Spirulina Powder | 10 health benefits and Side Effects

What is Spirulina?

Spirulina is an algae which is blue-green in color; it is a cyanobacterium that is suitable for both men and other animals to consume. It falls into one of the most precious element in this earth, and it also has some role in generating oxygen in an atmosphere. Many benefits can be extracted from spirulina. This precious element is very rich in nutrients. If you are among the people who think meat offers a whole lot of protein, then you would be shocked after knowing the amount of protein and other nutrients contained in spirulina powder.

Spirulina has between 55 and 70% of protein, which is even higher than chicken and beef. Furthermore, it provides more protein than soybeans too. Talking about other nutrients that spirulina has to offer, it offers 10 essential amino acids, 8 non essential non amino acids, beta-carotene,  vitamin B12, iron, calcium, phosphorus, linoleic acids, and other essential nutrients. Pigment-Protein complex is another nutrient that is found only in spirulina.

Till now, many researches and studies have been carried out to know more about spirulina. The value of spirulina is quite high, so it is also used as the dietary supplements. Furthermore, various studies and researches have also proven the health benefits of spirulina. Jacque Simpore from the University of Ouagadogue carried out his study on spirulina, and he found one interesting conclusion from his study. He explained that the Africa’s malnourished children can benefit a lot with the nutrients found in this element called spirulina.

Why Spirulina is gaining so much popularity?

Spirulina is very popular nowadays due to its exceptional health benefits to its users. Due to its health benefits and the range of nutrients contained in spirulina in an adequate level, it is also nicknamed as “superfood.” United Nations in the World Food Conference in 1974 declared spirulina as the best food for the future, and in 1980, it was proposed as the superfood for the astronauts. This declaration proves the value of spirulina, and some other reasons are there to make spirulina popular:

• Spirulina is affordable for feeding the children with malnutrition. It only costs around $6-12 per year to feed one child.
• Even one gram proves to be effective for correcting severe malnutrition in a child in the matter of weeks.
• It helps the people affected with HIV, and makes them feel better.

Due to these extremely precious values of spirulina, it is gaining popularity in the world.

A brief History

After a short introduction about spirulina, it’s a time to discuss about the history and benefits of spirulina. Here are the reasons behind knowing the history of spirulina:

• To know how precious this element really is
• To know how natural spirulina really is
• To increase your passion about spirulina

So, let’s proceed with the history of spirulina. Spirulina is not a recent discovery, and its health benefits are also not among the recent findings. Yes, the various health benefits of spirulina have been discovered through various researches done by the current researchers, however, the ancient people also knew about its value, so they consumed it for getting various benefits from spirulina even in the past.

Spirulina was consumed by many people from various races throughout the world. It usually grows in seas, oceans, and lakes in different parts of the world. Spirulina was found growing in Mexico’s Lake Texcoco in the past, and people of that region were drying it up and consuming it before a long period of time.

Talking about the discovery of spirulina, it was first discovered in 1519 by a Spanish guy named Hernando Cortez. He found the health benefits of spirulina, and began to research more about it. Later, after the various discoveries about spirulina, people started commercializing it, and the first spirulina processing plant was established in France in 1969.

10 Spirulina Benefits

This is the brief history of spirulina, and it is shared to let you know more about this precious plant. Now, it’s a time to know more about the health benefits of spirulina. The health benefits shared with you is not just some hypothetical assumptions, but it is a proven health benefits. Here are the major health benefits of spirulina:

1. Contains very high level of various nutrients

Spiriulina has huge nutritional values to offer to its consumers. This precious element even has higher protein than beef and chicken. The right dose of spirulina is around 3 grams, but even up to 10 grams is seen to be effectively used by many people. Here is the detail of how much nutrients the 7 grams of spirulina contains in it:

• 4 grams of protein
• Vitamin B1: Around 11% RDA
• Vitamin B2: Around 15% RDA
• Vitamin B3: Around 4% RDA
• Copper: Around 21% RDA
• Iron: Around 11% RDA

Furthermore, it also has manganese, magnesium, and potassium which are quite beneficial for your health. Surely, it is one of the most nutritious elements.

