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Our food writer, Pip, explores
SPIRULINA! NATURE'S SUPERFOOD?
What IS spirulina? One of these
new health fads, expensive 2 per day pills you find at the pharmacist or
health food store? Sounds like some Genetically Modified Organism dreamt
up by Monty Python!
Healthy growth - in more ways than one!
In fact, spirulina is a single celled organism whose scientific name
is arthrospira, a blue-green
algae which grows in water and is related to the long strands and ribbons
of seaweed we are used to getting tangled up in at the seaside.
Spirulina has been around for a very long time; much longer than old
Aunt Ethel. We're talking over 3 BILLION years here! With its brother (or
sister) algae, it was one of the very first organisms to evolve and start
photosynthesizing, ie using the sun's energy to respire and power life.
Spirulina and other algae are thus the major reasons the earth has complex
life forms, because they were the first organisms to take carbon dioxide
and use the sun to turn it into oxygen. They form the very bottom and most
important part of the food chain. So: no algae, no spirulina, no fish,
no animals and no humans!
The name actually derives from the spiral, coiled shape of the organism
as it drifts in it's watery home. Not unlike some of those models we see
of DNA, only bigger, though you'd need a microscope to see individual strands.
This spirulina is the major source of food for the Lesser Flamingo and
the beautiful bright pink of their plumage is supplied by a strong red
pigment in the spirulina they eat. I know spirulina is blue-green, but
bear with me! Spirulina in Africa is not only eaten by flamingoes. The
Kanembu tribe, from areas around Lakes Chad, Boudou and Rombou have harvested
Dihé for generations. In the season when the northerly winds blow
in from the desert., spirulina forms mats on the surface of the water and
gets blown towards shore. These mats are then scooped up from the surface
of the water and put into clay pots. The water is then squeezed out using
cloth and the resulting cakes laid out to dry in the sun. These Dihé
cakes form a most important part of their diet and are crumbled into a
sauce made from chillies and tomatoes. This is used to flavour fish, meat,
beans or millet.
It is notable that the Kanembu are the only natives in the area who
suffer no discernable malnutrition - and their infant death rate is negligible
in comparison to their close neighbours for whom dihé is not a part
of the diet. They also use it successfully as a medicine and make it into
a poultice to treat different diseases and to cover wounds.
Mexican tribes used fine meshed nets to harvest spirulina from lakes.
They called it techuitlatl and also dried it in the sun to make cakes.
This was crumbled and used in bread and mixed with lama milk to make cheese.
Their long distance runners used to carry cakes of techuitlatl to provide
energy and sustenance on their runs, often over 150 kms at a time over
mountainous terrain! Unfortunately the useage stopped when the Spanish
drained almost all the lakes to make room for other agriculture.
One reason spirulina is so important in those lakes in Africa and Central
America is because they are all of volcanic origin, strongly alkaline,
and caustic. Spirulina loves those conditions, though most other organisms
cannot survive there. If you try to grow spirulina in less caustic water,
it may thrive but other organisms will quickly consume it. So where it
is harvested, it survives as a monoculture, can become very thick and easy
to scoop up. In these places it has a cyclical pattern. When there is geological
activity, nutrients well up from inside the earth and feed the spirulina.
There is then an "algal bloom" and the water becomes thick with
spirulina. When the nutrients have all been used up, the bloom dies and
leaves a small amount to form the base of a new bloom when the next welling-up
occurs.
Colours count
The blue-green colour comes from 3 different classes of pigment; Phycocianin
('algae-blue'), which is believed to be the precursor to chlorophyll
and hemoglobin, Chlorophyll, which provides the green in plants and is
responsible for their respiration and photosynthesis - and various Caratenoids
which range in colour from yellow to dark red. One of these gives those
flamingos their beautiful pink plumage!
These pigments are all-important for we humans. The Caratenoids
are strong antioxidants. The best know, Beta Carotene, is converted
by the body to Vitamin A and is important in anti-cancer treatment. Spirulina
is the highest known source of Beta carotene, over 10 times more than carrots!
Just 2 grams of spirulina provides more than the US recommended daily amount
of this vital pigment.
