Chlorella as a powerful defense against cancer

Tuesday, June 14, 2005 by: Dani Veracity
Tags: chlorella, superfoods, anti-cancer foods

Amazing things truly do come in small packages. One of your most powerful weapons against cancer is chlorella -- a unicellular, green algae. This tiny algae packs a powerful punch. In Prescription for Dietary Wellness, Phyllis A. Balch explains, "Chlorella…contains the highest chlorophyll level per ounce of any plant, as well as protein (nearly 58 percent), carbohydrates, all of the B vitamins, vitamins C and E, amino acids (including all nine essential ones), enzymes and rare trace minerals." Due to its dense and nutrient-rich nature, chlorella offers your body a two-fold attack against cancer. You can access these benefits by taking only one or two teaspoons of chlorella once or twice daily, according to Michael Tierra's Treating Cancer with Herbs.

To grasp chlorella's benefits in fighting cancer, you must first understand cancer's connection to immune system dysfunction. Cancer cells develop in all of our bodies, even in those of us who have never "had cancer." When these cancer cells develop, our immune systems naturally and efficiently destroy them before cancer symptoms appear. On the other hand, when cancer symptoms do appear, these symptoms are an indication of the immune system's sudden inability to effectively fight cancer cells that had been appearing all along. In this sense, cancer is an immune system malfunction more than anything else. You can find in-depth information about the cancer/immune system link on News Target's Cancer page.

With that in mind, one of your best defenses against cancer is to strengthen your immune system. This is where chlorella comes in. Although Western medicine has largely ignored chlorella, Japanese scientists have been widely researching chlorella's benefits since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As Dr. Ralph W. Moss describes in Cancer Therapy, "Japanese scientists studied Chlorella pyrenoidosa as a biological response modifier … Since chlorella does not directly kill cancer cells, the scientists concluded that its effects were caused by boosting the immune response."

In one Japanese study, scientists placed lab mice on a chlorella regimen for ten days, then injected the mice with three types of cancer. According to Dr. Moss, over 70 percent of the chlorella-strengthened mice did not develop cancer, while all of the untreated mice died within 20 days.

Research regarding chlorella's immune-boosting effect is not limited to animal studies. According to Herbal Medicine, Healing Cancer by Dr. Donald R. Yance, Jr., a Virginia-based study treated 15 glioblastoma patients with powdered and liquid chlorella combined at times with standard chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. Although glioblastoma patients normally display a two-year survival rate of 10 percent, the 15 chlorella-treated patients exhibited a survival rate of 40 percent.

This is only one of the many successful studies linking chlorella to strengthened immune response, thus making chlorella a necessary component of effective and well-rounded cancer treatment. In Treating Cancer with Herbs, Michael Tierra, ND, writes, "I recommend chlorella to all cancer patients regardless of any other green drink they might use … It is virtually a complete food in itself. It acts as both a powerful nutrient and a detoxifying food."

In addition to strengthening the immune system's response to cancer cells, the mighty chlorella acts as a preventative measure against cancer by raising blood levels of the protein albumin. According to Earl Mindell's Supplement Bible, by Earl Mindell, RPh, PhD, "Numerous studies have documented that a low albumin level is a marker for serious illnesses such as cancer and heart disease. They point to test-tube studies confirming that raising albumin levels can both prevent cancerous changes and extend the life span of human cells."

If you have already developed cancer, we urge you to talk with your heath care provider, preferably a naturopath, about adding chlorella to your diet. If you are cancer-free, chlorella can potentially help prevent you from developing cancer. According to natural healers everywhere, chlorella can also reduce fatigue, making you feel both stronger and healthier. This single-celled algae is a small, but mighty, weapon against disease.

The experts speak on chlorella and cancer

Chlorella is green algae, which, in a study by Fukada, was observed to have immune-stimulating qualities. It's another herb whose healing properties have not been of much interest to Western medicine.
Aids A Second Opinion by Gary Null PhD with James Feast, page 528

Most research has been done on a one-celled alga known as chlorella. This has been shown to have powerful anti-tumor effects. An oral administration of chlorella protected between 73 and 80 percent of mice against several kinds of cancer. However, all the mice that received chlorella that had been deprived of its protein, died.
Cancer Therapy by Ralph W Moss PhD, page 203

Chlorella can neutralize and eliminate some of the contaminating heavy metals and strengthen the immune system, and GLA, which enhances prostaglandin production and possesses anti-inflammatory abilities.
Complete Encyclopedia Of Natural Healing by Gary Null PhD, page 135