2. Extremely Powerful Anti Inflammatory and Anti oxidants features

It is extremely crucial to protect ourselves from oxidative damages. Oxidative damage can lead us to cancer, and various other diseases. Due to this reason, protection from oxidative damages is really important. However, with spirulina you don’t have to worry about oxidative damages.

The thing about spirulina is that it contains really powerful antioxidants and anti inflammatory features. Phycocyanin is the most active component found in spirulina which protect us against oxidative damages. It helps in clearing the radicals and blocks the production of inflammatory signaling molecules.

3. Enhances weight loss

Wow! Isn’t it really amazing? Spirulina is extremely rich in protein, and with protein diet, it promotes low fat stores and loss in weight by undergoing various mechanisms. As we know, it requires more energy to metabolize, and with high protein food, it can help you maintain lean tissues. This also plays a crucial role in burning up your fat.

Spirulina especially benefits the overweight people because they are the ones who is trying desperately to burn their fats, and it also leads them to curb the hunger. In order to maximize its impacts, it is recommended to consume spirulina either in the morning or in the midday.

4. Enhances the level of your energy

Another great benefit of this precious element is that it enhances the level of your energy. It is obvious that the people who contain adequate level of nutrients will be feeling energetic. The recommended dose is 1 tsp of spirulina powder with 12oz lime juice. You should then freeze the mixture and then put in the ice cube tray. It provides a substantial boost in your energy.

The mixture of spirulina and lime juice boosts your energy level as it unlocks sugar out of your cells.

5. Reduce sinus problems

Inflammation is one of the major reasons behind people facing sinus problems. As spirulina helps in reducing inflammation, the reduction of inflammation automatically reduces sinus problems. Furthermore, spirulina also helps in reducing itching, sneezing, nasal discharge, and nasal congestion.

6. Reduction in the level of cholesterol

The sixth benefit of spirulina is that it helps in preventing atherosclerosis and reduces the blood cholesterol level. For checking out the validity of this claim, the animal study was conducted and the result was published in The Journal of Nutritional Science. The rabbits were the animals which were experimented, and they were fed with high cholesterol diet (HDL) which contained 0.5% of cholesterol. Those rabbits were fed with high cholesterol diet for four weeks.

Those rabbits were also fed with 1% HDL and 5% spirulina for another eight weeks. After the trial period of eight weeks were over, the rabbits’ LDL level were decreased by 26% among those having 1% spirulina, and 41% among those having 5% of spirulina. This suggests that the level of benefits depends upon the level of spirulina consumed.

7. Prevention of Cancer

This is one of the crucial benefits of spirulina. The study suggests that the spirulina increases the production of antibodies, proteins that fight infection along with other cells, which increases the immunity power of your body. Because of the production of these important elements in your body, it helps your body to stay away from infection and other chronic illness like cancer.

These claims is even proved by many peer reviewed articles and studies. So, spirulina adds another vital benefit to its list of benefits.

8. Controlling blood pressure

Many dangerous diseases like strokes, heart attacks, and kidney diseases are caused due to high blood pressure. The recommended doses of spirulina are 1 to 5 grams, and it effectively reduces the blood pressure in your body.

The increased production of nitric oxide in your body due to spirulina plays a role in reducing blood pressure in your body.

9. Impact on HIV/AIDS

After observing the rate of HIV/AIDS in the nations like Japan and Korea, the researchers were curious to know about the reasons why the people from those nations has relatively lower HIV rates than other nations.  Researchers made a hypothetical assumption that the rate might be lower due to the higher consumption of algae by the people in those regions.

To confirm their claims, researches took 11 HIV patients for an experiment. They were divided into three groups. The groups were as follows:

• One group consuming 5 gm of brown seaweed.
• One group consuming 5 gm of spirulina.
• One group consuming both.

The key findings from this study were:

• There were no adverse impacts on any group due to those consumptions.
• CD4 cells (T-Helper white blood cells for staging HIV and it helps in fighting infections) and HIV-viral load was stable.

Further studies were planned after this result for more findings.

10. Prevention from Stoke

The final benefit included on this list is the prevention from a stoke. Research shows that the consumption of spirulina lowered aorta surface, and it was lowered by 33% to 48%, and it can prevent from stoke and atherosclerosis.

