A one-celled plant that grows in water and has an
amino acid pattern similar to animal
protein. Contains significant amounts of essential fatty acids,
iron,
B-12, and
minerals. It can be used to boost immunity and energy levels, to help with
detoxification and
smoking cessation, and to prevent
altitude sickness. Spirulina appears to inhibit the penetration of viruses into cell walls. It reduces the infectivity of
HIV,
flu,
measles,
herpes, and
common cold viruses. It may prevent and even reverse certain cancers. In
Kerala,
India, 30 tobacco-chewers with pre-cancerous
mouth lesions took 1 gram of spirulina per day. Half of them had a complete disappearance of symptoms compared to only 7% of a control group.
To add more spirulina to your diet, you can buy tabs, powders, or mixes (with protein) in
chocolate or
vanilla flavors. I put a scoop of
soy-spirulina vanilla-flavored high protein powder in a
blender with
milk,
yogurt,
fruit, and
cheetos. It's the cheetos that make it. I like the orange color.