I disagree with the websites you've mentioned that say chlorella stays in the intestines. These statements are most likely being made by doctors who are "erring on the side of conservatism". (It's unlikely that any doctors learned about chlorella in medical school. They are most likely learning about it the same way we are-through personal research.) But I believe the statement errs in the face of common sense (1).

The information I've studied states that "broken-wall" (see below) chlorella is digested, its constituients are absorbed, and for this reason, it is considered a nutritional supplement. Broken-wall is an important distinction here.

The constituents we are focusing on in chlorella are sulphur-bearing proteins and glutathione precursors. Sulphur, of course, mobilizes mercury in body tissues and glutathione mobilizes mercury in the CNS (central nervous system).

It is also important to note that we are interested in broken-wall chlorella because this is the best (perhaps the only) way that these sulphurs will be absorbed because of the nature of chlorella's cell wall. This is why I used Sun Chlorella during my personal detox; because they focused on the importance of the broken wall and had research to show that they did it better than anyone else.

Another "hidden" feature of chlorella is its relationship to methionine, which is essential for the proper utilization of selenium and hence, provides yet another mercury-mobilization pathway. Additionally, methionine plays a role in cysteine synthesis (production), and cysteine is a precursor to glutathione.

Algin, on the other hand, does not leave the intestines. It is a non-digestible polysaccharide. Its action is not ionic but physical; it's very absorbent and is able to absorb up to 70-times its own volume.

This is the reason that I use Algin when cheating on my diet; for example, eating salmon, which I happen to love. When I've taken Algin with fish, I had no mercury symptoms. When I didn't, I had obvious symptoms. This does not work for me using chlorella. If we understand the difference between the action of chlorella and algin, this makes perfect sense.

I hope this helps to answer your questions. I've placed some useful links and quotes below the may shed more light on this subject.



"Methionine is an essential amino acid which contains sulphur. Methionine gives rise to the amino acids cysteine and cystine. Methionine, as well as cysteine and cystine, can act as a powerful detoxification agent, being capable of the removal from the body of toxic levels of heavy metals such as lead. The sulphur amino acids are also noted as protectors against the effects of radiation. From a therapeutic viewpoint, the ability of methionine to eliminate toxic metal loads would appear to be one of its prime uses. As an essential aspect of the body's ability to use selenium, methionine has also shown great importance. It is essential for the absorption, transportation and bioavailability of selenium."

—Thorsons Guide to Amino Acids


Cysteine, Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cysteine


"Chlorella is a single-celled, fresh-water alga. Chlorella is almost 60% protein...contains all eight essential amino acids (histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, [color:"red"]methionine[/color], phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine). Its mineral content includes phosphorous, potassium, magnesium, sulfur, iron, calcium, manganese, copper, zinc, iodine, and cobalt."

—William H. Lee, RPh, PhD and Michael Rosenbaum, MD; Chlorella


(1) "The pharmacokinetics of chlorella in humans have not been studied. However, the [color:"red"]proteins[/color], lipids and carbohydrates in chlorella [color:"red"]should be digested, absorbed and metabolized by normal physiological processes[/color]."

—PDR Health: http://www.pdrhealth.com/drug_info/nmdrugprofiles/nutsupdrugs/chl_0068.shtml


My comment: I agree with this statement, but don't let it confuse you. Chlorella itself has not been studied in respect to it's pharmacokinetics (utilization by the body), yet, it's constituents have. They are being intellectually honest in this statement ("...not been studied") yet they are not neglecting common sense ("...should be absorbed...").