There are many other benefits of consuming spirulina, and all these benefits are proved by the various studies conducted by various researchers. There is an old saying, “Prevention is better than cure.” If you follow this advice, then it is better to consume spirulina and prevent yourself from various types of sickness.

The working process of spirulina

As discussed in the above part of the article, spirulina is very rich in various nutrients, especially protein, making it one of the richest sources of protein. This extremely rich source of protein and other nutrients leads to improvement in your overall health.

• Protein in Spirulina

Several other types of protein are found in various types of food, but the protein in spirulina is considered as a complete protein because it contains all eight essential amino acid. Furthermore, the protein contained in it is 85-95% digestible, and its amino acids are instantly observed by our body.

Due to the complete form of protein found in spirulina, it helps in the formation and repairing functions of bones and muscles. Moreover, the essential amino acids lead to managing insulin levels, strengthening immunity system, transporting minerals throughout the body, and others.

• How spirulina cleans the blood?

Spirulina contains ten times more chlorophyll (blood cleansing agent) than other vegetables. This helps to build up the red blood cells in the body and provide easily absorbable magnesium too. The perfect combination of magnesium and chlorophyll leads to the removal of toxins from your bloodstream, and oxygenate your blood.

The blue color in spirulina is formed by phycocyanin and allophycocyanin along with other anthocyanins. These phytonutrients increases the number of white blood cells in your body. Polysaccharides are also there in spirulina which improves immunity, eliminates radiation and heavy metals in our body, and it also enhances the functions of bone marrow, spleen cells, and the thymus.

This is how the spirulina works to improve your overall health.

Will spirulina work for you?

Another question which might be in your mind is, “Will spirulina really work for me?” There is no enough evidence if spirulina is effective for curing any health conditions. However, spirulina contains different nutrition, which is very useful to our body. The study conducted by FDA proves that spirulina has very high amounts of vitamins, calcium, potassium, magnesium, and iron. It also proves that protein in spirulina weighs more than 50% of spirulina dry weight.

With these studies and proof, we can say that spirulina will help you to maintain the adequate amount of nutrients in your body. So, if you are thinking about supplements for adequate nutrients because of not being able to take care of your health, then spirulina is for you. It will work out for you because it contains many nutrients required for your body, and it contains them in an adequate level.

Many Studies are still being carried out on spirulina

Many studies have been conducted in the past about spirulina, and it is still going on in the present time as well. One of the subjects of study going on right now is, “spirulina’s impact on infections, wound healing, and immune system.”

Another subject of study is the spirulina impact on digestion or weight loss. The study still did not provide enough evidences of spirulina being effective on curing these health conditions, but the nutrition contained in spirulina will help you in providing adequate nutrients in your body.

All we can say is that scientists are really desperate to find out enough evidences of spirulina having a significant impact on various health conditions. However, we can expect that the further studies will be going on spirulina for some new findings on spirulina.

 

Is spirulina really safe?

Spirulina is 100% natural, and it also contains various nutritional values for its consumers. However, you might be curious to know if there is any kind of side effects of consuming spirulina. The answer to this question is, “No.”As it is derived from the algae which are naturally found in the surroundings and it is cultivated in the secured zone, which contains no pesticides, GMOs, and herbicides, it has not produced any potentially dangerous harmful side effects till now.

The major thing to care while choosing spirulina products is to check out the manufacturers’ background and its production standards. The quality of spirulina also depends upon the quality of manufacturers and the production standards they are using. The production house with less quality standards may contain chemicals and mixtures which is one of the important things to watch out while choosing the spirulina product.

Potential Spirulina Side Effects

Although, spirulina is suitable and beneficial for the majority of the consumers, it might not be suitable for some users due to the presence of iodine in spirulina. If anyone is allergic or sensitive to iodine, then those people should avoid using spirulina. Furthermore, the people who have hyperparathyroidism should also avoid the use of spirulina for the same reason as the one who is sensitive to iodine.

