Spirulina is a single-celled, spiral-shaped blue green microalgae grown in tropical salt lakes. This microalgae is discovered by Dr. Clement of France in 1962. Dr. Clement found that the Ganimou people living around Lake Chades in Africa had stronger bodies than other civilized people at that time, despite poor living conditions and few resources. Upon further studies, he observed that the Ganimou eats a particular blue green algae found floating on the lake’s surface. This algae is spirulina.

Such simple one-celled organism already exist when life first appeared on earth. They are the earliest forms of life and is the source of all life in the oceans.

After many years of research, Dr. Clement got the attention of the worldwide medical field on his discovery. Medical researchers in Japan and Mexico were interested with the many benefits that spirulina can bring to the human body. It is being used as part of other treatments due to its nutritional benefits. However, researchers have observed that spirulina also appears to exhibit properties which promote self-healing.

Nutrition Value of Spirulina

So how nutritious is spirulina to the human body? The algae is a highly digestible food, containing 60 to 70% of protein, and provides all the essential amino acids, which is a rarity among plant foods. It is so nutritionally balanced that it is 5 times easier to digest than meat.

Besides protein, spirulina is a rich natural source of Vitamin E and B12, iron, calcium, anti-oxidants, minerals, carbohydrates and enzymes. Its rich phytochemical composition are carotenoids, chlorophyll (known as a blood purifier), and phycocyanin. Phycocyanin is a blue pigment found only in blue green algae. Experiments have shown that this particular protein can increase the survival rate of mice with liver cancer. That means it can inhbits cancerous cells growth. It can also inhibit viral replication, and Read More »