Both chlorella and spirulina are microscopic plants that grow in fresh water. They’re actually called micro-algae, since they are microscopic forms of algae. And they’ve been around for quite some time: a few billion years, actually. These micro-algae contain an astounding array of nutritional elements: vitamins, macrominerals, trace minerals, essential fatty acids, protein, nucleic acids (RNA and DNA), chlorophyll, and a vast spectrum of phytochemicals. They are thought to contain every nutrient required by the human body. Yes, you could literally live off these micro-algae. You wouldn’t need to eat much, either, since they are so nutritionally dense. The “micro” part of their name is no joke: these superfoods range in size from 2 to 8 microns, which is about the same size as a human blood cell. They appear green due to their chlorophyll content. Harvesting them requires special centrifuge equipment, which is one reason why individuals don’t grow their own micro-algae for consumption.

If chlorella and spirulina were sold with “Nutrition Facts” labels, those labels would be  impressive indeed: zero refined carbohydrates, high in digestible protein, high in essential fatty acids, no “bad” fats, high in chlorophyll, and so on.

Of the nutritive substances we know about, however, here’s what you find in chlorella and spirulina:

• High-quality complete protein that is denser and more digestible than any animal-derived protein. Chlorella is 58% protein. Spirulina is simply the world’s most digestible natural source of high quality protein, far surpassing the protein bioavailability of even beef (which most people consider to be the #1 source of protein). The digestive absorption of each gram of protein in spirulina is four times greater than the same gram of protein in beef. And since spirulina already contains three times more protein (by weight) to begin with, the net result is that, ounce for ounce, spirulina offers twelve times more digestible protein than beef. The protein found in spirulina is also a complete protein, meaning that it contains all eight essential amino acids, unlike beans, whole grains and other plant-based foods that typically lack one or more amino acids.

·       All the known B vitamins, including vitamin B₁₂ which is almost never found in plants.

·       Vitamin C

·       Vitamin E

·       Macrominerals: calcium, magnesium, zinc, potassium and many more. An ounce of chlorella, for example, contains far more calcium than an ounce of milk.

·       Trace minerals

·       Omega 3 fatty acids including GLA

·       Mucopolysaccharides

·       Beta-carotene

·       Nucleic acids (RNA & DNA)

·       Chlorophyll: Chlorella is the richest source of chlorophyll on planet Earth; there’s nothing more cleansing and detoxifying than chlorophyll.

Chlorella and spirulina have been shown to be effective in treating and even reversing the following conditions:

·       Cancers (all types)

·       Obesity

·       Diabetes

·       Hypoglycemia

·       Arthritis

·       Depression

·       Severe liver damage and liver disorders

·       Intestinal ulcers

·       Hemorrhoids

·       Asthma

·       High blood pressure

·       Constipation

·       Bleeding gums

·       Infections

·       Inflammation of joints and tissues

·       Body odor / breath odor

·       Various degenerative diseases 

·       Essential fatty acid deficiencies

·       Mineral deficiencies 

·       (Magnesium is a common deficiency)

Chlorella vs. Spirulina

Chlorella and Spirulina: they aren’t twins: each has a unique nutritional profile.

Chlorella:

• A better source of chlorophyll, which makes it more detoxifying and cleansing.

• It is especially good for people with liver disorders or people who smoke.

• It is very helpful for people with dry stools who suffer from constipation.

• It is especially good for people who need “rebuilding” -- people who suffer from degenerative diseases (Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's Disease, Multiple sclerosis) or people who are frail.

• Contains Chlorella Growth Factor (CGF), which boosts the immune system, reverses cancer, and offers other health benefits.

• CGF also helps repair nerve tissues throughout the body and is excellent for treating degenerative brain and nerve disorders.

Spirulina:

• A superior source of digestible protein. Contains 12 times the protein of beef.

• Easier on the digestive system than chlorella, which can cause diarrhea in sensitive individuals?

• The best source of gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), a “good” fat necessary for the human brain, proper heart function, and other body systems.

• Contains phycocyanin, a potent anti-cancer phytochemical that also gives spirulina its characteristic blue hue.

As you can see, both chlorella and spirulina offer a vast range of health benefits, and many of their strengths overlap. As a general rule, you should consume spirulina and chlorella in a 2:1 ratio.

Chlorella & Spirulina for People on Any Low-Carb Diet

As hinted earlier, high-protein (low-carb) dieters have a special need for chlorella and spirulina. This is primarily due to the fact that the way most people follow low-carb diets is nutritionally imbalanced (low-carb dieting in theory isn’t imbalanced, but the way most people follow it certainly is). Most followers of low-carb diets lack sufficient intake of specific vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals necessary for optimum human health. Low-carb diets also tend to be highly acidic, thanks to the heavy reliance on acidic foods like animal proteins and even diet soft drinks. These acidic foods are effectively countered by the alkaline nature of chlorella and spirulina.

