SPIRULINA: HUGE HEALTH BENEFITS
If you are tired or mentally drained, taking spirulina can make a big difference, quickly. Unlike caffeine, it is helping your body by providing nutrients etc., not just acting like a drug to drain your adrenals.
The Key Features of Spirulina are:
· Rich in antioxidants
· Boosts energy and cellular health
· More than 60% easy-to-digest all-vegetable protine.
· Rare food source of the essential fatty acid GLA
· High in B-12 and easy-to-absorb iron
A serving size of 10(Ten) 300 mg Capsules (3 g) contains:
Protein 1.7 g (4% DV). Including of Alanine (144 mg), Arginine (141 mg), Aspartic acid (195 mg), Cystine (18 mg), Glutamic Acid (297 mg), Glycine (96 mg), Histidine (30 mg), Isoleucine (102 mg), Leucine (174 mg), Lysine (99 mg), Methionine (39 mg), Phenylalanine (87 mg), Proline (78 mg), Serine (96 mg), Threonine (96 mg),Trytophan (27 mg), Tyrosine (81 mg), Valine (114 mg)
Carbohydrates 0.5 g.
Fats 0.2 g.
Vitamins including Vitamin A 4000IU (80% DV), Vitamin K (17 mcg), Thiamine B1 (0.03 mg), Riboflavin B2 (0.06 mg), Niacin B3 (0.35 mg), Vitamin B12 2.8 mcg (45% DV) ·
Minerals in an easy-to-absorb form including Calcium (7 mg), Iron 1.5 mg (8% DV), Magnesium (7 mg), Zinc (45 mcg), Manganese (50 mcg), Copper (12 mcg), Chromium (<15 mcg), Sodium (15 mg), Potassium (40 mg) ·
Phytonutrients including Phycocyanin (420 mg),
Polysaccharides (200 mg), Sulfolipids (40 mg), SOD (5000 Units), Chlorophyll (30 mg), Gamma Linolenic Acid (30 mg), Linoleic Acid (27 mg), Mixed carotenoids (8 mg), Lutein (1.5mg)
Super nutrition for the 21St century
-By Gary Bushkin, PhD, CNC and Estitta Bushkin, PhD, CNC
Spirulina is believed by anthropologists and biologists to be the oldest living plant on the planet. This "old faithful" has provided complete nutrition, unmatched in value, for over 3.5 million years.
Only in the past 75 years have we become familiar with Spirulina, a sleeping powder keg of "green power" that has the potential to become the prime choice for a world super food of the future.
Good Greens
Spirulina is one of approximately 1,500 species of microscopic aquatic plants called blue-green micro algae that have inhabited the earth for several million years.
In it's natural state, Spirulina has been discovered in the lakes and waterways of Africa, Central America and South America. During the 15th and 16th centuries, the Aztec Indians of Mexico regularly harvested Spirulina for food from natural green lakes and ponds.
Native cooks mixed it with maize (cornmeal) to make green pancakes that were a staple of their simple diet. Currently, there are two common varieties of this spiral shaped blue-green algae currently being cultivated and harvested for human consumption, known as Spirulina maxima and Spirulina platensis.
Harvestinq Spirulina
Today, Spirulina is extensively harvested in tank environments that are set up to provide growing conditions that mimic it's ideal natural habitat. Although Spirulina is cultivated around the world, the largest and most respected Spirulina "farm" is located in the hot California desert sunshine far away from polluted city air.
There, from April to October, controlled cultivation of Spirulina takes place. Spirulina is grown in man-made cultivation ponds which help keep out undesirable weed algae, micro bacteria and parasites. These ponds are fed Colorado River water, minerals and carbon dioxide, needed by Spirulina for photosynthesis.
Many hours each day of intense sunlight promotes rapid growth. Immediately after being harvested from these ponds, Spirulina is filtered to a thick consistency, dehydrated, and put in oxygen-protective containers. Every day, each lot is tested to ensure safety and consistent nutrient levels. The entire process --- from growing pond to powder - takes about 15 minutes.
