Chlorophyll?

[Wendy Beltrami]

Hello!

My son Grant is seeing an acupuncturist for his AA. Last week, the acupuncturist asked that we speak to our hematologist about Grant taking chlorophyll. His creatinine and bili numbers were flagged high when he had his last chem panel done and she felt the chlorophyll may be beneficial as a cleansing agent.

My initial reaction was that it was not a good idea since he is already dealing with iron overload from too many prbc tx.

I am currently waiting to hear from his hemo about this. The acupuncturist considers the chlorophyll to be more of a "food" than a supplement. The one she is recommending is from sea vegetation, extract of alfalfa and purified water. I have been told that patients with iron overload need not omit iron rich foods from their diet but should certainly not take iron supplements.

Any feedback or experience here with chlorophyll?

Thanks,
Wendy/mom to Grant, age almost 15
dx 12.4.98 AA

[Lisa V]

Wendy, I was a bit confused as to the chlorophyll-iron connection you seem to be concerned about, so I did a quick google search and found this site:

http://www.springboard4health.com/no...lorophyll.html

You've probably read it already, but according to them, crude (not pure) chlorophyll could be beneficial in building Hgb, and I can't see why it would cause iron overload, in fact it says: "chlorophyll closely resembles hemin, the pigment which combines to form hemoglobin. ........ one of the major differences between chlorophyll and hemin is that chlorophyll contains magnesium while the hemin molecule contains iron as its central atom." So if anything, wouldn't it help reduce iron overload? I'll admit my understanding of this is not that great, but why do you feel it might adversely affect his iron?

They do make a distinction between pure and crude chlorophyll, though, and it says that pure chlorophyll in high doses is toxic to the marrow, whereas crude chlorophyll is favorable to Hgb generation, so you'd better make sure what you're getting.

I'll bet Marla would know something about this. As far as I know she hasn't registered here, but if you want I can send you her email address. She still remembers you and I'm sure would be happy to help out.

[Wendy Beltrami]

HI Lisa,

Thanks for that link on chlorophyll. That is a much easier to understand site than what I had previously read. The product leaflet that he is being recommended to take says that it is rich in iron, magnesium and potassium". It is from sea vegetation and so I immediately thought of seaweed and how it is rich in iron much like spinach and other dark leafy veggies.

I cannot determine whether it is pure or crude though... Thanks for the info, I will do more looking.

Wendy

[Marlene]

Hi Wendy,

John used to take Spirulina/Chlorella without any adverse effects. He used it for his liver also. We don't worry about the iron content in food because your digestive systems regulates the uptake of iron from the foods you eat and if you have ample iron, then it won't absorb a significant amount. John's mulit-vitamin is without iron though.

Marlene

[fibogann]

Hi,

During my personal research for the use of alternative treatments for my son's AA, I did read about chorophyll and alfafa. I read that in some cases the intake of alfafa was attributed as a cause of AA - whether the alfafa was excessively consumed or was contaminated etc was not mentioned, or was not determined, as in most cases of idiopathic AA. So I'm somewhat cautious about having alfafa together with chorophyll. My simple understanding is to shun anything that has been associated with or as a partial cause of AA.

I have read testimonials of patients on PURE chorophyll and spirulina ( without additional ingredients ) who benefited from the use, with improvements in platelet counts.

Peter Lim

[Wendy Beltrami]

Hi Peter,
Can you tell me where you found info linking alfalfa and AA? I have spent quite a bit of time online and the only negative I could find about Alfalfa was a mention that an overdose of alfalfa could exacerbate symptoms of Lupus.

Thanks,
Wendy/mom to Grant

[fibogann]

Hi Wendy,

First, sorry for the late reply. This is because with the change to this forum format, I only occassionally visit the web based forum as compared to the delivery by email of our posts under the list-serv.

It has been a long time ( nearly 4 and a half years ) since I came across those reports and I did not keep a record of them, so I'm sorry I'm unable to cite the references at this time, but I remembered at least 2 reports.

I understand that alfalfa has widely been suggested to help as a supplement for general anemia. The concern I have is that the alfalfa must be free from pesticides which is applied during its growth.

The government glossary of environmental terms clearly shows where alfalfa is generally grown in the USA and what pesticide is applied on alfalfa, and you may like to check this out:

http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/InformationRe...s/glossary.cfm

You can find out where alfalfa is grown and what chemicals are used.

If I come across those articles again, I'll post here.

Hope this helps somewhat.

Regards,

Peter Lim

[downtown]

Does anyone know where to purchase crude chlorophyll? I want to try it!