Other dietary health benefits derived from spirulina include vegetable
protein, where it contains 65%, weight for weight. This is higher than
any other natural food source, animal, fish or plant. However the vitamins,
minerals and enzymes found in spirulina are much more important even than
the protein!Three to 10 grams a day delivers impressive amounts of vitamin
B-12 and B complex, iron, essential trace minerals, and GLA, (gamma-linolenic
acid). Beyond vitamins and minerals, spirulina is rich in phytonutrients
and functional nutrients with a positive effect on health. For undernourished
people in the developing world, spirulina brings quick recovery from malnutrition.
GLA is the precursor to the body's master hormones that control many
functions. It is destroyed by too much saturated fat and alcohol in the
diet, a typical western dietary health problem. The only other known sources
of dietary GLA are mother's milk, black currant, borage seeds and evening
primrose oil. Spirulina is a concentrated source of GLA, and a 10 gram
serving has 135 mg. As a comparison, a daily dose of 500 mg of evening
primrose oil has only 45 mg.
Spirulina's fat content is only 5%, far lower than almost all other
protein sources. Ten grams contains only 36 calories and 1.3 mg of cholesterol.
In contrast, an egg yields about 300 mg of cholesterol and 80 calories,
while providing only the same amount of protein as a tablespoon of spirulina.
This means spirulina is a low-fat, low-calorie, cholesterol-free source
of protein and is not loaded with the fat, grease, calories and cholesterol
of meat and dairy protein. Furthermore, spirulina is 85 to 95% digestible,
far more so than almost any other known food source.
Scientific proof
Spirulina is also important to medicine. Recent studies have shown that
it helps regulate blood pressure and serum glucose levels. There are new
studies using spirulina to help treat diabetes and hypertension.
Research in Japan showed spirulina to increase lactobacillus
in rats 3 times more than in a control group. (Healthy lactobacillus
in the intestines provides humans with 3 major benefits: better
digestion and hence better absorption of nutrients, protection from infection,
and stimulation of the immune system.) This is an important finding for
sufferers from HIV because one of the main precursors to full-blown AIDS
is a decrease in lactobacillus in
the gut and inefficient absorption of nutrients.
People have used spirulina in face creams and body wraps, and there
are reports of people taking it in baths to promote skin health. In France,
pharmaceutical compounds containing spirulina have been shown to accelerate
wound healing. French patients were treated with whole spirulina, raw juice
and extracts in creams, ointments, solutions and suspensions. A study in
Japan showed cosmetic packs containing spirulina promoted skin 'breathing'
and reduced scars.
As little as 10 grams a day brings rapid recovery from malnutrition,
especially for infants. Spirulina has a very high iron content. Athletes
in intensive training can suffer from non-anemic iron deficit, with clinical
symptoms such as exhaustion and muscle fatigue. A 1998 study with Macedonian
athletes taking spirulina for 2 months showed a distinct rise in iron reserves.
To fight the foe
In 1986, the National Cancer Institute of America began studying thousands
of types of blue-green algae for effects against the HIV and other viruses
and various types of cancer. In 1989, the NCI announced that chemicals
from blue-green algae were found to be "remarkably active" against
the AIDS virus.
The Japanese have patented an extract of spirulina to treat cancer.
A small dosage of this extract, (phycocyanin) daily maintains or accelerates
normal control cell functions and prevents generation of malignancy such
as cancer or inhibits its growth or recurrence.
Spirulina has been shown to be particularly effective in helping rid
the body of excess levels of heavy metals, certain toxic drugs and pollutants.
A Russian medical patent was awarded in 1994 for the use of spirulina as
a medical food to reduce allergic reactions from radiation sickness. Doctors
reported spirulina's health benefits for child victims of Chernobyl radiation.
So spirulina is called a superfood because of all its dietary and medical
benefits. It has become one of the most heavily researched and deeply studied
of all algae over the last 20 years. Several thousand papers have been
published by hundreds of universities.
Spirulina is totally safe to eat, unlike many other algae - such as
that causing the infamous "Red Tide" which can prove fatal! In
reality it is an incredibly healthy foodstuff. Weight for weight, it contains
more vegetable protein than Soya beans. It is extremely high in many vitamins
and minerals including iron, Vitamin B-12 and B Complex. In short, it is
believed to contain the most powerful combination of nutrients yet discovered
in any natural food. Thanks, spirry!
READ ALSO: A
natural product which began development in a Bangkok test tube in 1987
is now grown in 15,000 square metres of ponds near Sanpatong and exported
all over the world. David Hardy went:
DOWN
ON THE FARM
 PIP
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