Some other group of people who should avoid the use of spirulina are as follows:

• The people allergic to seafood or seaweed
• The people who are suffering from any sort of fever should avoid the use of spirulina until they are completely cured from their sickness

Other than these groups of people, it is completely safe to consume spirulina for improving your health. Spirulina is definitely one of the best supplements to consume for fulfilling the nutritional requirements of the body.

You have quite a bit of information on spirulina till now. So, you might well be interested in various types of products of spirulina along with choosing the best spirulina products for you. Don’t worry! There are some of the important things left to be revealed in this article. The next part of the article will discuss about the various types of spirulina products available in the market.

 

Various types of spirulina supplements

Let’s discuss about the various types of spirulina supplements now. Spirulina is widely used as a dietary supplement as well as the whole food. Talking about dietary supplement, spirulina supplement can be found in tablets, flake, and powder form. Here is some of the information about all these types of spirulina supplements, so that you can have detailed information about these three types of spirulina supplement.

1. Spirulina Tablets

If you want to quickly consume the supplement, then spirulina tablets are for you. Yes, these tablets are very small in size, and are easy to consume. It is recommended for adults to have 3 tablets a day, and 1 tablet a day for children.

2. Spirulina Flake

Spirulina flake is the other dietary supplement found in the market, but it is a fish food to be more precise. Spirulina is also used to feed the fish for their dietary requirement, but let’s not discuss much about spirulina flake.

3. Spirulina Powder

The third choice for the consumer’s dietary supplement is spirulina powder. The option of consuming spirulina in a powder form is convenient because it is easy to digest. Another advantage of spiruline powder is that it can be added to many other foods and can also be consumed in the form of liquid by mixing it in a juice.

Whether you want to consume spirulina powder or spirulina tablets, both are a good way to have your dietary supplement. It is just depended upon the consumer’s taste and preference. Now that you know about the variety of choices in consuming spirulina, it’s a time to discuss about the way to consume spirulina tablets and spirulina powder in more detail.

 

Spirulina Tablets or Spirulina Powder?

Spirulina Tablets and Spirulina Powder both provide the nutritional values, and the choice depends upon the consumer’s taste and preference. However, there are some key differences between spirulina tablets and powder which plays the crucial role in making the choice, and they are as follows:

• Capsules take about an hour to dissolve, but powder immediately dissolves, so you don’t have to wait for an hour to have your meal if you are using the powder.
• Capsules may be better for those who don’t like the taste of the powder.
• Powder is easily digestible, and can be added to the food making it more convenient. Furthermore, one tablespoon of powder is equal to 20 spirulina capsules of 500mg

These are the major differences between spirulina tablets and powder. Whatever you decide to choose, both are an excellent source of nutrients for your body.

The recommended dose and process of consuming spirulina powder

Spirulina powder is a popular supplement choice for consuming spirulina. However, to increase the effectiveness of consuming spirulina powder, it is better to know the correct dose and process of consuming spirulina powder. So, let’s discuss about the correct dose and the recommended process of consuming spirulina powder.

• When you are just starting to consume spirulina powder, it is better to start with one teaspoon of spirulina powder in a day for a week or so.
• 1 gram to 8 grams of spirulina is suggested per day, and one tablespoon of spirulina is equal to six grams of spirulina. Note: 1 tablespoon=3 teaspoons.

After a week of having 1 teaspoon of spirulina powder, you can gradually increase your dose as per required. Here is the correct process of consuming spirulina powder after a trial period.

• Just allocate one tablespoon of spirulina powder for two cups. After allocating spirulina powder for two cups, you can add unsweetened fruit juice, for a healthy breakfast, you can also add banana and a few ice cubes.
• Put 2 peeled avocados in your blender, 1 lemon juice, 1 chopped tomato, pepper, and garlic powder for enhancing the taste. Add a spoon or two of spirulina powder and blend well.
• Mix 2 spoons of cumin, paprika, and chilli powder. Put 1-2 spoons of spirulina powder and sprinkle it nicely on the salad or roasted potato.
• Bring 2 cups of your favorite vegetable juice. Add 1 tablespoon of spirulina powder, and mix it with fresh herbs. You should then immediately drink it.
• You can also sprinkle a tablespoon of spirulina powder to freshly popped popcorn.

