Two foods which contain high concentrations of whole food nutrients are the single-celled microalgae Chlorella and Spirulina. They are accepted as functional foods, which are defined as products derived from natural sources, whose consumption is likely to benefit human health and enhance performance. These foods are used as a supplement/ingredient or as a complete food to enhance the performance and state of the human body, or improve a specific bodily function. Functional foods are used mainly as products to nourish the human body after physical exertion or as a preventive measure against ailments. Spirulina contains unusually high levels of gamma-linolenic acid, an essential polyunsaturated fatty acid.
   A combination of hoodia, ginger, cinnamon, green tea extract, spirulina, acetyl-l-carnitine, choline, guggul, and several other herbs and nutrients, as found in Diet Rx, a very effective herbal diet pill for weight loss. Users of Diet Rx have lost several pounds within a week or two.

Side effects
No major adverse effects have been reported in the medical literature.

Spirulina supplement 500 mg

For over 30 years spirulina ( Spirulina platensis ) has been the premier choice for supplementing a vegetarian diet. Club Natural Spirulina is of the highest quality available. This special blue-green algae is a good source of numerous vitamins, minerals, carotenoids, and essential fatty acids that are hard to maintain at adequate levels with a vegetarian diet. Most notable is the high quality protein, which contains all nine essential amino acids. Spirulina cell walls do not contain cellulose to slow down digestion. Spirulina is naturally grown and harvested without herbicides or pesticides.

Also consider the following: Blue-Green-Algae supplement, chlorella supplement, and Barley-Grass supplement.

Spirulina supplement uses
Spirulina platensis, a blue-green alga (photosynthesizing cyanobacterium) has diverse biological activity. Due to high content of highly valuable proteins, indispensable amino acids, vitamins, beta-carotene and other pigments, mineral substances, indispensable fatty acids and polysaccharides, Spirulina supplement has been found suitable for use as bioactive additive. Spirulina enhances the immune system by improving the resistance of humans, mammals, chickens and fish to infections, has the capacity of influencing hemopoiesis, stimulates the production of antibodies and cytokines. Spirulina sulfolipids have proved to be effective against HIV. Preparations obtained from SP biomass have also been found active against herpesvirus, cytomegalovirus, influenza virus, etc. SP extracts are capable in inhibiting cancerogenesis. SP preparations are regarded as functional products contributing to the preservation of the resident intestinal microflora, especially lactic acid bacilli and bifidobacteria, and to a decrease in the level of Candida albicans. The biological activity of SP with respect to microorganisms holds good promise for using these microalgae as components of culture media.

Spirulina supplement as source for vitamin A
Vitamin A equivalence of spirulina β-carotene in Chinese adults as assessed by using a stable-isotope reference method1,2,3,4
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, June 2008.
Spirulina is a high-protein food supplement that contains carotenoids. The objective of the study was to determine the vitamin A equivalence of spirulina beta-carotene in humans. In a group of well-nourished, normal-weight Chinese men following low-vitamin A diets, 4.5 mg spirulina beta-carotene consumed with 22 g fat has the same vitamin A activity as does 1 mg retinyl acetate.

Spirulina quality and reliability
Q. Please explain how one discriminates purity, quality, and nutritional values of one spirulina product compared to another. Are these factors influenced by price?
   A. Price is not a reliable factor in determining the quality of a spirulina product. It is not possible for a consumer to know the quality of a spirulina product unless the consumer sends the product to an independent laboratory for testing.

Spirulina Supplement Supplier
This is KIND DNARMSA company. We get your information from internet and we are pleased to contact you. Our company is a leading manufacture and supplier of spirulina supplement and chlorella in China. We have 9 cultivation farms in Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangdong and Hainan province. The area of our cultivation farm reaches to 1,200,000 m2. We produce more than 2000 tons of spirulina and 80 tons of chlorella per year. Our products have been sold to over thirty countries and areas. We became the largest exporter of China spirulina supplement from 1997. Our company has gained the certificate issued by the national sanitation department and through ISO9001-2000 certification. We have founded GMP modern workshop according with the international standard and also we got the certificate of Kosher, NOP, Naturland, Halal. FUQING KIND DNARMSA SPIRULINA CO.,LTD http://www.fqxdz.com

Spirulina supplement questions and emails
Q.  Can you tell me which spirulina supplement brand is better, like Solgar spirulina, Lifestream spirulina.
   A. We have not seen any comparisons between different spirulina supplement products and hence don't know which brand is better.

I am curious about spirulina and also taking high potency multi-vitamins and a super b-complex. In your experience, or research, have you found it to be safe or not to take the spirulina with the other vitamins?
    Each person is unique in their response to supplements and their combinations, and much depends on the dosage used, the type of medications a person is taking, and their overall health status and activity level. It is a good idea to try each supplement by itself for a week before combining.

Do you recommend spirulina and chlorella supplements? If so, do you have a preference fro a manufacturer?
    There is some early good research about these supplements but more studies are needed to determine the full benefits and adverse effects.

Press release - Key Constituent in Spirulina "Phycocyanin" Shows Anti-Inflammatory and Anti-Hyperalgesic Action
2009-05-27 - Cyanotech Corporation
There is already a significant body of research on the benefits of Phycocyanin, the blue pigment found only in Spirulina and cyanobacteria. Some promising work was previously done on Phycocyanin in areas including:

• Liver and Kidney damage
• Neuroprotection
• Potent water soluble Antioxidant

The latest research found that Phycocyanin has anti-inflammatory activity through the suppression of nitric oxide, prostaglandin E-2, tumor necrosis factor alpha and the Cox-2 enzyme. The researchers went on to say that this anti-inflammatory mechanism “may contribute, at least in part, to its anti-hyperalgesic activity.”
This latest research shows another benefit of Spirulina. Recently, Cyanotech announced improvements to the nutrient profile of our industry leading Hawaiian Spirulina Pacifica. Hawaiian Spirulina leads the next best brands by an average of over 100% in levels of key nutrients. Reference: Shih, et al, Pain Management, April 2009