Recently, Dr. Andrew Weil published an article talking about the effects of spirulina. I’ve talked about it before, and for good reason: spirulina has a wide array of health benefits, containing vitamins A, K, B12, and contains more protein per gram than red meat.
Whether you are taking a long trip and you want to pack some healthy snacks for the road, need a pick-me-up during your work day, or want some compact energy during a hike, energy balls are a fantastic option.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past decade, you’ve probably heard that the future of nutrition is living, raw, plant-based foods. Especially if you’re an athlete, certain superfoods are best equipped to feed the complex layers of your biological makeup, not just your wayward taste buds—whether you’re training for your first half-marathon or your sixth Iron Man.
Algae is all the rage. After being named a superfood for its amazing nutrient profile, fertilizing vegetables, acting as an anti-aging cream for our skin, feeding astronauts, and potentially becoming the fuel of the future, it’s hard not to be impressed with this microalgae.
So why aren’t people eating it by the spoonfuls?
The idea of consuming spirulina, let alone growing your own, might be off-putting. But hear me out: spirulina is widely considered the most nutrient dense food on the planet. With high levels of protein, B-vitamins, antioxidants and other nutrients like copper and iron, spirulina is like the whole foods version of your daily multi-vitamin.
But, at close to 50 cents per serving, it’s certainly not what you might consider economical.
So what can you do instead?
You might not think highly of algae–that’s right, the green scum that floats on pond surfaces–but reconsider your opinion. Algae – in both chlorella and spirulina form – has recently dominated the health food world with its impressive nutrient profile. Boasting high levels of B-vitamins, iron, copper, and a slew of other micronutrients, it’s widely considered the most perfect food. It’s so powerful, that algae may be coming to space.
Why?
In our fast-changing world, evidence of climate change, the need for sustainable practices, and concern for local environments are always intertwined with economics. Entrepreneurs and scientists who are consistently searching for alternatives to fossil fuels and natural gas have toyed with one idea—algae biofuels.
What is algae?
Scientifically, algae are aquatic organisms that thrive through photosynthesis. This includes a great number of organisms, but for our purposes, we’re going to focus on spirulina and chlorella.
What’s the difference between spirulina and chlorella?
Chlorella is a single-celled green algae made up of chlorophyll pigments (hence it’s bright green color.) Due to its incredibly fast reproduction rate, chlorella is a very sustainable food source.
Spirulina is a blue-green algae growing in fresh water and is rich in protein, vitamins and minerals and has many health benefits. Spirulina has been used by the Aztec people since before the Conquistadors.