If you want to lose weight, are looking for a better diet, want to increase your protein intake, to find for a good postworkout supplement or even because you saw an Instagram picture of a blue smoothie: then you, for sure, stumble upon this last miracle food the spirulina.

In this article, I will show you what spirulina is, the benefits, the controversy and how you should take it.

What is spirulina?

Spirulina is a “green-blue” algae coming from the cyanobacteria. This bacteria is formed by photosynthesis and is considered as one of the first life forms on our planet. They also do not need any living energy to create their own food.

Nowadays spirulina can refer to different types of cyanobacteria but we will concentrate only on the edible one.

It was first used by the Aztecs as a food source in cakes. They would harvest this alga from the lakes, dry it and then use it in their daily cooking.

Nowadays, it is getting more and more popular and a lot of people swear by it.

You have to know spirulina is a natural alga that grows on lakes and open canals.

What are the benefits?

Here are the advantages that I could find on the web: boost of energy, improve endurance, improve the immune system, support for the heart, the liver and the kidneys, help with fat loss and reduce fatigue, detox the body. What a superfood!

To be honest, it is quite hard to not see it as a must-have: this alga has more protein than beef (26gr), chicken (27gr), eggs (13gr), almonds (21.15gr) per 100gr. In fact, it has per 100 gr 57gr of proteins which makes it quite interesting. It is also full of good vitamins such as vitamin C (important for the immune system function) and vitamin E ( important for muscle growth and considered as a good antioxidant). 

Can it help you lose weight? This alga is a good post-workout supplement so if you want to lose weight with sport and gain muscles, yes this can help you. 

And it is self-developing and creating oxygen alga so what is not to like? It is a superfood that is not bad for the environment.

Why should you be careful?

If it was so easy everyone would talk about it since a long time and every pharmacy and supermarket would propose it. In 1988, even NASA made research and wrote a paper explaining the potential that spirulina has for long term missions(NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) 19940009624: Characterization of Spirulina biomass for CELSS diet potential: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) (1993, August 1). Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_19940009624).

However, few negatives have been found. Spirulina is an alga from open lakes and if not processed carefully can contain a lot of toxins. There is no current standard or rules that are put in place for dietary supplements as small doses would not impact you. However, if you begin to take this supplement on a daily basis during a long time, your health can be seriously affected.

Sadly, due to cost efficiency and more profit, a lot of company producing spirulina do not put in place the necessary safety check of their product and sell supplement with high toxins level. 

One of the common questions is does it helps you detox your body? Does it detoxify your body from heavy metal? well, sorry but no… It will help your immune system but spirulina, if not chosen carefully, can actually intoxicate your body.

If you are beginning to use spirulina and have headaches, upset stomach, muscle pain, sweat and itchy or red/burning face, stop the use of spirulina and call you doctor.

How should you use/take it?

Spirulina can be taken as a powder or in tablets. It is recommended to not use more than 10gr per day and if you are not sure about it reduce to 3 to 5 grams. You can use it in a smoothie, in dressing or add it to a cake.

You should keep it in a dark and cool place.

I personally use spirulina in smoothie around two or three times a week in the morning in a smoothie. I use the one for Naturya: the organic spirulina powder. On their website, you can also find several recipes such as dessert, soup or smoothie to incorporate it. I also prefer to use Naturya as I am living in the UK and this is a UK company.

Here are some Spirulina powder we use:

• Evolution organics: creative nature pure Spirulina. Click Here.
• Amazing grass: Green superfood. Click Here.

Conclusion:

Spirulina is, in fact, a superfood however you need to make your research before buying it to make sure the source/ brand is taking the actions necessary for your safety. If you are beginning I would recommend to not take it every day and get your body use to it.

Let me know if you already used it or if you are thinking of beginning? I hope this article helped you. Let me know in the comments and follow us on Instagram and Twitter! Do not forget to enter in our monthly newsletter to know everything of the posts of the months and the future topics.