What is the difference between Spirulina and Super Blue Green Algae?

Do Spirulina and Super Blue Green Algae lose nutrients in the freezing/powdering process? If so, how much? If not, then why isn't wheatgrass powder more popular?

For the last word in the difference between spirulina, super blue green algae and chlorella, go to the third edition of Paul Pitchford's book Healing with Whole Foods. He goes on at length for many pages, describing these 3 superfoods and how you might choose the one that's best for YOU. He also discusses wheat grass powder. These foods are definitely not interchangeable. Especially where super bluegreen is concerned, you have to be careful about quantity and identify problems caused by overconsumption. Very interesting & informative reading.

Thanks for the information, can you summarize any of it?

The only commercial algae that I have a problem with is the blue-green algae being harvested from Klamath Lake. This algae is toxic.

wheatgrass fresh is always going to be better than powder, both spirulina and wheatgrass are good choices.

powerlifer,

How do you figure Klamath Lake algae is toxic?; it has been touted as a particularily "pure" source.

The company who started the sales of this algae lied through their teeth claiming that lake was "pristine" and failed to mention that the algae contains liver and nervous system damaging anatoxins and microcystins.

The lake is so highly polluted that they have been trying to find some way to clean up the lake. A lot of agricultural waste runs in to the lake including fertilizers and pesticides, but there is no real outlet for these toxins. This is why they get the algae blooms. It is impossible to grow algae in a pristine lake. The algae thrives on nitrates and phosphates from pollution.

I take a Green Algae called Sun "A" Chlorella, which is very popular in Japan, but practically unheard of here in the States. It's recommended by Brian Clement. He says that Wheatgrass Powder is practically worthless based on studies done. I'm not sure anything highly processed like that has very much nutritional value.
The Best green supplement is Wheatgrass Juice taken within 15 minutes after juicing.....WY

Wheatgrass Yogi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> [Brian Clement] says that Wheatgrass Powder is
> practically worthless based on studies done. I'm
> not sure anything highly processed like that has
> very much nutritional value.

If this is true for wheatgrass, should it also be true for Spirulina and Super Blue Green Algae?

ascorbic Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If this is true for wheatgrass, should it also be
> true for Spirulina and Super Blue Green Algae?
Brian Clement speaks in favor of Sprouts, and Algae (both fresh and saltwater).
He speaks against massive amounts of Fruit-sugars. This video clip says it best.....WY

[renegadehealth.com]

Hi, Ascorbic. If you will go to googlebooks as follows, you will find the entire book. The relevant chapter is Chapter 16.

[books.google.com]

Powerlifer, interesting stuff!! Where did you get this information?

from a very good herbalist debbietook, the best ive seen in the industry anyway.

Horsea Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi, Ascorbic. If you will go to googlebooks as
> follows, you will find the entire book. The
> relevant chapter is Chapter 16.
>
> [books.google.com]
> tsec=frontcover&dq=paul+pitchford+healing+with+who
> le+foods&so


Thanks for the link! There is a ton of great information here. They also mention the toxicity of wild blue green algae.

powerlifer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> from a very good herbalist debbietook, the best
> ive seen in the industry anyway.



Just a shot in the dark here. Is the herbalist you are talking about named Chris G.?

I'm almost 100% sure I'm taking the blue-green algae you speak of. Now you got me thinking. haha I need more information! Because I may need to change my sources.

What is the herbalist's name and where did he get this information?

His name is James thats all i know really and not sure where he got the information ill ask him, there are other sites that refer to its toxicity, im sure someone said in that book mentioned in this thread it says similar.

