Hi I was just wondering which brand in your opinion makes the best spirulina?

I was just thinking of asking about Spirulina or at least looking up some old posts to get some info.

I'm really into Spirulina right now - I use it in my green smoothie. I'm using up my bottle of SourceNaturals right now, but I called them yesterday and asked some questions and found out that - they get it from vendors in China, which makes me think it's from polluted waters because I just feel like China's all polluted, like NJ. Or maybe that's Japan I'm thinking of. I asked them how it's processed and she said it's dried, so I guess it's not raw.

I also have a bottle of PurePlanet Hawaiian Spirulina which I haven't opened yet, that was recommended to me as a good brand, and I'm waiting for them to call me back so I can ask them the same questions. Where is it from - I'm assuming it's Hawaii - and how is it processed - is it raw?

Personally, I'm hesitant to purchase food from China, they have a pretty poor track record of quality control and standards. From my research, I think parry's organic spirulina seems like it is one of the highest quality spirulina products on the market today, but I don't know for sure and that's why I am reaching out to others. I am contacting them tomorrow to ask if their product is raw.

grow yer own [www.youtube.com]

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

I would stay away from spirulina as there are some serious risks that may be posed by the substance.

[nutritionfacts.org]
[nutritionfacts.org]
[nutritionfacts.org]

Chris (Powerlifer) and I have different views on Dr. Greger's assessment. Chris feels that Dr. Greger has "cherrypicked" a few studies while not weighing the potential benefit of the spirulina. And I agree spirulina has potential benefits. Dr. Greger stipulates this in his first video.

In the end, I think you have to look at the data and make up your own mind. Dr. Greger provides his sources in the "Sources Cited" below the video. In one case, it's a case study. In others, it's the presence of the toxins in the supply. Is there clean spirulina? Maybe. But unless you can make sure of the supplier and the quality control, it's a crap shoot. Better safe than sorry.

Paul

I should have worded that better the last time, what i meant was that the vast majority of studies have deemed Spirulina to be safe for consumption pending it comes from a good source. 3 studies are nothing when it comes to a food or anything really, especially if you say 2 of them are in regards to toxins in the supply where the spirulina was grown.

As i have said before, it largely comes down to the fact that all algae and sea vegetables have potential for contamination, it largely depends where they are grown. China gets alot of bad rep but some of the worlds best Spirulina actually comes from there. Also getting an Organic certification for Spirulina/Chlorella is difficult and manufacturers have to adhere to very strict criteria from what ive been told.

All in all if you are going to use Spirulina, Chlorella or even sea vegetables such as kelp, it is best to go with the best quality supplier possible and Organic.

Unlike Klamath lake algae, Spirulina does not produce microcystins(which are the nervous and liver damaging toxins Dr Greger talks of. They come from contamination in the supply, which is why i feel Dr Greger is wrong on this issue and has cherry picked a few studies to back up that point.

These toxic compounds are not produced by spirulina itself,[22] but may occur as a result of contamination of spirulina batches with other toxin-producing blue-green algae. Because spirulina is considered a dietary supplement in the U.S., there is no active, industry-wide regulation of its production and no enforced safety standards for its production or purity.[21] The U.S. National Institutes of Health describes spirulina supplements as "possibly safe", provided they are free of microcystin contamination, but "likely unsafe" (especially for children) if contaminated.[23] Given the lack of regulatory standards in the U.S., some public-health researchers have raised the concern that consumers cannot be certain that spirulina and other blue-green algae supplements are free of contamination.[21]

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]



Edited 11 time(s). Last edit at 09/21/2012 03:37PM by powerlifer.

Chris,

thanks. I appreciate the clarification. and at the end of the day the buyer has to make the decision. For me this is an easy one. There are better sources for the nutrients you need.

Paul

I agree that the spirulina used needs to be of high quality and that's why I wanted to know which brand people thought was of the highest quality. I've looked at the certficate of analysis for Parry's spirulina (certified organic) and it seems to be of high quality, but I still want to know what other people either think of this brand or of any others that are high quality.

Here is their quality report:

[www.parrynutraceuticals.com]

Fry,

I think it looks good. Chris and I agree on one thing, the spirulina has to come from a high quality source. Your Parry report does mention mycotoxins which covers one of the toxins Greger mentions. Maybe you could query the company on the neurotoxins and hepatoxins to see if those are covered as well. I'm not sure about Chris's assertion that these are always the result of cross contamination rather than in the spirulina itself. In some sense it's splitting hairs if it's prevalent enough. A contaminated supply is a contaminated supply. But the Parry QA you showed does look good.

Paul

I heard back from the Pure Planet brand Spirulina and they said it's grown off the coast of Hawaii and it's Raw, but they can't get it anymore so they're discontinuing it and the new spirulina they have available will be from California. So I got worried that if it was a great Spirulina, I'd never be able to get it anymore and ordered another bottle before it's gone. But now I wish I'd ordered an Organic brand instead, although the Pure Planet was highly recommended.

What makes Spirulina special?

RawPracticalist Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What makes Spirulina special?

Spirulina is a good nutritive food especially rich in easily digestible amino acids and has shown a number of benefits such as chelating heavy metals, supporting detoxification and the growth of the gut flora, possible anti-cancer/tumor properties, also helps the liver, strenghtens the immune system are some of the benefits.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]

Thanks for the info, I will try it.
This actually proves once again that we have everything we need in simple natural form without resorting to spices, stimulants, garlic for gut flora

Personally i prefer Chlorella, but thats mainly because ive had the best results with Chlorella especially for lowering my heavy metal poisoning.

