Spirulina is a Micro Salt water plant, spiral-shaped Algae that grows in very warm waters, in alkaline lakes of Mexico and at the coasts of the African continent.
It is one of the oldest life forms on Earth, that helped produce our oxygen-rich atmosphere billions of years ago.
It is a powerful, nutrient-dense Superfood that reproduces quickly and is easy to harvest all year round. Its growth rate is very high: 30% per day! Because it uses 10 times less water than other vegetables, harvesting Spirulina offers multiple advantages to the environment where it grows.
Spirulina is one of the most nutritious plant-like organisms knows as of today.
It is a potent vitamins, enzymes, minerals, Essential Fatty Acids, Proteins powerhouse, that is low in calories but ultra nutrient-dense and very robust to high temperatures, which makes it easier to process.
1. Why is Spirulina so powerful?
- It contains 60-70% of proteins (more than red meat), with about 18-22 Amino Acids and all 8 Essential Amino Acids, offering a perfect natural combination of anti-inflammatory compounds
- It is very rich in Chlorophyll, plants’ hemoglobin. This is why it is such a potent natural detoxifier, helping the liver cleanse the blood by removing toxins like heavy metals, mercury, arsenic, pesticides, cadmium, environmental carcinogens or synthetic food chemicals. It really helps the body remove all those toxins. After a few minutes after consumption, people can usually feel a rise in Energy as a result of this natural cleansing effect.
- It is very rich in Vitamin A, C, D, E, K but also vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, B9 (Folic Acid) and B12, which make it a powerful supplementary food for vegetarians, vegans
- Rich source of essential minerals like Potassium, calcium, Chromium, Zinc, Selenium but mostly IRON. That’s why it is a great superfood for pregnant women or anemic people. This iron is bio-available, which means it is easily absorbed by the body
- Rich in Iodine
- It is a rich source of Essential Fatty Acids, especially Alpha Linolenic Acids (Omega-3) and Gamma-linolenic Acids (Omega-6). It is a great source for people who can not take Fish Oil to balance out their essential Omega-3 / Omega-6 ratio
- It is very rich in antioxidants, 4 times more than blueberries for example and rapidly used by the body
2. The health benefits that result from this nutrient-dense powerhouse:
- Energy boost: gives a real, well-being sensation and vitality due to its natural life force
- Immune system boost: helps fight and prevent colds, viruses, and other infections
- Helps detoxify from heavy toxins and other radiation out of the body
- Improves digestion and overall gut health
- Helps skin problems like age spots, eczema, acne, rashes
- Fights ageing process due to its many antioxidants
- Helps stabilize appetite and helps for weight loss
- Helps eyes issues like glaucoma, cataracts and poor vision
- Helps fight allergies (especially around ear/respiratory symptoms)
- Helps improve heart disease conditions, hypertension, arthritis, osteoporosis, diabetes and even depression
- Neuroprotective effect due to detoxification
- Improves blood vessels elasticity
3. Highly important: where and how it is harvested
If grown in contaminated water, this blue-green algae absorbs all the toxins and becomes itself incredibly toxic. This can cause a range of fresh health problems that can be very bad. Therefore, avoid Japan’s harvested Spirulina, or from the closeby regions, especially after March 2011 (Fukushima catastrophe).
Select carefully, this is MOSTLY IMPORTANT. Make sure the source is clean, organic, harvested in pure clean waters.
In its powder form, Spirulina is better absorbed. But the taste can be hard at the beginning, so some people might prefer the tabs form. But again, make sure this is a good quality: no sugar, starch fillers, animal parts, preservatives or other stabilizers, colours added.
The recommended dose is 3000mg/day for Adults, and 500-1500mg/day for children. This is for preventative usage.
For a therapeutic effect, you can use up to 10 000 – 20 000 mg/day. But because it is a potent detoxifier, always start with a small dose and increase slowly. Some people might not tolerate it well. Those should try Chlorella for a similar effect.
4. Spirulina: a solution to malnutrition?
Spirulina has been more and more used to prevent malnutrition for Astronauts for example. But also for malnourished Children in India: the organization Antenna India provides Spirulina sweets and offer low-cost Spirulina to women in self-help groups. Research shows that those children that were fed daily with Spirulina for 2 months have better nutritional status and even improved intellectual status compared to the ones that didn’t. This is a serious thing to think about. Some studies also show that this could be a real solution to starvation.
Spirulina is not advised for people with hyper parathyroidism, allergies to seafood or seaweed, high fever. Always ask a health practitioner in doubt.
5. My Spirulina treat
Yes, I LOVE Spirulina, it helps me feel great, helped my digestive system work better, and increased my overall energy levels drastically. I feel it as soon as I take it. Click HERE to see the one that to me is one of the best you can find. For an "easier to have" version, with raw cacao and mint ( a real treat!), see HERE.
My favourite mix: Spirulina, Cinnamon, raw Cacao nibs or Cacao powder, sometimes some pumpkins seeds or other nuts in it, everything in some water or Coconut Kefir (see blog here): A delicious Health Bomb!! Just play around with spices you like, add it to your smoothies or salads. You will feel the benefits from it quite quickly.
In Health and Love,
Stephanie