If you grew up in the 80’s or 90’s, there’s a big chance that you have heard of Spirulina. Depending on who you heard it from, it is the next best thing on earth for humans or just another hippie health fad.
What Is Spirulina?
Why is it so popular among health fanatics. Why is it still a big part of the diet of prevention-conscious individuals?
Well as a result of reading this post you will soon know 5 surprising benefits of Spirulina-Maxima. Let’s put this superfood green under the microscope to find out if it’s as good as the pundits say.
In The Beginning.
It’s funny how the wonderful things in life come in small, simple packages.
Like Spirulina-Maxima.
Spirulina is blue-green algae that is one of the oldest life forms on earth. We should be thanking Spirulina for producing oxygen millions of years ago. This was the catalyst for life.
Spirulina’s health properties aren’t recent discoveries. In 1974, it was lauded as the “best food for the future” at the United Nations World Food Conference. During the 1980’s, it was considered as a food option for astronauts. The first human usage of Spirulina is unclear. There are records that suggest native Africans and Aztecs used Spirulina as part of their diet.
Why Is It A Superfood?
Firstly, people consider it to be the world’s first superfood and for a good reason. Spirulina has more nutrients in it than most other food on the planet. Here is some quick facts to consider.
- Spirulina has around 55 to 70% protein. This is more than beans, chicken, or beef. It is one of the few non-meat sources of “complete protein”.
- Contains 8 essential and 10 non-essential amino acids.
- Consist high concentration of gamma-linoleic acid (GLA), calcium, iron, phosphorous, arachidonic acid, linoleic acid, beta-carotene, Vitamin B12, and nucleic acids DNA and RNA.
- Composed of chlorophyll and phycocyanin, blue-green algae-specific pigment-protein complex.
With the amount of nutrients present in Spirulina, it’s no wonder it has a lot of health benefits. We have to say it actually tastes bearable for a powdered green. That is surprising to us.
What are the Benefits of Spirulina?
Let’s see what the research says.
- Immunity Booster – It’s easy to get sick nowadays and our immune system and gut are having a hard time catching up to evolving viruses. Luckily, spirulina can help strengthen your immune system against viruses. There are also studies showing that it can boost overall immunity for our respected senior citizens.
- Detoxifier – It is also a good detoxifier. Too much oxidation in your body can damage your cells and can lead to a variety of diseases including the cancers. Spirulina is full to the brim with antioxidants which protects your body from the damage caused by oxidative agents. It hails as an
effective detoxifyer of heavy metals, especially arsenic. In a study conducted in Bangladesh, people who took the supplement had 47% less arsenic in their bodies than those who don’t. - May Help Prevent Some Cancers – Oh before you go shouting that we finally found the miracle cure, hear me out. While there are a good number of peer-reviewed articles out there showing how it can affect cancer cells (you can find them all here), there are different kinds of Cancer and blindly using Spirulina as a cure-all is irresponsible. Still, studies have shown promise like this one wherein it was found to be performing well against a type of oral cancer.
- Can Speed Up Weight Loss – When you eat protein-rich food, it promotes faster weight loss in a variety of ways. Metabolising proteins takes a lot of energy from the body so it taps your fat reserves. Aside from that, protein-rich food also stops you from feeling hungry all the time.
- Reduces Cholesterol – according to a study, is showing signs that it can prevent atherosclerosis and can reduce elevated blood cholesterol levels. The study was conducted on animals wherein the test subjects were given a high cholesterol diet. After feeding them a supplementary amount of Spirulina for eight weeks, cholesterol levels were reduced by as much as 41% on those test subjects that took 5% Spirulina.
To Wrap Up
Spirulina needs further studies to prove all the benefits are true for everyone. This doesn’t mean you should steer clear from it. As a matter of fact, adding Spirulina in your diet as a supplement is a safe and great way for you to start the road towards getting healthy.
If you have more questions about this superfood green or want to know more about our products, don’t hesitate to give us a call or shoot us an email. We will answer back as soon as we can!
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References:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20354344
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3919363/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16615668
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0891584910005381
http://www.nature.com/cmi/journal/v8/n3/abs/cmi201076a.html
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/08923979609052748
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11962722