Chlorella much like brown seaweed extract(modifilan) instantly took alot of my horrible symptoms away by binding to the metals that were constantly re-circulating. The horrible panicky snakey cold/flu feelings i used to get were gone pretty much instantly with using both of the above.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/05/2012 12:01PM by powerlifer.

Why "metals were constantly re-circulating" in your system? How do you know you were not making them circulate because you were thinking that way? Are there any tests done in lab?
Are we saying the body is unable to detoxify itself on a raw diet of fruits and greens and some fasting?

This was during a period of time when i was living very unhealthy, i was living on a pretty much SAD diet, drinking lots of alcohol and smoking.

Yeah i had urine challenge and hair analysis tests which confirmed heavy metal poisoning, which is about as best you get for testing metals other than biopsy.

When you have accumulated heavy metals over years, fasting and raw diet will not be enough and it could take you the rest of your life. This is why nutritional balancing and chelating agents are often used. A good diet will provide you the best protection against metals though.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]

I occasionally have taken Earthrise brand, without any discernable benefit(it's probably just me, not the supplement). The company claims that it's organically grown, and in California:

[earthrise.com]

As several posters here have mentioned, the means of production are virtually impossible to confirm, so beyond a certain point of research, one must go on faith.

Chris,

Could you tell us a little more about your experience with Chlorella and how it has helped? I've heard that some sea vegetables (not hijiki which may contain arsenic) may help facilitate depletion of heavy metals and toxins. Since chlorella is a freshwater algae, I'm interested in comparing notes.

Paul

Hey Paul,

Chlorella really helped in that it took away alot of my symptoms instantly, as did the brown seaweed extract(modifilan).

The seaweeds that are best for chelation are the species which are rich in alginate such as kelp or brown seaweeds like laminaria japonica. It is the alginate that binds to the heavy metals in the digestive tract for removal. Brown seaweed extract aka modifilan which is its brand name, is extracted for its very high levels of alginate. It takes 40 pounds of laminaria japonica to make 1 pound of brown seaweed extract, so its very potent for chelation purposes.

Both were amazing for reducing my symptoms and eventually removing alot of the heavy metals. Chlorella and brown seaweed extract are really only useful though for lowering the body burden of heavy metals from what i have read.

All in all i feel they played a massive part in my recovery.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/05/2012 04:18PM by powerlifer.

Chris,

Thanks for sharing. And a belated congratulations on your recovery. I wonder if chlorella is low in iodine being freshwater and would make it a more sustainable supplement than sea vegetables.

Paul

Has anyone tried Parry Organic Spirulina? They recently got FDA GRAS status.

NOW foods organic spirulina seems pretty good to me.

I work for Parry Nutraceuticals.Let me clarify your questions on Parry Organic Spirulina. Parry has done extensive testing of its Organic Spirulina in third party labs and universities like Wright State. The tests covers microcystins, BMAA and other toxins. The Organic Spirulina is grown in controlled raceway ponds and is cultured using purified ground water with vegetarian plant-based nutrients. The culture is closely monitored and tested daily. So, there is no possibility of wild algae cross contamination in this controlled and monitored environment. The Organic Spirulina facility is strategically located in a pristine environment that is away from agriculture and industrial environment. The product meets the highest level of safety compliance for contaminants like heavy metals. It is the only Spirulina that is USP Verified - that stands for - batch to batch compliance to USP monograph / specifications, meets contamination limits and GMP standards. The product also received FDA GRAS status recently.

Parry Organic Spirulina is not sold directly by the company to consumers. But, it supplies to some of the major Organic Spirulina brands across the world including NOW Foods, Solgar, Vibrant Health, Ultimate Life etc in the US.

Thank you. That is reassuring.

Hi guys,

I've recently ordered Nutrex Hawaiian spirulina. The mother company is called cyanotech. Any reviews about the brand or the product?

The company website doesn't say that its organic. Also i've read a few articles online which say that its really hard to produce spirulia organically. I am really confused about this product. Looks promising but I don't want to believe the website blindly.

Any information would be much appreciated.
Thanks.

Kay

Did you find any spirulina that is of clean air, I'm looking for that type as I don't want it from china as the air is so not clean xxxx

I'm in Australia

Hello,
I know that spirulina need to be of good quality if you want the best results.
I've tried bio spirulina from switzerland. The brand is called Algorigin.
They have a good website with lot of informations about how to choose your spirulina.
I think it can help you !

Here are the links :

[algorigin.ch]

[algorigin.ch]

i wonder most then anything, beyond if its polluted or not; is Spirulina really a "raw food" ?¡? as most spirulina is spraydried, and exposed to high tempreatures, for a quite short moment. i suppose that most-nearly all spirulina isnt really "raw"... what you guys think about that?

strange, i was just reading back at this trhead earlier today.



my favorite tasting spirulina is spirulina azteca by healthforce. its a bit more expensive than other brands, but tastes amazing. there's a website, pipinkrock that claims to have high quality spirulina from taiwan for a ridiculously low price. i'm skeptical but ordered a pound anyway.

Some linked precautions are in order here ...


"Special Precautions & Warnings:

Pregnancy and breast-feeding: Not enough is known about the use of blue-green algae during pregnancy and breast-feeding. Stay on the safe side and avoid use.

“Auto-immune diseases” such as multiple sclerosis (MS), lupus (systemic lupus erythematosus, SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), pemphigus vulgaris (a skin condition), and others: Blue-green algae might cause the immune system to become more active, and this could increase the symptoms of auto-immune diseases. If you have one of these conditions, it’s best to avoid using blue-green algae.

Phenylketonuria: The spirulina species of blue-green algae contains the chemical phenylalanine. This might make phenylketonuria worse. Avoid Spirulina species blue-green algae products if you have phenylketonuria."

[www.webmd.com])