This powder is then bottled and sold as a supplement as either a powder, tablet of capsule. It is also sold as an ingredient that is used in many other dietary supplements.
Bionutritional Functions Of Spirulina
Spirulina has been blessed by nature with a huge arsenal of valuable nutrients. Of special interest is the phycocyanin, a blue pigment naturally present in large amounts. Results of a 1986 study presented at the International Association for Dental Research General Session concluded that phycocyanin was unique because of its cytostatic (suppressing formation of new cancer cell colonies) and cytotoxic (that destroy existing colonies of cancer cells) abilities.
Spirulina is also naturally "pumped" with vitamins, especially the carotenoids like beta-carotene, essential fatty acids (EFA's), the important fatty acid gamma linolenic acid (GLA), digestive enzymes, minerals and the richest plant source of vitamin B12.
Spirulina is the "must have" green food- a complete protein with all eight essential amino acids present. Its 60% protein content is four times greater than beef (18%)! In our society, where the concept of complete protein is meat and dairy, it is very reassuring to know that greens like Spirulina can provide all the high quality protein and other nutrients needed.
Spirulina and Vitamin B12 Controversy
A major argument frequently used to support the consumption of animal foods in the diet and negate the tremendous value of Spirulina incorrectly states that plants do not contain vitamin B12. A single serving of Spirulina contains 45% of your daily value of vitamin B12.
That's good news and reassuring for vegetarians, many of who are incorrectly led to believe that eating animal food is critical to getting this essential blood building vitamin.
Spirulina Research and Studies
While Spirulina research conducted over the years has clearly shown its multi-faceted health promoting effects, the two latest studies in the areas of immunomodulation and cancer protection tell the big story.
Spirulina Controls Immunomodulation and Uprequlates Immunity
Spirulina's most powerful health benefits lie in its ability to stimulate and maintain immune system activity. The results of the Mao, Van De Water and Gershwin study, published in the Journal of Medicinal Food (2000), and conducted at the university of California at Davis School of Medicine, provide continued understanding and proof of the awesome power of Spirulina.
The study, performed on Spirulina grown by Earthrise Nutritionals, demonstrated that Spirulina was able to raise the levels of three cytokines (specialized proteins produced by immune system lymphocytes) particularly one form of interferon (IFN)-y, to 13.6 times basal levels, and two forms of interleukins, (IL)- 1 beta to 3.3 times basal levels, and IL-4, to 2.0 times basal levels.
This evidence is highly convincing in terms of expanding Spirulina research and it's use in food. Earlier, the results of the Baojiang study, given at the Second Asia-Pacific Conference on Algal Biotechnology, 1994, concluded that polysaccharides of Spirulina platensis, at the dosage of 150-300 mg/kg by injection or taken orally, can increase the percentage of T-lymphocyte in the blood.
The results demonstrate that Spirulina polysaccharides can improve cellular and humoral immunity. Hayashi, in the Journal of Nutritional Science Vitaminology, showed that Spirulina extract significantly enhanced interleukin-1 (IL-1) production from peritoneal macrophages.
These results suggest that Spirulina enhances the immune response, particularly the primary response, by stimulating macrophage functions, phagocytosis, and IL-1 production.
Spirulina Prevents Cancer
At the 30th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Immunology in November 2000, breakthrough research was reported by the Osaka Institute of Public Health. Spirulina, in conjunction with BCG-CWS, a cell wall component derived from Tubercle bacillus; was able to enhance the anti-tumor propagation effect of BCG-CWS. This inhibitory effect occurred because Spirulina upregulated the tumor destroying activity of natural killer (NK) cells and the cytokine interferon gamma.
This heightened activity was observed 1-2 weeks after initiating Spirulina use, continuing 12- 24 weeks after treatment ceased. Researchers believe that the clinical findings support the serious potential for Spirulina as an Immunotherapy agent.