The things you will need to correctly consume a spirulina powder are:

• Vegetables juices or you can have fresh fruit juice
• Spirulina Powder
• Tablespoon
• Blender

How Spirulina powder helps in Weight Loss?

First of all, it is necessary to know about the calories contained in spirulina powder. The calories contained in spirulina powder are only about 3.9 calories per gram which is way lower than beef, which contains 65 calories per gram of protein.

As spirulina is very high in its nutritional values, it provides you relief from your hunger. You feel hungry when your body craves for the nutritional needs, and with spirulina that nutrition needs is fulfilled. Hence, it reduces extra cravings and hunger, and will also save you from lots of calories which you will have while eating foods like beef, chicken, and others to fulfill your hunger.

It is not recommended to lose your health in an unhealthy way, as it has an adverse impact on your health, and it is reflected in your face. With spirulina, any loss of weight will be toned and even. Spirulina also absorbs the excess fat from your body, maintain the level of insulin and glucose without much hunger, and support in the growth of your muscles which will not lead to making you skinny even after losing your weight.

Thus, you lose your weight in an effective way with spirulina in a quick time, as you won’t be eating much after having a control over your appetite.

• Effective dose of spirulina for weight loss

Yes, spirulina helps you to lose your weight, but you should also know how to consume spirulina powder for losing your weight. Here is an effective dosage of spirulina powder for weight loss.

10. Take 10.9 grams of spirulina if your weight is around 150lbs.
11. Take 14.5 grams of spirulina if your weight is around 200lbs.

• Take 18.2 grams of spirulina if your weight is around 250lbs.

This is all about spirulina powder and weight loss. Let’s move to the next topic now.

 

Few Receipes for consuming spirulina powder

Till now, you have collected lots of ideas about spirulina supplements. This part of the article will provide you with some excellent recipes for consuming spirulina powder. Here are the recipes:

1. Peppermint tea with spirulina

Peppermint tea is refreshing, especially on a hot day, and it provides you with a good energy boost. Here is the process of making this tea:

• Add ½ teaspoon of spirulina powder with eight ounces of warm water.
• Mix it well after that.
• Add eight peppermint tea bags to 64 ounces of warm water in a separate pitcher.
• Wait for five minutes.
• After it is cooled down, add the spirulina mixture prepared before the peppermint tea, and put some ice to it.

You are ready to have it after this simple procedure.

2. Broccoli Slaw Salad with Spirulina

This is another tasty salad which you can mix up with spirulina powder. Here is the procedure of making it:

• Bring some organic broccoli slaw, one teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil, ground pepper, and 1 tablespoon of spirulina powder.
• Mix the ingredients.
• Wait for 30 minutes.

You are ready to have the salad.

3. Spirulina Springrolls

Spirulina spring rolls are really a tasty way of consuming your supplement. To prepare it, here are the procedures:

• Allow the spring roll wrappers to moisture
• Add a nice layer with avocado strips, carrot, tofu, spinach leaves.
• Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of spirulina powder.
• Roll and cut it.

Now, you’re ready to have your tasty spring rolls.

After knowing a lot about spirulina powder and the process of consuming it, what queries might be in your mind? Wait! The major things are still left to be discussed, Isn’t it?

The next query would be to know about the process of choosing the correct manufacture to purchase the required spirulina powder or spirulina tablets. To choose the correct manufacture, there are some of the things to be considered. The next part of the article will discuss about it.

 

How to choose the correct spirilunia manufacturers for purchasing?

In this part of an article, the list of the top manufactures won’t be listed. The things which are going to be discussed here is the things to consider while choosing the manufacturer for purchasing your spirulina supplement. It is necessary to choose the right manufacturer to ensure the quality of spirulina because low quality manufactures can provide the products with no real benefits to your health. So, without wasting much of your time, let’s discuss about the things to consider while purchasing spirulina powder or spirulina tablets:

1. Check out the company’s background

The first thing to do is to check out the company’s background. The company will have a good reputation in the market if they are quality manufacturers. Another thing is the quality standard approved company like ISO certified, Non-GMO certified company or something like that to ensure the company has maintained the quality of the product while producing spirulina supplement.