The link to the book mentions that blue-green can transform into an exceptionally toxic plant so poisonous that toxicologist rate it VFDF (very fast death factor), it says that this toxic blue-green algae has only been found in New England lakes and that the Klamath algae has never changed to a toxic state. (really? why would this problem stay in New England?)
[books.google.com]


That's great to know, I was taking Blue-Green Algae too and I won't be buying any more,looking the lake up in Wiki it says that it is polluted:

[en.wikipedia.org]
Prior to the 20th century the lake was surrounded by widespread marshes which were largely drained for cultivated land. The lake is naturally eutrophic, resulting in a high natural concentration of nutrients. In the 20th century, the augmentation of nutrients by agricultural runoff in the surrounding farming valley have caused the lake to become hypereutrophic resulting in blue-green algae blooms over the lake ( largely Microcystis aeruginosa and Aphanizomenon flos-aquae) The algae blooms turn the water an opaque green in the summer and afford little recreational use on the lake. State standards for dissolved oxygen are routinely violated.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/11/2010 02:13PM by tropical.

tropical,

Yeah, I sat and read a looooooong research PDF, dating to 2004, about the levels of flos-aquae correlated with alkalinity of the water. One of the conclusions was that only high amounts of synthetic phosphates could alter the oxygen levels to the point where there would be such volumes of algae.

Marketing genius, whoever decided to turn the agri-runoff resulting vegetation into a "supplement." Evil, but genius.

this is the problem with an unregulated industry in some ways we dont want the bully boy ways of FDA restricting things that are provingly healthy and have researched side effects and contradictions such as herbs.

but we have many MLM marketing companies just sprouting crap at the expense of our health. Ive used klamath containing green supp and i felt awful on it but always put that down to "detox" now im not so sure.

its abit like that other natural vitamin C supplement(which im very for sythethic vitamin c is unstable and pretty useless even with bioflavinoids), it contained camu camu as its main ingredient, fair and well camu camu is a great source of vitamin c but its extremely unstable, its only useful fresh or dried and consumed immediatley.

Interesting what you say about camu camu, Powerlifter. I guess fresh anything, esp. sprouts, is the best way to get your vitamin C. The far northern people apparently, or so they say, would eat raw adrenal gland from a just-killed animal and got their C that way. No way but raw for some nutrients! Hunting for wild rose plants and eating the hips in late summer might be a more humane way to go for those of us a little farther south...

horsea im not fond on any glandulars really, they atrophy the glands and end up making them weak, which results in them not being able to produce there own hormones etc. Supplementation becomes necessary, instead its better to use herbs that stimulate or restore the glands etc.

for vitamin C my favorite is amla(fresh or herbal) the latters vitamin C content will vary but so what its 12 times stronger than sythethic and you dony need thousands of grams daily as suggested, another good herbal source is acerola, rose hips. These come intact with bioflavinoids and other co-factors which aid absorbtion. Of course my favorites are fresh berries, kiwi and other high vitamin C fruits but the herbs such as amla come with other benefits such as boosting SOD(antioxident), liver protection, digestive aid and more.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/11/2010 05:14PM by powerlifer.

TRUE!!! i was on glandulars for 5 years after not finding any herb formulas to sustain my endocrine. UNTIL!!!!!!!!! >> I found Maca Magic formulas. I Highly Recommend. they are formulated with Maca and other herbs to support endocrine systems (adrenals, thyroid etc...)

You folks stating that Klamath Lake is polluted should go there and see for yourself that it is PRISTINE! No toxins whatsoever in it's extraordinary product AFA Bluegreen Algae. You think the State of Oregon Food Safety Division would allow production if it were polluted or dangerous? Daah.

HHI endorses E-3 Live and that is made there? just saying. Here is a link to one of Brians lectures. [www.aliveraw.com]

Klamath lake is horribly polluted, the pristine description comes from manufacturers descriptions.

Klamath lake algae contains liver and nervous system toxins known as microcystins.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]

Plenty of dull multi-page PDFs from the DEQ of Oregon dispute the claims that the lake is pristine.

This is a shame maybe we will have to grow it in a facility as I am sure some do. I have not talked to brian about the E-3 in a long time so maybe things have changed. I have talked about the "Ancient Aliens show" before and they think the Aliens gave the primative people the knowlede to grow algae! Either way they think they were living off of algae for extended periods in the desert for lack of food!

I don't think ancient aliens would have taught us to adulterate our lakes with organochloric pesticides and then grow algae in them, though!

Yes, the theory is that they did it in a controled machine of some kind, damit can't remember the name.

rzman,

Ancient aliens taught us to pollute our pristine lakes with things that would sterilize us or malform our young in utero, and then taught us how to grow food in that dirty water?!

The machine's name was the "Manna Machine."