Chlorella

Chlorella is a single-celled green algae that grows in fresh water. It is harvested, dried and then pressed into tablets or milled into a deep green powder. Most supplements use Chlorella vulgaris or Chlorella pyrenoidosa. Roughly half of the dried weight is protein, and the strong green colour comes from chlorophyll, the pigment plants use to capture light.

People take it as a daily green top-up rather than for one single nutrient. A common serving is 2 to 5 grams a day. That is four to ten tablets of 500 mg, or one to two level teaspoons of powder. Chlorella sits in our wider herbs and plants range, next to other whole-food green ingredients.

The cell wall is the detail that decides quality

Chlorella has a tough cellulose wall that we cannot break down well ourselves. That is why labels mention broken, cracked or pulverised cell wall. The processing method matters more than the wording. Mechanical methods use pressure alone. Heat and chemical methods open the wall too, but can degrade delicate nutrients such as vitamin B12 and chlorophyll. Be aware that the size of the digestion gain is still debated, so we treat it as one factor among several, not as proof of quality on its own.

Tablets, capsules or powder

• Tablets: pure pressed algae, no taste to deal with, easy to count.
• Capsules: the same powder in a shell, useful if you dislike the aftertaste of a tablet.
• Powder: the cheapest per gram and easy to scale up, but it has a clear grassy flavour and stains a glass.

How we choose chlorella

We look at three things: the strain, how the cell wall is treated and what the label can prove. We prefer products that name the strain and the growing method, and that state mechanical processing, because heat can cost you nutrients. We ask for batch results on heavy metals, since algae take up whatever is in their water. Dosage logic counts too: a pack should let you reach 2 to 5 grams a day without swallowing twenty tablets. We buy directly from the brands, every product passes our compliance team, and independent labs spot-check batches. You can read how we select brands.

Who it suits, and what to expect

Chlorella is popular with people who eat few green vegetables and with those on a plant-based diet, so you will also find it in our range of products suitable for vegans. It is a food-based supplement, not a targeted fix. European food safety law approves no health claim for chlorella itself. Where a product supplies a significant amount of iron, the approved claim is that iron contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue, and that comes from the iron, not from the algae as a whole.

Start with about 1 gram a day for the first week. Some people get mild bloating or nausea at higher doses, and taking it with a meal usually settles that. Give it two to three weeks of consistent use before you judge it. If you take anticoagulant medication, speak to your GP first, because chlorella contains vitamin K1. Many customers alternate it with spirulina, which is milder on digestion and higher in protein.