Japanese scientists studied chlorella (pyrenoidosa) as a biological response modifier. First, experimental mice were given chlorella every other day for ten days. Then one of three kinds of cancer—breast, leukemia or Ehrlich ascites—were injected into them. All of the untreated mice died within 20 days. But over 70 percent of the treated ani-
Cancer Therapy by Ralph W Moss PhD, page 203

Natural healers recommend chlorella for nonspecific complaints such as fatigue and for anyone who generally wants to feel stronger or healthier. It is also used by alternative physicians as part of an overall cancer treatment program.
Earl Mindell's Supplement Bible by Earl Mindell RPh PhD, page 24

Since chlorella does not directly kill cancer cells, the scientists concluded that its effects were caused by boosting the immune response.
Cancer Therapy by Ralph W Moss PhD, page 204

Chlorella does not contain the biliprotein phycocyanin found in blue-green algae such as spirulina and wild blue-green; therefore it does not have this anti-cancer dimension. Those who benefit from the immune-strengthening value of CGF and also want phycocyanin can simply add a blue-green alga. Any two or more micro-algae combine well, especially if both are needed.
Healing With Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford, page 194

In another experiment, a group of scientists took a hot water extract of chlorella and injected it into the body cavities of mice that had first been inoculated with tumor cells. They found that "survival times were strikingly prolonged." Furthermore, when they gave mice injections of chlorella, their cells still exhibited "an anti-tumor effect" 24 hours later. This effect remained intact even after 'T' type white blood cells and macrophage (scavenger) cells were destroyed, but it was effectively wiped out by irradiation. Chlorella's anticancer effect was thus dependent on the portion of the immune system most sensitive to x-rays.
Cancer Therapy by Ralph W Moss PhD, page 204

Many reports have come from Japanese research studies that followed the nuclear catastrophe resulting from atomic bombs that were dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. In a report to the General Meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan on an early study in animals, Ichimura (1973) reported that chlorella (8 grams daily) increased elimination of cadmium: threefold in feces and sevenfold in urine. Other researchers from Japan showed that chlorella helped detoxify uranium and lead (Horikoshi et al. 1979). chlorella has detoxification potential for similar compounds, such as dioxin and polychlorinated biphenyls. (PCBs are chemical compounds used in plastics, insulation, and flame retardants, with potential to cause cancer and liver damage.) Other research indicates that chlorella is useful in detoxification of high levels of mercury in the body caused by removal of mercury amalgam. Some dentists recommend chlorella to patients who are having mercury amalgams replaced (as well as to themselves and staff who can incur accidental exposure from day-to-day exposure to amalgam filling procedures) (O'Brien 2001).
Disease Prevention And Treatment by Life Extension Foundation, page 859

Japanese researchers recently discovered that chlorella could raise blood levels of the protein albumin. Albumin is one of the body's most powerful antioxidants as well as its main transport system, carrying vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, hormones, and other essential substances throughout the body. Albumin is also instrumental in carrying toxins away from cells and into the liver, where they are broken down and later excreted from the body. Without adequate levels of albumin, the kidneys, liver, and other vital organs cannot do their jobs as well, and the immune system cannot function as efficiently. Numerous studies have documented that a low albumin level is a marker for serious illnesses such as cancer and heart disease. They point to test-tube studies confirming that raising albumin levels can both prevent cancerous changes and extend the life span of human cells. Although no such studies have been done on humans, it makes sense that raising albumin levels would help to restore health.
Earl Mindell's Supplement Bible by Earl Mindell RPh PhD, page 24

The law of similars ("like cures like") offers another approach to understanding the immune-strengthening quality of chlorella: an organism with a tough outer cell wall may well possess the basic properties which strengthen our own cellular structure against invading organisms and toxins.
Healing With Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford, page 193

Since chlorella has a true nucleus, it is a more evolved organism than the other common green micro-algae and therefore may offer superior-quality RNA/DNA. This particular aspect of its RNA/DNA, measured by the CGF, strengthens immunity by improving the activity of T- and B-cells, which defend against viruses and other invading microorganisms, and macrophages, which destroy cancer and cellular debris in general.
Healing With Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford, page 194

For cancer, AIDS, Epstein-Barr syndrome, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, tumors, Candida overgrowth, excessive mucus, edema, and other conditions associated with dampness, wild blue-green is generally the most useful. Individuals who are not particularly excessive will benefit from a moderate dosage of 1.5-2 grams. The upper dosage ranges of cereal grass, chlorella (excellent for disorders with immune malfunction), spirulina, and dunaliella are also beneficial additions (often spirulina and dunaliella are used together). One may choose the one or two most appropriate of these green foods based on their properties.
Healing With Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford, page 204

