Health fads are nothing new, in fact they probably go back all the way to the dawn of humanity. However, with the rise of the internet, people have been able to share lots of information and testimonials with each other about what new foods or products have miraculous properties.

Unsurprisingly, a new trend has been making the rounds among social media influencers: drinking chlorophyll.

What Is Chlorophyll?

Chlorophyll is a type of pigmentation found in plants and certain types of bacteria that's responsible for making sure sunlight absorption occurs as part of the photosynthesis process. It allows plants to produce their own food and is the principle reason why most leaves are the color green.

Why Are People Drinking It?

Chlorophyll has many purported health benefits related to its antioxidant properties. Antioxidants are useful for preventing the breakdown of organic molecules in the human body, which ultimately leads to anti-aging benefits and even cancer prevention in some cases.

Chlorophyll has often been used as a topical agent placed on the skin to reduce the visual effects of aging such as wrinkling.

The type of chlorophyll consumed by people in liquid form isn't actually the kind found in plants, but instead a synthetic variety called chlorophyllin, which is designed to easily dissolve in water for hassle-free consumption.

Social media personalities have heralded chlorophyll water as a way to reduce the presence of acne, promote the development of healthy gut bacteria, limit wrinkling, and prevent the development of cancer.

Much of chlorophyll's appeal comes from its "all-natural" status. Given that it's an extremely common molecule found in many healthy foods, it seems like a good health-boosting alternative to other products that might have a long list of unpronounceable and questionable factory-produced chemicals.

Does It Actually Work?

People on social media claiming something works and something actually working aren't always in line with each other.

It's entirely possible that consumption of chlorophyllin has a significant number of health benefits. It is, after all, found in a diverse range of nutritious foods. However, just because something's possible that doesn't mean it's really the case.

There's very limited information on the health effects of chlorophyll consumption. Human studies have been extremely small, as well as inconclusive, and studies on animals such as laboratory mice haven't yielded much information either.

This means that most claims made about chlorophyll's benefits are essentially baseless; entirely possible, but there's no real reason to think they're true. In all likelihood, chlorophyll consumption has a relatively benign effect on the human body.

Is It Safe to Consume?

Chlorophyll itself is generally safe to consume for most people. It's found in a large number of completely edible foods, such as spinach, and there's no research results that indicate that it has any adverse effects as part of a normal, healthy diet.

That being said, there are still a lot of unknowns and the consumption of chlorophyll in foods is still different from its consumption in concentrated form, like what's found in chlorophyllin. Over-ingestion of chlorophyll, as is the case with any food, could potentially lead to certain health complications and if someone consumes chlorophyll water several times a day for a long period of time, problems could arise.

What we do know is that for most individuals, a safe dose of chlorophyll is capped at about 300 milligrams per day. While this can be applied broadly, individuals with certain health conditions might end up experiencing unpleasant side-effects.

Is Drinking Chlorophyll Water A Good Idea?

There's no hard evidence that drinking chlorophyll has any special health benefits, but that doesn't mean it doesn't work.

Lots of people are completely convinced that it's tremendously healthy after consuming it for long periods of time. Especially in the realm of acne treatment, there are some really die-hard fans.

For most people, consuming at least a little bit everyday probably isn't going to hurt, but putting it in everything or drinking it several times a day is not a very good idea. Dabbling in it might reveal some really pleasant results, but going overboard is potentially dangerous and a waste of money.