Spirulina is a blue-green algae. It is a one celled micro organism that thrives in the heat and in alkaline water, or ponds. Most people would associate something like this with diseases, or germs, or just plain old not good for you. But in fact, spirulina is one of the most sterile foods found in nature.
People are now beginning to call spirulina one of the superfoods. It is the only plant source loaded with vitamin B12. Normally, you can only get this vitamin from animal sources. But spirulina has 2.5 times the RDA in 1 teaspoon. It also has a complete protein structure, meaning it has all of the amino acids required to make a protein.
The fact this superfood can survive in the warm environments is the reason it is very sterile. At these sorts of temperatures, there is no way for other things to live in the ponds that can infect this algae. Also, the fact it can survive in temperatures up to 160F makes it exceptional in terms of producing. It can with stand most of the high heats needed to process this supplement. As we now from a raw food diet, temperature can begin to destroy some of the vital elements of foods. But, this is not the case with spirulina.
The following is the long list of everything spirulina has in it:
8 Essential Amino Acids:
How do you take it?
This can be done a couple of ways. You can buy a good whole food vitamin that has spirulina in it. This is a good start. It will not give you a very large amount, but a smaller amount is definitely better than no amount.
Another way is to buy it in capsule form. This is a very easy way to take this. Many people not familiar with the taste of spirulina will find taking the supplements by capsule or pill form to be much easier. Just ensure there are no other additives in the spirulina tablets.
The last way is in powder form. This, I believe, is for the more hard core smoothie and health nuts out there (like me). We add a teaspoon or more to each of the smoothies we make. But, here is the thing. The more bland your smoothie ingredients are, the stronger the spirulina will be. Plus, the spirulina turns the entire drink green.
The last way I have found, which makes it very easy for the kids, is to add it to a smoothie. You will need to buy the spirulina powder in order to do it this way. I posted a good recipe for a pineapple hemp seed smoothie which is a good way to get some spirulina into the diet.
Hopefully that give you a pretty good idea about how important spirulina is in a diet, especially a raw food diet.
People are now beginning to call spirulina one of the superfoods. It is the only plant source loaded with vitamin B12. Normally, you can only get this vitamin from animal sources. But spirulina has 2.5 times the RDA in 1 teaspoon. It also has a complete protein structure, meaning it has all of the amino acids required to make a protein.
The fact this superfood can survive in the warm environments is the reason it is very sterile. At these sorts of temperatures, there is no way for other things to live in the ponds that can infect this algae. Also, the fact it can survive in temperatures up to 160F makes it exceptional in terms of producing. It can with stand most of the high heats needed to process this supplement. As we now from a raw food diet, temperature can begin to destroy some of the vital elements of foods. But, this is not the case with spirulina.
The following is the long list of everything spirulina has in it:
8 Essential Amino Acids:
- Isoleucine
- Leucine
- Lysine
- Methionine
- Phenylalanine
- Threonine
- Tryptophane
- Valine
- Alanine
- Arginine
- Aspartic Acid
- Cystine
- Glutamic Acid
- Glycine
- Histidine
- Proline
- Serine
- Tyrosine
- Potassium
- Calcium
- Zinc
- Magnesium
- Manganese
- Selenium
- Iron
- Phosphorous
- B6
- Biotin
- B12
- Pantothenic Acid
- Folic Acid
- Inositol
- Niacin
- B2
- B 1
- Vitamin E
How do you take it?
This can be done a couple of ways. You can buy a good whole food vitamin that has spirulina in it. This is a good start. It will not give you a very large amount, but a smaller amount is definitely better than no amount.
Another way is to buy it in capsule form. This is a very easy way to take this. Many people not familiar with the taste of spirulina will find taking the supplements by capsule or pill form to be much easier. Just ensure there are no other additives in the spirulina tablets.
The last way is in powder form. This, I believe, is for the more hard core smoothie and health nuts out there (like me). We add a teaspoon or more to each of the smoothies we make. But, here is the thing. The more bland your smoothie ingredients are, the stronger the spirulina will be. Plus, the spirulina turns the entire drink green.
The last way I have found, which makes it very easy for the kids, is to add it to a smoothie. You will need to buy the spirulina powder in order to do it this way. I posted a good recipe for a pineapple hemp seed smoothie which is a good way to get some spirulina into the diet.
Hopefully that give you a pretty good idea about how important spirulina is in a diet, especially a raw food diet.
You can find more tips on healthy supplements, raw foods, and natural living at http://www.ourrawfoodjourney.com.
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