Chlorella helps protect the body in its fight against both viruses and cancer. A series of studies during the 1980s showed that tumor growth in mice could be reduced or stopped by injecting a water solution of chlorella…
Herbal Medicine Healing Cancer by Donald R Yance Jr, page 231

This research, says Tim Sara, president of Nature's Balance, a major U.S. supplier of chlorella, "has confirmed that serum levels of albumin are extremely accurate indicators of overall health status and that low albumin levels exist at the onset and progression of virtually every nonhereditary, degenerative disease process, including cancers and cardiovascular heart disease." A series of studies with rats demonstrated that chlorella supplementation increases albumin levels by 16% to 21%.
Heart Disease by Burton Goldberg, page 131

Some micro-algae have very favorable nutritional profiles for cancer and immune therapies. Spirulina, chlorella, and wild blue-green (Aphanizomenon flos-aquae) provide cellular protection with exceptional amounts of beta carotene (provitamin A) and chlorophyll; dunaliella is the highest known natural source of beta carotene. chlorella, the alga to emphasize in those with the greatest deficiency, stimulates immunity in the treatment of all degenerative diseases by means of the "chlorella Growth Factor" (CGF). These bitter micro-algae often work well with chlorella or spirulina.
Healing With Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford, page 378

Chlorella is a one-cell blue-green alga that is highly nutritive as a food and also stimulates the immune system. It increases macrophage activity and has shown antitumor effects. Chorellan is a substance found in chlorella that stimulates interferon production. There are several papers on the prevention and/or inhibition of cancer using chlorella as well as documentation of its DNA repair mechanism.24 one of the many benefits of chlorella is its ability to increase serum albumin levels. A drop in albumin level has many negative effects on the body. Of all the super green foods, chlorella is the one that impresses me the most.
Herbal Medicine Healing Cancer by Donald R Yance Jr, page 71

A study on chlorella published in Japan in 1992 showed that chlorella has impressive effects on blood chemistry. It increased red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, and albumin. The ability of chlorella to increase albumin is vitally important because so many people with cancer have a decreased level of albumin. This decreased level correlates with a poor prognosis; chlorella is a truly important supplement for anyone whose albumin level is low.
Herbal Medicine Healing Cancer by Donald R Yance Jr, page 232

Chlorella is useful in a wide variety of maladies and conditions, including chronic gastritis, high blood pressure, some forms of cancer, diabetes, constipation, anemia, and high cholesterol. It helps clear toxic metals from the body. Chlorella has antitumor and anti-inflammatory properties and strengthens the immune system. The microalgae support normal growth and help maintain health in old age. They reduce pitta and kapha and, in moderation, are healing for vata.
New Whole Foods Encyclopedia by Rebecca Wood, page 81

There have been dozens of animal studies on chlorella and chlorella extracts involving immune response to cancer. One such study involved mice given chlorella prior to transplantation of mammary carcinoma. The results were a 70 percent sixty-day survival of the chlorella group versus no survival in the control group. Mice in the control group were also transplanted with tumors but did not receive chlorella.
Herbal Medicine Healing Cancer by Donald R Yance Jr, page 232

Green foods refers to chlorophyll-rich supplements from sources such as microalgae (including spirulina, blue-green algae, and chlorella) and the young grasses of cereal plants (particularly barley, wheat, and alfalfa). Chlorophyll acts as an antioxidant and may have medicinal benefits against cancer and immune problems. Many people also take green-food concentrates to boost energy levels and physical and mental performance.
Off The Shelf Natural Health How To Use Herbs And Nutrients To Stay Well By Mark Mayell, page 291

In 1990, a study on chlorella was performed at the Medical College of Virginia. Fifteen glioblastoma patients were administered 20 grams of powdered chlorella and 150 ml of liquid chlorella, in some cases combined with standard chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. There was a significant increase in health and immune status immediately, and a striking 40 percent two-year survival rate was reflected in follow-up studies. This is extremely rare for this type of tumor, which normally might yield a 10 percent survival rate after two years.
Herbal Medicine Healing Cancer by Donald R Yance Jr, page 232

There are other beneficial algaes, such as spirulina, a blue-green alga, and other super green foods, but I believe chlorella is the best, particularly for people with cancer and/or a weak constitution.
Herbal Medicine Healing Cancer by Donald R Yance Jr, page 232