Chlorella & Spirulina for Weight Loss & Dieting

In various clinical studies, micro-algae have been shown to be remarkably effective for weight loss. There are primarily two reasons for this: the correction of nutritional deficiencies, and the addition of GLA to the diet. On the nutritional deficiencies topic, obesity is the result of not only the over-consumption of calories, but more importantly, a dysfunctional endocrine system that results in the excess secretion of insulin and, subsequently, intense cravings for refined foods. That’s why people get overweight even when they don’t want to: the cravings are simply too strong to ignore.

By supplying the body with the nutrients it needs, however, those cravings can be dramatically reduced and the endocrine system can be brought back into a state of balance. These nutrients are best provided by chlorella and spirulina. That’s how these superfoods help people lose weight. Of course, true weight loss won’t occur from simply consuming these superfoods: they only create the proper environment for weight loss. The person must still alter their diet by removing refined foods, hydrogenated oils, all sugars, and other weight-promoting substances.

Chlorella & Spirulina for Vitality & Intestinal Health

Both chlorella and spirulina have been shown to be quite effective for people suffering from anemia (blood deficiencies), poor spleen function, weak digestive absorption, and other similar “lack of vitality” disorders. Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Crohn’s Disease, constipation, frequent diarrhea -- these are all obvious symptoms of dietary imbalances. There’s nothing wrong with colon! It’s merely the food eating that causes these effects. Chlorella and spirulina also support healthy intestinal flora -- the “friendly” bacteria in digestive tract that protect from disease and aid indigestion.

Chlorella & Spirulina for Nervous System Disorders

This is one of the most remarkable healing properties yet recorded for chlorella: its ability to actually repair nerve tissues throughout the body. People suffering from degenerative nerve disorders typically report positive results from using chlorella. This is because CGF (chlorella growth factor), which is found in the nucleus of the chlorella cell, actually promotes the body’s innate healing ability to grow and repair nerve tissue.

Chlorella & Spirulina for Appetite Suppression & Reducing Cravings

Both spirulina and chlorella are known to reduce the craving for sweets and carbohydrates. What is unknown, however, is the mechanism by which this appetite suppression works.

The possible mechanisms by which this appetite suppression works:

Magnesium Content: These micro-algae contain high levels of magnesium and other minerals that are frequently deficient in modern diets. Magnesium deficiency is known to produce intense cravings, especially for chocolate sweets (which contain magnesium). By eating micro-algae, the body is supplied with magnesium, and so the cry to “feed me magnesium” is silenced.

Protein Content: The protein content of these micro-algae (especially spirulina) provides for steady levels of blood sugar that counteract any tendency for a hypoglycemic response, which would of course induce severe cravings for sweets. In other words, the high quality protein in these superfoods blocks the hypoglycemic appetite response.

Oil Content: The healthy oils found in these micro-algae, especially spirulina, promote steady blood sugar levels through their slow digestion, as with any oil. GLA, in particular, helps regulate the insulin response of the pancreas, and therefore eliminates the primary cause of sugar cravings even before they can occur!

Vitamins: Some parts of the cravings experienced by people consuming a modern “Western” diet are due to deficiencies in the B vitamins. Without adequate supplies of these vitamins in their natural form, the body’s hormonal signals get distorted, and the body orders the person to keep eating. What the body really craves, most likely, is adequate nutrition, not empty calories. Once this nutrition is supplied by the micro-algae, the body’s hunger signals quiet down.

Chlorella & Spirulina for Enhancing Brain Function

An interesting study published in 1995 showed that an 81% improvement in the academic scores of children who took one gram of spirulina daily for six months. The mechanism of such dramatic improvements in brain function is very likely due to the presence of both GLA and phycocyanin (a blue pigment) in spirulina.

Phycocyanin is known to enhance the functioning of the brain and nervous system. Furthermore, the presence of this pigment in plants and foods is extremely rare.

Certainly the GLA content of spirulina is another important factor. The human brain is around 80% fats. Nerve tissues in the brain need “healthy” fats in order to function properly, and GLA is one of the healthiest fats you can consume. That’s why human breast milk contains high quantities of GLA. In fact, breast milk is the #1 source of GLA on the planet, and spirulina is #2.

Breast milk contains GLA because infant humans need to quickly build brain mass in order to boost their chances of survival.

Cow’s milk, on the other hand, is designed to help baby cows survive. That has a lot less to do with brain function and a lot more to do with helping grow a baby cow to several hundred pounds and enabling it to run more quickly. Cow’s milk, not surprisingly, has virtually no GLA. Baby cow brains simply aren’t as important to their survival as the brains of human infants.

