Spirulina: What is It & How Can It Benefit Your Health?

If there is the perfect food concerning health benefits, we have not found it yet. And the one we have now is not new; the Aztecs knew how good it was for them and frequently ate it. What we are talking about is a blue-green algae form of bacteria called Spirulina that grows in both fresh and salt water.

When taken in either powder or tablet form, a 7-gram dose provides the following nutrition:

• 4 grams of protein
• 1 gram of fat
• Vitamins B1, B2, and B3
• Copper
• Iron
• Magnesium, potassium, manganese and trace amounts of almost every other nutrient we need

At 20 calories per serving and 1.7 grams of complex carbohydrates, gram for gram it is the single most nutritionally complete food known to man today.

Health Benefits

One of the largest benefits of taking spirulina is because of its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory response. Free radicals produced as a waste of cellular energy production can cause many health issues including cancer, diabetes, and various cardiovascular, pulmonary and neurological diseases. Spirulina neutralizes free radicals, thus lowering your risk for these diseases.

Heart Disease

One of the ways Spirulina helps prevent heart disease is by lowering the bad LDL cholesterol and raising the good HDL type. Free radicals can cause LDL lipoproteins in the blood to oxidize, called lipid peroxidation, which can lead to heart disease. But numerous studies have shown the antioxidant properties of this superfoods keep oxidation in the blood at bay.

Oral Cancer

Some studies have shown that spirulina can fight some types of cancer. Just 1 gram per day reduced lesions in the mouths of participants by 45%. Within one year of not using spirulina, 55% had lesions back in their mouths.

Muscle Strength and Endurance

Athletes are discovering what spirulina can do for them too. Exercise-induced oxidative damage is one of the leading causes of muscle fatigue. When taken as a supplement in two different studies, spirulina enabled athlete participants to go significantly longer and further before the onset of muscle fatigue.

Health Benefits for Women

Spirulina has shown to be effective in reducing some of the unique health issues in women. With it being one of the leading sources of gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), it has proven itself to reduce the symptoms of PMS.

And with 26-times the calcium of milk, its high density of iron, and gram-for-gram more protein that beef, poultry or fish, it is a food of choice for women who are pregnant (but please check with your doctor before taking it).

The health benefits of spirulina go on and on; enough to fill a book. What is encouraging about this food is that it is all natural with no known side effects, yet beneficial in so many ways.