Lactoferrin, lipoic acid, and chlorella are the three best supplements I have found for enhancing the nutritional status and raising the albumin level of those with cancer or any chronic illness. Lactoferrin, an iron-binding protein, is a vital element to the human body. It retrieves iron from the foods we eat and delivers it to areas of the body where it is needed. Many people, particularly those with cancer, become anemic because their body is not assimilating iron properly.
Herbal Medicine Healing Cancer by Donald R Yance Jr, page 238

Green-food concentrates are chlorophyll-rich supplements. Most are derived from microalgae (such as spirulina, blue-green algae, or chlorella) or from the young grasses of cereal plants (such as barley, wheat, and alfalfa). Chlorophyll acts as an antioxidant and may have medicinal benefits against cancer and immune problems
Off The Shelf Natural Health How To Use Herbs And Nutrients To Stay Well By Mark Mayell, page 229

A chlorella extract has demonstrated antitumor and antime-tastatic effects in animal experiments. Chlorella has shown some experimental antiatherogenic activity and some radio-protective and chemo-detoxifying effects. It has shown some preliminary benefit in immune function and in some with fibromyalgia.
PDR For Nutritional Supplements by Sheldon Saul Hendle and David Rorvik, page 89

Chlorella. A freshwater single-celled green algae consisting of 60 percent protein, high levels of chlorophyll and vitamin A, and dozens of other nutrients. It's being researched as both an antiaging supplement and a cancer preventive.
Power Aging by Gary Null, page 149

Additional beneficial foods are chlorella and pearl barley. These foods contain germanium, a trace element beneficial for the immune system. It is also a good idea to include kelp in your diet in the form of giant red kelp…
Prescription For Dietary Wellness by Phyllis A Balch, page 10

I also recommend the use of chlorella and/or Green Magma as a twice-daily green drink. Chlorella is a highly nutritive one-celled blue-green algae that is a powerful immune system stimulant that has also demonstrated anti-tumor effects. Research has shown that chlorella is able to repair the DNA system and increase serum albumin levels.
Treating Cancer With Herbs by Michael Tierra ND, page 304

Chlorella is a tiny single-celled water-grown green alga that contains the highest chlorophyll level per ounce of any plant, as well as protein (nearly 58 percent), carbohydrates, all of the B vitamins, vitamins C and E, amino acids (including all nine essential ones), enzymes, and rare trace minerals. Chlorella strengthens the immune system.
Prescription For Dietary Wellness by Phyllis A Balch, page 33 72

I also recommend the use of chlorella, which is a highly nutritive one-cell blue-green algae that is a powerful immune system stimulant that also has demonstrated anti-tumor effects. Research has shown that chlorella is able to repair DNA and increase serum albumin levels.
The Way Of Herbs by Michael Tierra, page 309

Green chlorophyll is the main coloring matter in all green plants, and it relates most closely to Qi, the life force. Green plants and algae are high in chlorophyll, include spirulina and chlorella. Foods and herbs that contain high levels of chlorophyll show pharmacological evidence of cancer prevention, perhaps because pigments in green vegetables such as spinach, kale, broccoli, and lettuce bind with and thus stimulate excretion of cancer-causing chemicals. Even more interesting is a report from one researcher that "Given their exclusive dietary origin, . . . chlorophyll metabolites may represent essential nutrients that coordinate cellular metabolism (through nuclear receptors)."
The One Earth Herbal Sourcebook by Alan Keith Tillotson, page 84

Chlorella: 1 to 2 teaspoons two or more times daily. Dense and nutrient rich in vitamins, minerals and easily assimilable protein, it supports the immune system of patients undergoing chemo and radiation therapy, increases phagocytes, T-cells and cancer killing B cells.
Treating Cancer With Herbs by Michael Tierra ND, page 268

In all anticancer diets, one should incorporate chlorophyll-rich foods derived from the juice of wheat grass, barley grass or a special green algae known in the trade as chlorella. Chlorella, has been found to have greater anticancer properties than any other anticancer supplement. Of course, these 'green foods' are very rich in a wide variety of vitamins, minerals and other health-giving constituents as well.
Treating Cancer With Herbs by Michael Tierra ND, page 309

I recommend chlorella to all cancer patients regardless of any other green drink they might use. Chlorella is a small, one-celled algae containing a nucleus and a large amount of chlorophyll. Its protein content is approximately 58% with the balance made up of carbohydrates, all the B Vitamins, Vitamin C and E, amino acids and valuable trace minerals. It has more B12 than liver and a substantial amount of beta-carotene. Because it has a strong cell wall, it requires processing in order to make all of its nutrients available. It is virtually a complete food in itself. It acts as both a powerful nutrient and a detoxifying food.
Treating Cancer With Herbs by Michael Tierra ND, page 361