Benefits of Spirulina - Loaded with Nutritious Benefits

What are some of the benefits of spirulina?

Before we cover the benefits let's first take a look at what spirulina is.

Spirulina is an algae... a blue-green algae. Spirulina is grown in fresh water ponds and in tanks of water having a high alkaline content.

Spirulina is single celled but unlike other single celled algae, spirulina does not have any cellulose in its cell walls - this makes spirulina highly digestible.

So What Are the Benefits of Spirulina?

Spiulina is a very nutritious food source. Spirulina is loaded with vitamins A and E and is an excellent source of B complex vitamins. As a matter of fact it is one of the very few of the plant sources containing Vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 is usually found only in animal tissue and is very hard for folks on a vegetarian diet to get enough of. Spirulina contains roughly twice the amount of Vitamin B12 as does the same amount of liver.

Another of the benefits of spirulina is that it has lots of protein. Spirulina is about 65% protein whereas beef is about 22% protein. The protein supplied by spirulina is a complete protein supplying the eight essential amino acids that our bodies cannot produce. Spirulina is also rich in carotenoids, minerals, essential fatty acids and antioxidants (you can read more about what an antioxidant does on our facts on Vitamin C page).

Anti-viral Properties

In test tube studies, spirulina has demonstrated antiviral properties. According to the Physician's Desk Reference, "further experiments demonstrated that spirulina extract significantly inhibited in vitro (test tube) replication of several enveloped viruses, including human cytomegalovirus, measles virus, mumps virus, influenza A virus and HIV-1."

What this is saying is that in the lab (in a test tube), spirulina kept the above named viruses from replicating (cloning and reproducing itself). It did this not by actually killing the virus, but by keeping the virus from penetrating host cells. Penetration of host cells is necessary if a virus is to replicate and spread throughout your body.

Cholesterol Lowering Properties

Another of the benefits of spirulina is that it is believed to have cholesterol lowering properties as well. A study appearing in the Journal of Medicinal Food states "Essential fatty acids such as gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) can prevent accumulation of cholesterol in the body, and spirulina has an appreciable amount of GLA."

It further goes on to tell us that "It can be concluded that spray-dried Spirulina capsules, rich in antioxidants, GLA, amino acids, and fatty acids, helped reduce the increased levels of lipids in patients with hyperlipidemic nephrotic syndrome." (Nephrotic syndrome (NS) is the kidneys leaking protein into the urine and hyperlipidemic is a condition of high blood cholesterol which is caused by the NS).

Immune Boosting Functions

The PDR also tells us that another of the benefits of spirulina is that it has been shown to boost various immune functions. In a study on animals, spirulina was shown to double phagocyte levels. Phagocytes are white blood cells that attack and kill foreign invaders to our bodies.

OK, I See the Benefits of Spirulina, but is it Safe?

You want to consider the source of your spirulina and make sure it is certified to be free of any heavy metals like mercury, cadmium and lead. Also, only because spirulina's effects during pregnancy and breast feeding have not been studied, you may want to discontinue use during these times.

What Do We Recommend?

Most research seems to point to getting your benefits of spirulina in your multivitamin. This insures that your spirulina and the other nutrients you are getting are working together synergistically.

None other than Harvard School of Public Health weighed in by stating that the, "... intake of several vitamins above the minimum daily requirement may prevent heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, and other chronic diseases."

Also, an article appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) had this to say: "…suboptimal intake of some vitamins, above levels causing classic vitamin deficiency, is a risk factor for chronic diseases and common in the general population..."

In addition, the JAMA went on to say, "Most people do not consume an optimal amount of all vitamins by diet alone. Pending strong evidence of effectiveness from randomized trials, it appears prudent for all adults to take vitamin supplements."

We've seen lots of products out there and we recommend not wasting your time or money on the mass produced, mass marketed thrift store variety multivitamins.

Most of these skimp on the amount of nutrients in their formulations and some are are just downright low quality.