Mishima and colleagues reported in Clinical & Experimental Metastasis, 1998, that Ca-SP, calcium spirulan isolated from Spirulina platensis, could reduce the lung metastasis of B16-BL6 melanoma cells by inhibiting the tumor invasion of basement membrane probably through the prevention of the adhesion and migration of tumor cells.
Spirulina Is A Powerful Antioxidant
As a food additive, Spirulina maxima contains beta-carotene, tocopherols and phenolic acids, which are proven to exhibit antioxidant properties. The antioxidant activity of Spirulina can be attributed to phycocyanin, the blue pigment found in blue-green algae that contains phytochemicals with scavenging properties.
The Miranda study (1998), published in the Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research, demonstrated a 71 % antioxidant capacity for the group taking the Spirulina extract and 54% for the group that did not, indicating strong antioxidant protection.
The results obtained indicate that Spirulina provides some antioxidant protection for both in vitro and in vivo systems. The Romay study demonstrated that phycocyanin is able to scavenge the very dangerous hydroxy radical and inhibit the oxidation of lipids in the liver.
Spirulina Is Cardioprotective
At the Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science, Deemed University in Coimbatore, India, Ramamoorthy and colleagues tested the effects of Spirulina on patients with a combination of high cholesterol (above 250 mg/dI) and ischemic heart disease.
They concluded that Spirulina plays a key role, lowering blood cholesterol levels and improving lipid profiles. Spirulina's cell wall is unique too. It is made up of mucopolysaccharides that provide numerous health benefits.
Of special interest is the ability of these mucopolysaccharides to lower blood fats. This was also brought to light in a 1976 study showing that Spirulina controlled the tendency and ability of cholesterol and other lipoproteins to bond with arterial receptors and attach to artery walls.
Spirulina Lowers Blood Pressure
Research studies show that Spirulina was able to cause a significant change in vascular tone by increasing the synthesis and release of nitric oxide and by decreasing the synthesis and release of a vasoconstricting substance from the endothelial cells.
Spirulina Is Anti-Viral
A 1998 study conducted at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard Medical School has also given us some positive news.
Using an aqueous extract of Spirulina, researchers were able to inhibit the replication of the HIV-1 virus in human T-cells of the immune system, mononuclear blood cells and Langerhans cells of the pancreas. While this was a test-tube study, it tends to confirm what is seen in animals fed Spirulina or Spirulina extracts.
A 1993 issue of Phytotherapy Research reported scientists feeding Spirulina extract to hamsters infected with a lethal form of Herpes Simplex Virus. Hamsters had prolonged survival times and increased survival rates when fed Spirulina extract before infection.
Taking Spirulina While no official guidelines for recommended daily intake have been established at this time, many experts suggest 3,000 mg per day as a preventive, healthy dose, ideally taken with food in servings of powder, capsules or tablets. For therapeutic use, 10,000 mg and even 20,000 mg per day is indicated.
Spirulina is available in forms that are convenient to take, easy to digest, have no saturated fat, and have not been treated with nor contain chemicals or pesticides. Spirulina is a nutritional wonder food.
A Colorful Conclusion
While many dietary supplements and foods regularly "pop" on the market with a big bang, they frequently become short lived, trendy items without strong science behind them.
Although long known to man, green plants, earth's most ancient foods, have now emerged as the world's newest nutritional wonders. They hold the power to nourish, protect and heal, the body, extending lifespan at the same time.
Because the research on Spirulina is extensive, thorough and very convincing, we believe it will be a world powerfood of the future. New green food supplements are always in development. Interest and purchases of Spirulina and green food supplements are rising steadily, as people are being given an opportunity to learn a great deal more about them and their exceptional health benefits.
The time has come for the power of green foods and green food supplements to be unleashed into the world food chain to improve the health regimens of
people everywhere.
Whether the choice is tablets, capsules or green food powders to mix into juices and other beverages for a healthy treat, the future of health is green!