Getting back to the brain food topic, the GLA content of spirulina combined with the CGF content of chlorella (which repairs nerve tissues, remember?) provides a compelling reason to consume both of these micro-algae. The GLA feeds brain and nervous system with the nutrients it needs to be healthy, while the CGF repairs damaged nerve tissue. It’s a powerful combination. They’re simply more powerful when consumed in combination.

Chlorella & Spirulina for Proper pH Balance

Most people consume diets that are far too acidic. Nearly all refined foods -- made with sugars, white flour, and other unwholesome ingredients -- are acidic in nature. Soft drinks and most processed fruit drinks are especially acidic. These acidic foods, when routinely ingested, create a pH imbalance in the human body.pH balance is critical for human health. In fact, the pH of your blood must be kept as a precise level (around 7.2 on the pH scale). Consuming highly acidic foods and beverages causes an imbalance in the pH of the body, and so the body responds by countering the acidity with behavioral and biochemical strategies that eliminate these excess acids. There’s a cost to all this, however, as you’ll see below.

One such strategy for countering excess dietary acids is to increase respiration, since carbon dioxide is acidic and oxygen is alkaline. By breathing in more oxygen and exhaling more carbon dioxide, the body works to regulate its own pH. This is exactly why diabetics with high blood sugar are frequently seen to be hyperventilating: their blood is too acidic and their bodies are simply trying to get back to the proper pH balance.

Another strategy pursued by the body is to pull alkaline minerals out of the bones -- which are great stores of calcium and other alkaline minerals -- and use those minerals to counter the acidic foods and beverages that have been consumed. This is why the consumption of soft drinks is well known to cause the depletion of minerals from the body’s bones, which results in loss of bone mass density and the onset of osteoporosis. The more soft drinks you consume, the weaker your bones get.

Micro-algae offer a convenient solution to the pH problems of most diets. Both chlorella and spirulina are alkaline foods, which mean they counter the acidic foods and help raise the pH level towards the alkaline side of the scale.

Chlorella & Spirulina for Preventing & Reversing Cancer

Some micro-algae have very favorable nutritional profiles for cancer and immune therapies. Spirulina and chlorella provide cellular protection with exceptional amounts of beta carotene (provitamin A) and chlorophyll. Chlorella, the algae to emphasize in those with the greatest deficiency, stimulates immunity in the treatment of all degenerative diseases by means of the “Chlorella Growth Factor” (CGF). Spirulina is rich in phycocyanin, a pigment with anti-cancer properties. Spirulina is also the highest plant source of gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), a fatty acid which strengthens immunity and inhibits excessive cell division.

Chlorella increases macrophage activity and has shown antitumor effects. Chorellan is a substance found in chlorella that stimulates interferon production. There are several papers on the prevention and/or inhibition of cancer using chlorella as well as documentation of its DNA repair mechanism.

How to Take Chlorella & Spirulina

The following figures are based on an average 150-pound adult.

Spirulina

• Disease-fighting dose: 20 grams / day

• Maintenance dose: 10 grams / day

• Athlete dose: as much as 60 grams / day

• Upper limit: there is no upper limit. You can eat spirulina like food.  If you eat “too much,” you will simply get full.

Chlorella

• Disease-fighting dose: 10 grams / day

• Maintenance dose: 5 grams / day

• Upper limit: there is no upper limit, but introduce chlorella into your diet gradually and monitor your stools. Since chlorella can result in mild diarrhea in some persons, introduce it slowly. (Your body will adapt over a period of a few weeks, allowing you to take more.)

Frequently Asked Questions about Chlorella & Spirulina

·       How frequently should I take chlorella and spirulina?

With every meal, every single day. You do not need to “cycle off” these superfoods. You can eat them every single day for the rest of your life.

·       For how many weeks or months should I take them?

Only take chlorella and spirulina for as long as you wish to be healthy. Plan on taking them for at least one year in order to experience their full health benefits, since it may take time for these super foods to detoxify your system, remove heavy metals, support immune function, fight precancerous cells, improve digestion, regular blood sugar, and so on.

·       Will eating these super foods turn my stools green?

Yes. It’s totally normal. If your stools aren’t green, you probably aren’t eating enough.

·       What’s the best form for taking chlorella / spirulina supplements?

Many of the “popular” chlorella supplements are made into small compressed tablets. This form is fine, but you may prefer capsules, since they are easier to swallow and disintegrate more quickly in the stomach. If you can handle the taste, using these micro-algae in powder form is also a good way to increase your daily intake. You can blend them into drinks (soymilk + flax oil + banana + unsweetened cocoa powder) or mix them into soups.

Reference: ebook

Superfoods for Optimum Health Chlorella and Spirulina.

BY MIKE ADAMS

Truth Publishing, Inc. 2009