Blue Spirulina: What To Know About The Popular Superfood
Blue spirulina is a blue-green algae supplement that can be mixed into many foods like smoothies for a health boost of antioxidants.
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If you are in the market for a good, healthy supplement, one that comes with a variety of benefits, then you may want to give blue spirulina a try. This health supplement is a blue-green alga that can be found growing in ponds, lakes, and alkaline waterways but fear not, you won’t have to go to those places to harvest it yourself, you can easily grab some of this supplement online, at a health store, and you can even find it in your local grocery store.
BLUE SPIRULINA CAN BE FOUND AT MOST RETAILERS AND ONLINE
As we mentioned, there are a number of places where you can easily find blue spirulina. Depending on how much you wish to spend, health stores are a nice option, though they have a tendency to charge premium prices for their supplements. Target and Walmart are also other, less expensive options. The following are a couple of options from Amazon.
POP JOY BLUE SPIRULINA
PRICE – $29.95 on Amazon.
For almost 30 bucks you will get 1.76 ounces of highly nutritional blue spirulina from Pop Joy. The blue color is 100% natural, is vegan friendly, and does not have any algae taste or smell. You can use this powder in shakes, smoothies, cookies, and even over fruit.
LONE STAR BOTANICALS BLUE SPIRULINA POWDER
PRICE – $18.89 on Amazon.
Lone Star Botanicals offers this blue spirulina superfood in a small 1.06-ounce package. Included with the blue spirulina is a one tsp scoop that if used properly, will give you a one-month yield. As with other blue spirulina powders, you can mix this with foods or drinks to get the full benefits of the powder.
VITALITI BLUE SPIRULINA
PRICE – $20.99 on Amazon.
Vitaliti provides the vitamin powerhouse blue spirulina in a 1.06-ounce package. The blue powder is packed with protein, minerals, amino acids, and antioxidants that will do your body good. This package also comes with a one tsp scoop that will give you a full month’s supply.
PURE BULK ORGANICS BLUE SPIRULINA
PRICE – $26.99 on Amazon.
Don’t be scared off by the Pure Bulk price as this blue spirulina powder comes in a three-ounce package. Like all the others, you can mix this superfood with just about anything. One package will give you almost three months’ worth of the supplement.
BWANA BUTTER BLUE SPIRULINA POWDER
PRICE – $29.99 on Amazon.
This is another where the price shouldn’t scare you because Bwana Butter’s Blue Spirulina comes in a three-ounce package as well. That is three months’ worth of superfood that provides you with the proper vitamins, minerals, protein, and amino acids. Put it in oatmeal, on fruit, or in smoothies or shakes.
THE AZTECS WERE THE FIRST TO DISCOVER THE MANY BENEFITS OF BLUE SPIRULINA
Blue spirulina is by far one of the healthiest superfoods we have. Aztecs were the first to use spirulina, so the benefits have been known for centuries. The Aztecs would use spirulina to help treat various diseases and according to popular legend, Aztec messengers would use spirulina as they went on their marathon runs.
The blue spirulina benefits are many. Let’s take a look at some of them.
High in Nutrients – Blue spirulina is high in a number of nutrients. This includes protein, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Copper, and Iron. The superfood also contains a decent amount of magnesium, potassium, and manganese.
Powerful Anti-Inflammatory and Antioxidant Properties – When you have oxidative damage, it can not only harm your DNA and cells, but it can also be the cause of chronic inflammation, which can contribute to cancer and other unwanted diseases. Blue spirulina is a great source of antioxidants. And it can protect you against oxidative damage.
The main active component in blue spirulina is phycocyanin. This fights free radicals and also stops the production of inflammatory signaling molecules. This fight contributes to the anti-inflammatory antioxidant effects you see.
Lowers Bad LDL and Triglyceride Levels – Heart disease is the number one killer around the globe. There are many risk factors that are linked to the risk of heart disease, but blue spirulina has a positive impact on many of these risk factors. One example of this is that spirulina can lower bad LDL cholesterol while raising good HDL cholesterol.
Blue spirulina also had a positive effect on diabetics. Those with type 2 diabetes were shown to have improved cholesterol. Others who had high cholesterol were shown, after taking one gram of blue spirulina a day, to have lowered their triglycerides significantly.
Anti-Cancer Properties – There is some evidence out there that spirulina has anti-cancer properties. Research on animals has shown the addition of spirulina in their diets has reduced cancer occurrences. It also shrunk the size of tumors.
Blood Pressure Reduction – High blood pressure is another killer as it can be the driving force behind a number of serious diseases such as heart attacks, strokes, and kidney disease. It has been shown that a total of 4.5 grams of blue spirulina a day has helped reduce blood pressure. It is believed that spirulina helps increase nitric oxide, which helps blood vessels relax and dilate.
Blood Glucose Levels – Along with allowing blood vessels to relax and dilate, blue spirulina also helps control blood glucose levels and for men with diabetes, this can be very important as diabetes is one of the common causes of erectile dysfunction. This is also important in other ways.
A study was conducted with 25 people who had type 2 diabetes and were given two grams of blue spirulina a day which led to an amazing drop in their blood sugar levels. HbA1c is the marker for long-term blood sugar levels, and it saw a drop from 9% to 8%. On the surface that doesn’t appear to be huge, but a 1% drop in blood sugar levels lowers the risk of diabetes-related death by a full 21%.
IT CAN BE DANGEROUS FOR PEOPLE ON BLOOD THINNERS
Although there are plenty of benefits from taking a daily dose of blue spirulina, the superfood does have a few drawbacks. The first one involves your immune system. Because the supplement is such a good boost for your immune system, it can be a detriment for some autoimmune diseases.
Blue spirulina is an immune system builder as it strengthens your body’s natural killer cells. These cells are important because they attack threats in your body on a cellular level. But as they strengthen natural killer cells in those with autoimmune conditions, it may cause the conditions to worsen.
One of the big benefits of blue spirulina is the fact that it can thin the blood to allow it to flow better in your veins and arteries. This means it can help prevent your blood from clotting, which in many instances is a good thing. But those who are taking blood thinners or who have a bleeding disorder may find taking spirulina dangerous because it will lessen your body’s blood ability to clot even more.
As with any supplement you are introducing to your body, research is recommended. If you have any underlying conditions and are taking medication for them, you will definitely want to check with your physician before introducing yourself to blue spirulina. If given the green light, though, it is a wonderful supplement to have.