2. Check out the company’s review

The second thing to do is to check out the company’s review in different places. One of the major sources of information could be an internet. You can surf through many reliable websites for checking out company reviews. Moreover, you can also talk with the consumers who consume spirulina if they know about the company or not.

3. Try to look for the company’s information and contact them

Many top class companies have a good quality customer service team. In order to ensure the quality of the product, it is better to directly contact the company. You can ask them about your queries to get the answers to your questions, and make sure that the answers are correct and convincing.

4. Check out the label of the product

Top quality companies usually have a standard level with detail information. If the product has very less information on their label creating a doubt in your mind, then there is a chance that the company might not be a genuine one.

5. Price will provide you a hint about the quality of the company

In general, the cost of producing spirulina is very high. Huge investment is required for producing spirulina, and if the price of the product is comparatively cheaper than many other manufacturers, then the company can have a low quality product. You should also know that only price factor cannot help you to choose the right product, you should also check out the above 4 factors while choosing the right company.

It is all about the factors to be considered while choosing the right manufacture for purchasing spirulina supplements. OK, it is about choosing spirulina manufacturers, but what about identifying the quality of spirulina? In the next part of this article, some easy tips will be provided to find out the quality of the spirulina powder or spirulina tablets.

 

Simple tips to identify the quality of spirulina

The market consists of both top quality products and low quality products. This is in the case of spirulina supplements as well. You should be very careful not to choose the low quality spirulina product, and the great way to know the quality of the spirulina supplements are by knowing the art of identifying the quality of spirulina supplements. Now, the simple tips will be shared with you to help you identify the quality of spirulina supplements.

Here are the few simple tips to identify the quality of spirulina supplements:

1. Check out the product’s color

The first thing to notice while recognizing the quality of spirulina is the color of the product. If the quality of spirulina is quite good, then the color of spirulina must be dark and green. This is the sign of the quality. The low quality product is discolored. It might come with some small spots or dull color and it shows the product is not of high quality.

2. Smell the spirulina product, and then taste it

Sea weed smell is the trademark of spirulina product, and it ensures the quality of the product. The product which contains wild algae will have very different smells than normal spirulina. So, it is recommended to taste some spirulina before going for consumption. Taste a small quantity of spirulina, and if the spirulina powder or tablet tastes a bit too sweet, sour, or strange, then you can be sure that the product’s quality is not good.

3. If it contains moisture

This is the third thing to notice before consuming the daily dose of spirulina supplement. The top quality spirulina supplement should contain low moisture and softness just like the good quality flour. In any case, if the spirulina was already wet or very sticky, then the product’s quality is not good. You should immediately reject that spirulina supplement.

It is all about the techniques to identify the quality of the spirulina. Till now, you’ve got a lot of information, and it has made you informed if you have read the article from top to now. There is still some information left to be provided to you, and the next information is how to ensure the spirulina is from the clean source. Yes, the techniques shared in this part will help you to identify the quality of spirulina supplement, but there are still some other things you should know about spirulina supplement before you purchase the correct and safe spirulina supplement. So, it is necessary to know if the spirulina is from the clean source or not.

Ensuring the spirulina is from the clean source

There are various reasons that might contaminate spirulina. Spirulina’s cleanliness depends upon the place where it is grown, and other factors. In various places, there are various things to consider before purchasing the spirulina. In today’s world, many spirulina products are grown in such areas where the environment has been contaminated by various reasons. Here are the things to consider when purchasing the spirulina supplement grown in specific places:

1. Japan

There are spirulina products which are grown in Japan. Yes, it is a wonderful nation, but there is something to consider before consuming spirulina product grown in this nation. There is a high level of radiation in Japan, and it is because of the nuclear disaster which was observed in Fukusima in 2011 AD.

For this reason, you must be cautious before purchasing the product grown in Japan. Before purchasing the spirulina product grown in Japan, you should consider these factors:

• Check out the exact location where the spirulina product is grown.
• If you are considering purchasing the product grown in sensitive areas, the product should have valid radiation testing certificates.

