Liquid chlorophyll has wholly taken over the popular social media platform, TikTok. Users are adding liquid chlorophyll to their water every day to take advantage of its supposed ‘benefits.’ But is this viral trend healthy or just hype?

5. Chlorophyll is a green pigment

Chlorophyll is what makes plants and veggies, like spinach, green. Chefs even use the substance to make their pasta or other foods green.

As far as nutrition goes, chlorophyll does contain some important nutrients. It contains vitamins A, C, K, and E, magnesium, iron, calcium, and potassium. It also has essential fatty acids. Chlorophyll is necessary for photosynthesis in plants and keeping plants healthy. But, chlorophyll supplements, including liquid chlorophyll, are actually copper chlorophyllin, meaning they contain copper instead of magnesium. This is because copper can be detected in the plasma when absorbed.

4. Our skin loves it

Much of the research done on chlorophyll is to see its effects on our skin, as both an acne treatment and anti-aging in women. It’s been shown that chlorophyll as an ingredient in topicals can reduce signs of aging and help with acne.

However, keep in mind that these studies used a topical sodium copper chlorophyllin complex, not liquid chlorophyll that is going viral on social media. Many of them combined the chlorophyll complex with retinols as well. So, if you want healthy skin from chlorophyll, a topical may work better than the liquid version.

3. It may decrease your risk of cancer

Once again, maybe not the liquid kind.

Studies have shown that consuming chlorophyll in vegetables, with its antioxidant properties, may reduce cancer cells’ size and have anticancer effects. However, we have to point out that most of these studies used green vegetables, which contain many other good nutrients along with chlorophyll.

2. It is anti-inflammatory

Many studies have shown that chlorophyll can reduce inflammation in the body. One study reported that chlorophyll a and pheophytin, a magnesium-free chlorophyll, from leaves effectively reduced inflammation in rats.

Vegetables, especially leafy greens, are anti-inflammatory, so this should come as no surprise.

1. To obtain these benefits, eat whole foods too!

While liquid chlorophyll and other chlorophyllin supplements can be a great source to fill the gap in our diets, it is so much more important to eat whole foods. Our bodies absorb the nutrients from whole foods better than they do from a supplement or liquid.

Also, taking too much of one supplement can harm you, according to Harvard Health. It’s recommended that we eat four servings of green vegetables a day, but the amount of chlorophyll we should consume is not regulated. Furthermore, chlorophyll supplements are not regulated either, so their doses vary.

Learn more about how to pick the safest supplements for your body here.