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12 Unbelievable Reasons to Consume Spirulina (#4 is Awesome!)
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You might have heard about spirulina but thought that this was something that only health nuts got into. Maybe you though spirulina was a new rock band. Then again, maybe you’ve never heard of spirulina.
In case you haven’t heard, spirulina is a type of blue-green algae. This is an incredible super food that provides humans with a super concentrated source of antioxidants, vitamins, and nutrients. Spirulina is perhaps one of the oldest forms of life on this planet and was used for food as far back as the 9th century in Chad and was consumed by the Aztecs in 16th century Mexico.
Why should you consume spirulina? We have 12 almost unbelievable reasons and after you read them, you will understand what all the fuss is about.
1. Highly Digestible
The protein in spirulina is 90 percent digestible, since it does not have cellulose walls such as chlorella or yeast. This means that the net protein utilization of spirulina is a ridiculously high 61 percent and it requires no cooking to increase this bioavailability. Confused? This simply means that your body will be able to use almost all of the protein in spirulina, which isn’t true of any other protein.
2. Extremely High In Nutrients
Spirulina grows in both fresh and salt water and is often called blue-green algae. Like plants, spirulina produces energy from sunlight and is so nutritious, NASA is considering growing it in space so it can be consumed by astronauts. Most people consume between 1 to 3 grams but even 10 grams each day can be consumed with no problems. One tablespoon (about 7 grams) has 4 grams of protein, vitamin B1, B2, B3, copper, and iron. It also has decent amounts of potassium, manganese, and magnesium. Spirulina also has a good ratio of omega-3 and omeg-6 fatty acids. It also has small amounts of almost every nutrient that the human body needs. This makes this blue green algae one of the most nutritious foods in the world.
3. Improves Allergic Rhinitis
Allergic rhinitis is an inflammation of the nasal passages. It can be stimulated by environmental allergens such as wheat dust, pollen, even animal hair. Spirulina has been shown to be a popular alternative treatment that is very effective. One study involving 127 people with allergic rhinitis had dramatically reduced symptoms, such as sneezing, itching, nasal congestion and nasal discharge after consuming just 2 grams of spirulina each day.
4. Helps with Diabetes
Studies done involving animals have shown that these algae can significantly lower blood sugar levels. In fact, some studies showed that spirulina outperformed commonly used diabetes drugs, including Metformin. One study that involved 25 diabetic patients. These subjects were given 2 grams of spirulina each day and all subjects had drastically reduced blood sugar levels. Now these were small studies and more work needs to be done in this area, so before you stop taking your medication, talk to your doctor first.
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BOKinLarksville
Sep 18, 2015 at 11:39 am
What is a reputable brand? I heard Spirulina can potentially have lots of heavy metals/toxins.. It’s very hard to trust manufacturers these days.. Nothing is regulated.. Hell we can’t even trust the FDA/USDA.. They only protect the greedy corporations..
Catherine McCoy
Sep 18, 2015 at 3:51 pm
naturalnews.com sells tested and heavy metal free spirulina and chlorella
krackerhac
Sep 19, 2015 at 2:02 pm
That’s kind of like the fox guarding the henhouse isn’t it?
Catherine McCoy
Sep 19, 2015 at 4:10 pm
it sounds like it unless you know the company. They have agents going out in the field testing batches before they buy them. In some cases they have looked a long time before finding a clean source, in which case they bought the whole supply
Gabe
Sep 18, 2015 at 12:26 pm
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/blue-green-algae-spirulina/
Catherine McCoy
Sep 18, 2015 at 3:49 pm
There is anther biggy you didnt mention about spirulina. It helps with atomic radiation by binding to uranium in the body. In fact, one anti-radiation supplement contains chlorella and spirulina