker and
I forgot what's a sore throat or a cold
! Yep, despite the lousy weather, I'm always up and running and full of energy
As I mentioned before, it doesn't taste very good but I quickly got used to it. All in all, the poor taste of chlorella is really a small price to pay for all the nutrients it's packed with!
Just one thing to remember - don't mix chlorella with vitamin C (fruits and veggies included). Vitamin C flushes toxins out of your body and chlorella works as a sponge - it binds heavy metals. Therefore, keep at least 3-hours break between taking these two - they are both great but chlorella and vitamin C taken together are counterproductive.
