BioGenesis Organic Chlorella

These are the questions our naturopaths ask in store about chlorella, and nearly all of them come back to iodine. Australian law treats chlorella as an ingredient that contains iodine rather than as a green superfood, so that's the question to settle before you buy rather than after.

A good fit if

• You're an adult with no thyroid condition, and you're happy to treat chlorella as a food that contains iodine
• You want to know what the Australian rules actually say about this alga before you buy it
• You're choosing a product that states its iodine content, or a listed medicine, where Australia's permitted ingredients list (Schedule 1) caps iodine below 300 micrograms a day
• You don't already take kelp, sea moss, bladderwrack or an iodine supplement, so chlorella isn't adding to another iodine source

Check with us first if

• You have any kind of thyroid condition. The NHMRC notes that people with thyroid disorders may react badly to iodine even below the upper limit it sets for everyone else, and chlorella always contains iodine.
• You're pregnant or breastfeeding. We found no Australian safety position on chlorella in pregnancy, and both your iodine needs and your limits change at that time.
• You're thinking about chlorella for a child. The NHMRC sets the iodine upper limit at 200 micrograms a day for children aged 1 to 3 and 300 for children aged 4 to 8, and the iodine limit for an adult dose on the permitted ingredients list is that second figure.
• You take prescription medicine, including thyroid medicine. We found no interaction evidence for chlorella at all, so this is an open question rather than one that's been cleared.
• You already take kelp, sea moss, bladderwrack or iodine drops, because nothing limits your total iodine across several products.
• If you take prescription medicine, check with your doctor, pharmacist or our naturopaths before you start.

If any of these sound like you, talk to one of our naturopaths or your doctor before you start.

• Any thyroid condition. Under Schedule 1, chlorella contains iodine by definition, and the NHMRC says people with thyroid disorders or a long history of iodine deficiency may still react badly at intakes below the upper level.
• Buying chlorella sold as a food rather than a listed medicine. The Schedule 1 iodine limit applies to medicines, so a food-grade powder or tablet hasn't had its iodine capped by that rule.
• Already taking another product with iodine, such as kelp, sea moss, bladderwrack or an iodine supplement. Nothing adds up your total for you.
• Pregnancy and breastfeeding. We found no Australian safety position on chlorella, so it's unanswered rather than cleared.
• Children. The rules set no limit for children, and the NHMRC iodine upper level for a child aged 4 to 8 is the same 300 micrograms that Schedule 1 allows in a whole adult daily dose.
• If you take prescription medicines. We found no evidence on interactions with chlorella, so we can't say either way.