Spirulina: The Food Supplement Everyone Should Be Taking!
Spirulina might sound a little odd, but it’s a supplement that is highly nutritious and beneficial. It’s considered an alkaline food, meaning that it fits in well with our ethos here at Sönd of living an alkaline lifestyle, 80% of the time. Spirulina is also suitable for anyone on a vegetarian or vegan diet.
So, what is spirulina, what are its benefits and how should we add it into our diet? Let’s find out!
In this Article
What Exactly is Spirulina and What Does it Taste Like
What Are the Health Benefits of Taking Spirulina Supplements
Is Spirulina a Good Source of Protein
Does Spirulina Have a Detoxifying Effect
Does Spirulina Have Mental Health Benefits
How Can I Add Spirulina to My Diet
What Exactly is Spirulina and What Does it Taste Like?
Spirulina is a type of blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, single-celled organisms that are harvested from their natural habitats of both fresh and saltwater environments in Mexico and Central and East Africa. Like plants, cyanobacteria use energy derived from sunlight to power a process called photosynthesis to produce energy.
Cyanobacteria are thought to be among the oldest forms of life on the planet, having been around on earth for about 2.7 billion years.
Spirulina has been used as a food source since the times of the Aztecs, who used it as probably the first superfood the world has ever known. It was eaten to promote endurance and is still used for the same purpose in Mexico today.
Legend has it that spirulina was eaten by the messengers of the Aztec kingdoms to sustain the marathon distance runs they had to complete in order to deliver their messages.
These days, thanks to its impressive nutritional profile, it’s a food supplement suitable for everyone; marathon runner or non marathon runner and is an ideal daily supplement for managing both physical and emotional wellbeing. It’s also extraordinary in colour, with a beautifully deep bluey green colour.
What Are the Health Benefits of Taking Spirulina Supplements?
This amazing foodstuff is packed with nutrients including the minerals; calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium. It’s also a rich source of vitamin A, the B vitamins and vitamins C and K, alongside healthy fats and carbohydrates.
Spirulina supplements therefore help to support many of the major biological systems of the body, due to their high nutritional content. Since it’s so rich in vitamins and minerals, spirulina helps to support a healthy immune system, meaning that it’s better able to fight bacteria, viruses and other pathogens.
All green foods such as certain fruits and vegetables contain chlorophyll - the greener the food, the higher the chlorophyll content. With its deep greeny blue colour, spirulina is particularly high in chlorophyll.
Chlorophyll has a good antioxidant effect, meaning that it protects the cells of the body from attack and damage from unstable molecules of oxygen called free radicals.
Spirulina also has anti-inflammatory properties, helping to keep inflammation at healthy levels. Chronic, or long term inflammation can eventually lead to chronic inflammatory diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease and certain cancers.
Spirulina is so nutrient packed in fact, that it’s been touted by the United Nations as a “food of the future”. It could potentially be used to help nourish famine stricken and war torn regions of the world, and has also been touted by NASA as a food that could be grown in space as a food for future astronauts.
Is Spirulina a Good Source of Protein?
There aren’t many plant based foods that are considered “complete” protein sources. Meat and other animal products such as eggs tend to be complete proteins, that is, they contain all of the essential amino acids.
Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins (they join together to create proteins) and there are around 20 of them. The majority of them are known as non essential amino acids, as the body can manufacture them itself. However, nine amino acids are “essential” meaning that it's essential that we get them from our diet. A food with complete protein contains all nine of these amino acids.
It’s entirely possible to get enough of these essential amino acids, and therefore protein, on a plant based diet, it just means having to eat a wide variety of protein rich foods, including beans, peas, chickpeas, lentils, nuts and seeds.
However, spirulina is a complete plant based protein as it contains all of the essential amino acids.
In fact, it’s protein content is very impressive, with 4g of protein in one tablespoon (and only 20 calories). This makes it ideal for those who are exercising regularly, as protein is required from the diet in order to build lean muscle mass and also to provide fuel.
Amazingly, it also helps to prevent acidification of the blood, which in turn helps to reduce the muscle pain caused by overworking them. Ideal for athletes of all levels!
The high protein content of spirulina also means that it has an effective satiating and appetite controlling effect, which is helpful for calorie control and weight management.
Does Spirulina Have a Detoxifying Effect?
Yes! Studies have shown that spirulina is an effective detoxifier, helping to counteract the effects of pollutants in the body, including dangerous heavy metals such as arsenic, fluoride, iron, lead and mercury.
Does Spirulina Have Mental Health Benefits?
Spirulina contains the amino acid, L-tryptophan, an amino acid that produces the neurotransmitters serotonin and melatonin. Serotonin is known as one of our happy hormones as it helps to reduce anxiety and depression.
Melatonin helps to regulate our sleep-wake cycle so it’s important for our mental health to have a good supply of both hormones. Consuming L-tryptophan rich spirulina will help to ensure that we have just that.
Also, spirulina is considered to be helpful for emotional enhancement, helping to improve our memory and calm the nerves. Spirulina is rich in another amino acid called glutamine, which supports brain activity, helping to reduce mental fatigue and concentration problems.
How Can I Add Spirulina to My Diet?
We like to see spirulina as the most natural “A-Z” multivitamin we can take. Many supplements that claim to contain a whole range of vitamins and minerals also often contain artificial fillers and synthetically produced micronutrients.
Spirulina on the other hand, is a completely natural product, produced by filtering the water in which the algae is growing and then drying the algae either in hot air or sunlight. The resulting powder can then be used to add to smoothies and juices, or sprinkled over yoghurt or breakfast cereal.
Spirulina has quite a strong taste, some people say it’s reminiscent of the sea, and for this reason, some people are put off by it. We suggest starting with half a teaspoon in a fresh juice to start off with, as this will help to sweeten the taste.
But spirulina powder can also be pressed into tablets, that makes it more palatable if you’re not keen.
There’s no recommended daily dose for spirulina, so we advocate following the instructions and recommendations on the packaging of the spirulina you buy.
Always check that your spirulina powder or capsules have been harvested from waters free from toxins and heavy metals, too. You should be able to find this information on the product packaging, where it will claim that it's free from pollutants. If it doesn’t have such a seal of approval, be wary!
Try adding a spirulina supplement to your diet to see how it could benefit you. It’s a natural energiser, so you may feel more energised and awake, without the coffee! Like with any food supplement however, we recommended giving it three months of regular consumption before deciding if you can see any significant benefits.
This article is not meant to treat or diagnose. Please visit your doctor for advice about any health concerns you may have.
References
https://www.webmd.com/diet/health-benefits-chlorophyll#1 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338159923_Spirulina-Food_of_the_Future
https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002222.htm# https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557845/ https://www.webmd.com/diet/spirulina-health-benefits https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26813468/ https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/13880209.2015.1077464