7 surprising benefits of Spirulina

Spirulina is a blue-green algae found in the sea. Its closest food relative is oysters. While I love the benefits of oysters the texture is only something I can handle every now and then, whereas Spirulina I can enjoy every day….and its not quite as intense as downing an oyster 😉

1. Vitamin B12 – Spirulina is a superfood that combines maximum nutritional value within the smallest calorie and consumption volume necessary. In fact just one teaspoon of spirulina provides 7 times more Vitamin 12 than mackerel and is higher than the densest Vitamin B12 containing food of clams. Vitamin B12 is used for loads of complex reactions in the body; avoiding fatigue and pernicious anaemia.

2. Full of fibre – Fibre helps us to feel fuller for longer as well as acting like a gentle brush in the intestines cleaning out debris of food that is undigested and fermenting (in a bad way). If you are finding it difficult to eat enough vegetables then you can try Spirulina for a fibre packed health kick. It provides one fourteenth of your daily requirement of fibre in an easy to consume supplement. Some people claim it helps with weight loss too.

3. Calcium – Spirulina contains more Calcium than milk. In fact it contains twice the amount that milk does. 100gm of Spirulina contains 220mg of Calcium whereas 100gm/ml of milk contains 120mg of Calcium. Sardines with bones and almonds are the only foods that contain more Calcium than Spirulina.

4. Protein – Spirulina contains more protein than most foods! Of course we wouldn’t gorge ourselves on spirulina steaks but it’s useful to know that we can get some of our daily protein requirements from it. While eggs contain 12 gm of protein per 100gm, Spirulina contains a whopping 56gm per 100gm.

5. Iron – higher than any other food in Iron Spirulina packs a punch on the Iron stakes. Another natural source of highly absorbable Iron is Spatone iron supplements. Adding both of these to your diet will ensure you have enough minerals for high energy and metabolism.

6. Zinc – important for fertility, sexual health and skin healing Zinc is the ultimate mojo-rejuvenating mineral. Spirulina contains twice as much Zinc as spinach but much less than oysters. Oysters are, after all, the ultimate love food!

7. Potassium – the most important electrolyte for athletes as well as after illness and for low carb dieters too. Potassium is an essential mineral. With nearly twice as much Potassium as a banana, the potassium in Spirulina can help to maintain electrolyte balance and prevent high blood pressure.

FYI I find its more palatable in warm (not hot) water than cold. These are the best blends I’ve found. 

Emma

Have you tried Spirulina? How did you find the taste of it?

Image courtesy of CCRES

RECIPE: Lemon & Green Juice Morning Kickstarter

If you’re looking for a quick and easy get up and go juice then you have to try this one! It’s easy, zingy, refreshing and massively detoxifying. If you’re after a detox click the box on the right there for your free guide.

You’ll need a basic blender, or a fancy one if you prefer 🙂

Ingredients:
1 whole peeled lemon
Celery x 1 stalk
Cucumber x 3 inches chopped
Ginger x 2cm – fresh is best
Pear x 1
200ml water

Method:
Place in blender and blend for a minute or so. If it doesn’t blend you can add some water or turn it off and bash it around a little with the end of a rolling pin or a spoon.

Nutrition notes:
Drinking this every morning will set you up for the day whether you are detoxing or not. The lemon’s contain citric acid, the phytonutrient tangeretin, vitamin c and limonene. It also has sour and pungent properties that stimulate digestive enzyme release. Amongst lemon’s health benefits are its detox properties such as bile stimulation and antioxidant status. Lemons are also antibacterial. By juicing vegetables we release the nutrients so that they are readily absorbed into the bloodstream without being subject to the digestive processes; the fibre that remains in blended (vs juiced) vegetables also stabilises blood sugar.

ANH Exclusive! Official EU data indicate lightning more likely to kill than herbs or vitamins

Preventable medical injury in EU hospitals poses the greatest risk of death to EU citizens – some 351,220 times the risk of consuming food supplements, and 206,600 times the risk posed by herbal medicines…….yet food supplements and herbal medicines are being legislated because they pose a risk to public health.

Risk analysis states that food supplements and herbs are very safe products.

Check this out for some interesting facts:

ANH Exclusive! Official EU data indicate lightning more likely to kill than herbs or vitamins.

 

Mouth ulcers

While mouth ulcers can be painful and annoying they are very common. Usually I see them occur in people who are run down, drink their hot drinks far too hot (blistering and damaging the their mouth mucosa) or are vitamin C deficient. They are often associate with poor immunity, wheat sensitivity, Coeliac disease, Crohn’s disease and coeliac disease.

There are a few different approaches to treatment:

Check for food sensitivities

Often the mouth reflects what is happening in the digestive system so that stomach ulcers or damaged gut lining are often associated with mouths ulcers and can signify a flare up of Coeliac disease or Crohn’s disease or a food sensitivity causing dysbiosis, bacterial imbalance or leaky gut syndrome. I will shortly be posting a self-test you can do at home but the most common food sensitivities are coffee, nuts, chocolate, citrus fruits, wheat and dairy foods.

Take supplements
Vitamin C in liquid form such is superb – use an effervescent product short term and beware if the skin is broken though as the acidity can be a little painful.
B Vitamin complexes are also recommended where low immunity is linked to stress overload.

Get some relief
Try this home remedy from Grow Your Own Drugs

20 drops peppermint oil
5 drops clove oil
60ml witch hazel
1tsp myrrh
120ml glycerine
250ml cooled boiled water

Place all ingredients into a bowl and stir well. Filter into a large sterilised bottle

Use Dilute with warm water (1 part in 4) and use every hour as a mouthwash or gargle to relieve pain until the soreness has gone. Do not swallow in large amounts.

This will keep for 1 month.

My green stuff!

At a third of the price of my current one, I’m hoping this green stuff is just as good. Already I can see it is has much smaller mesh size aka its a finer more refined powder. Personally I like grittiness as the finer powders have a tendency to become a little slimy when mixed with water.

I attribute part if my general wellbeing tony green stuff. I’ve taken it every morning for years. There have been times I haven’t taken it, such as being on holiday or away from work or when I had pregnancy nausea/vomiting (I don’t recommend it if you’re vomiting, its just not good). I’ve felt worse during and after those times; I’ve had less energy, been less regular,  felt sluggish and a bit down really.

My green stuff is packed full of nutrients. I like to think if it as a powerhouse combination multi vitamin and mineral supplement. Only it has the nutrients in it naturally which is always preferable in my opinion. Don’t get me wring, I do also take a multi vitamin and mineral supplement as I don’t think we get enough from our diet – or our green stuff 🙂

Not only does it have the nutritional value it has fibre content and a low level ‘blood cleansing’ effect. You could also say ‘detoxifying’ but I like to imagine it gently being absorbed through my gut lining into my bloodstream, skipping merrily throughout my body making all my organs and tissues cleaner and clearer.

So let’s hope this new green stuff, with its basic cost-saving packaging and marketing-lessness does the trick. I have my doubts if I’m honest but hey if it saves me 40% I’m all up for it.

A tip if you take green stuff – mix it into warm water not cold.