Many have been taught the benefits of vitamins and minerals, and the benefits of antioxidants, but to many the benefits of chlorophyll for many are unknown. As the springboard for photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert the sun's rays into energy, chlorophyll is vital. In it's natural state, this element is healing to the point of being called a "wonder drug". In this article I will explore some of its benefits, and explain why raw food is the best source for chlorophyll.

Chlorophyll is the green pigment found in plants, that enables them to take nutrition from the air, sun, and water, and make them "living", raw foods. This green pigment covers up any carotene pigment in the plant. Chlorophyll being a pigment makes it easily spotted in our foods: if it is green, then we know it has this vital element.

Many studies have been done on chlorophyll's benefits. It is fascinating to me that the chlorophyll pigment, is almost identical to our blood pigments! The biggest difference is that the chlorophyll pigments center atom is magnesium, while our bloods center atom is iron. Think of it! The element that causes plants to be able to convert light into energy, is almost identical to our blood pigment. Thus the nickname: "green blood". This is why chlorophyll is so good for our blood! With undiseased blood, most diseases are impossible.

It stands to reason that since chlorophyll is a natural deodorant, that animals that eat grass should have sweet breath. It is implied here that they don't, but being the city girl that I am, I will just have to take others' word for this. However, there was a study done by a veterinarian, Dr. Maurice E. Serling. He gave his canine patients in his veterinary hospital doses of chlorophyll, and banished all halitosis and body odor after six hours! When the tablets were discontinued, the odors resumed, and when they were started again, the odors left again!

There are many benefits of chlorophyll, really too many to list in detail in this article, since it has been used to fight many different diseases, but I hope to give you a basic understanding of a few of its benefits. They are: purification of the blood, liver, constipation and gas corrector, emphysema, abcesses of the liver and kidney, kidney stones, and it has also been shown to be an excellent topical for infections and burns! Chlorophyll contains properties that break down carbon dioxide, and release oxygen, which kills bacteria. Amazingly, it has also been used by professionals in deep surgical wounds! Its absence of toxicity, and promotion of repair tissue/skin, and soothing qualities makes it a miracle antiseptic, and it is my belief that if it could be patented, it would be, along with the air we breathe. (Thank goodness that's not so!)

The raw foods that contain chlorophyll are: green leafy vegetables of all kinds, green olives, romaine lettuce, sea vegetables, broccoli, green peas, leeks, bell peppers, wheatgrass juice, and barleygreen (juice). The best salad green for chlorophyll is spinach. It has been shown that cooking changes the chlorophyll, but the results are inconclusive to how it affects us. It results in the magnesium atom in the center, though, being replaced with hydrogen; and chlorophyll being absent after 20 minutes of boiling. Even though green vegetables are full of chlorophyll, many who are really sick do not absorb this chlorophyll due to the sad shape their colon is in; juicing the raw foods eliminates the fiber, making the juice and the chlorophyll absorbed by your body in a few minutes!

Ann Wigmore has an unforgettable personal testimony of how she overcame gangrene in her leg. She was told she had to have her leg amputated, or she would die. She absolutely refused, even though her parents, and the Doctor were angry with her. In this incredibly weakened state, Ann tells how she was left alone, and sat outside for hours in solitude; since she couldn't get around very easily, she ate grass! She believes the wheatgrass juice cured her, thus her entrance into that industry. The Bible does say that the herbs are for the healing of the nations, and given Ann Wigmore's testimony, and scores of others, I think that it is safe to say that the chlorophyll in these herbs is definitely a factor!

In conclusion, raw foods remain the best way to consume chlorophyll, with juicing your vegetables or drinking wheatgrass or barleygreen being the best. It is possible to lightly steam vegetables, and still get some chlorophyll, but it is not ideal, because of the changed atom structure, and the unknown consequences of doing so.