These are the things to know and consider before you purchase the spirulina product which are grown in Japan. Let’s move ahead to the next location.

2. China

It is another location in the list. Before you purchase spirulina supplement grown in China, there is something to consider too. Spirulina supplements grown in China have been found to be contaminated by various dangerous elements like lead, mercury, and arsenal.

The major thing to consider before purchasing the spirulina supplement grown in China is to check out whether the product has been tested for heavy metals or not. It is always necessary to ensure the safety of the product before purchasing it. Moreover, spirulina supplement is consumed to improve your health, and with contaminated product, you will degrade your health instead of improving your health.

3. Natural Lakes

Another one in the list is natural lakes. You can find natural lakes in almost every nation of the world. Spirulina can also be found growing in natural lakes, but the spirulina which are grown in natural lakes have the high risk of being contaminated due to heavy metals.

Whenever you find the spirulina grown in the natural lakes, you should be extremely careful before consuming it. The bad thing about the wild growing spirulina in natural lakes is that it is impossible to control the quality. Spirulina which is grown in the natural lakes may either be contaminated or may not be contaminated, and there are no definite methods of knowing whether the spirulina is contaminated with heavy metals, bacteria, and pollution or not in case of spirulina grown in the natural lakes.

It’s all about the environmental stuffs, but there are some other things to consider as well which might contaminate the spirulina. Spirulina absorbs various toxins from the environment, so the next part of the article is also very important. The next part of the article will discuss about the methods of being safe from all the spirulina toxins, and choosing the spirulina from the cleanest source.

How to make sure you are purchasing the spirulina which is free from all the harmful toxins?

Environment can contaminate spirulina, but spirulina itself can also absorb the harmful toxins from the environment. So, this part of the article will discuss about different toxins that can be found in the spirulina supplement, and the ways to make sure your spirulina supplement is free from all those toxins.

1. Chilean Nitrate

This is one of the dangerous fertilizers, and it is banned by the organic standards. Even though it is banned, many spirulina suppliers still use this fertilizer. This toxin can contaminate the environment, and it can also raise the chance of having a cancer. You are purchasing spirulina to reduce the risk of cancer, but the consumption of the spirulina grown using this fertilizer can raise your chance of getting cancer.

To ensure that you are purchasing the pure organic spirulina, you must buy only certified organic spirulina to be on a safer side.

2. BMAA

Another dangerous toxin on the list is BMAA. It is found in some species of algae. This toxin is clearly linked with neurodegenerative disease. This type of toxins is only found in certain strains of spirulina. To ensure your safety, you must never buy spirulina grown in the natural lakes. Furthermore, spirulina undergoing a drying process does not produce BMAA which is yet another important thing to know.

3. Microcystin

This toxin is produced by some strains of algae, particularly when it is grown in the polluted water. This toxin has an adverse impact on your health, especially to your liver.

To be on a safer side, you should completely avoid the spirulina grown in the natural lakes. You should purchase the spirulina from the manufacturer where spirulina grows in a clean environment with quality testing after every stage of production.

4. Herbicides, Pesticides, arsenal, mercury, and other preservatives

These dangerous toxins are often used in the farming, and it can create harm to your health. In order to be safe from these toxins, you should never purchase the spirulina grown using untested surface or sea water. Any other fertilizers or pesticides used in the growing process must also be avoided.

With this much information, you will be able to purchase a quality spirulina supplement from the market.

Conclusion

Finally, you are well informed about different aspects of spirulina. You are now aware about the benefits of spirulina, types of spirulina supplementary, the process of consuming spirulina supplement, receipes for having spirulina supplements, and choosing the right spirulina supplement for you. Anyone with this much information can be regarded as an informed buyer or savvy customer.

As you are one of the informed people about spirulina and variety of spirulina supplement, won’t you want to share this awesome information with your family too? In fact, you should inform about the benefits of spirulina to your family, friends, and to those suffering from undernutrition too. It is cheap, affordable, and easy to consume and also a food for the future as declared by WHO. Although, you have read this article, it is beneficial for you to bookmark this article for future reference. You won’t be able to memorize all the information on this article, so just bookmark this useful article for your future reference in order to get any information about spirulina when you need it.