While superheroes may have captivated the mainstream public in multi-million-dollar summer blockbusters, superfoods--powerfully healthful foods and supplements that can bring nutritional balance to anyone in need--are of more interest to the natural health consumer.

One of the most highly touted properties of green superfoods is their nutritional content. "Superfoods can be described as enzymatically alive whole foods that are powerhouses of vitamins, minerals, cell alts, antioxidants and phytochemicals," says Diane Kingsley, of Veto Beach, Florida-based Orange Peel Enterprises, the makers of Greens+. Superfoods help to protect the body from free radical damage, and hey provide key nutrients for optimum health."

Choosing Chlorella

One green superfood that is a virtual paragon of nutrition is chlorella, which is believed to contain the most chlorophyll of any plant. Chlorella also contains numerous vitamins, carotenoids, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, beta-glucans, protein, fiber and chlorella growth factor (CGF).

"The polysaccharides in chlorella stimulate the production of interferon, file fuel your body's immune system needs to work at its full capacity," says Janis Van Tine of Sun Chlorella in Torrance, California.

"The powerful CGF may help revitalize and rejuvenate the entire body by maintaining and repairing cells, increasing energy levels, stimulating the growth of new cells and supporting the immune system."

Indeed, recent research has supported chlorella's role as an ummunomodulator.

A 2002 in vitro study conducted at Oklahoma State University showed chlorella's capacity to suppress histamine release, thereby reducing the body's inflammatory response. Comparatively, animal research showed oral treatment with chlorella (Chlorella vulgaris) increased file release of certain pathogen-fighting immune cells, but only in the presence of infection, according to a report in the August 2002 issue of Immunopharmacology and Immunotoxicology. Interestingly, a human study reported in the July 2003 issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal did not show the same benefit from Chlorella pyrenoidosa in increasing the body's antibody response to a flu vaccination.

Disease Fighter

in terms of chronic disease, chlorella was first shown to decrease the side effects of chemotherapy and arrest the growth of some cancer cell lines in the 1960s, according to the American Cancer Society. And a human study published in the Fall 2002 Journal of Medicinal Food showed that chlorella supplementation improved blood pressure.

Moreover, a Japanese report in February 2004's Phytotherapy Research indicated that chlorella reduced serum total cholesterol and suppressed weight gain in an animal model of menopause. And a combination of liquid and tablet chlorella supplements reduced the tenderness experienced by fibromyalgia patients by 22 percent, according to researchers working at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine in Richmond.

Super Spirulina

Another water-derived superfood that has potent effects in human health is spirulina. Like chlorella, spirulina is well known for its chlorophyll and protein content in addition to its high concentrations of vitamins, minerals and amino acids.

Spirulina was studied side by side with chlorella at Ege University in Izmir, Turkey, and both were deemed "likely t0, benefit human health and enhance performance," according to findings that were published in the November-December 2001 issue of the Journal of AOAC International. Researchers further noted that the algae contain high levels of whole food nutrients, with spirulina being a particularly exceptional source of gammalinolenic acid.

Immune Boost

Also similar to chlorella, spirulina is a known immunostimulant and may be useful in helping the body ward off pathogens. "Until such time that cures or effective treatments are Found for [antibioticresistant] diseases, the best strategy is to boost the immune system and make it ready to defend us," says Amha Belay, PhD, scientific director at Irvine, California-based Earthrise Nutritionals, Inc. "One such strategy is the nutritional and therapeutic supplementation of our diet with foods and nutraceuticals that are known to strengthen our immune system. Such a product is found in spirulina."

Because of its effects in bolstering natural killer cell function, spirulina may suppress cancer and viral infection, as noted by investigators at the Osaka Medical Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Diseases in Japan.

Similarly, University of South Carolina researchers conjectured in a 2004 issue of Medical Hypotheses that algae and spirulina consumption may be part of the reason why HIV/AIDS rates are dramatically lower in Japan and Korea compared to Africa. Additional support for the authors' conclusions is the fact that the Kanemba (a major tribal group in Chad, which has consistently lower rates of HIV/AIDS compared to the rest of Africa) eat spirulina on a daily basis.