Clipping Board » Dangerous Medicinal Tonics ─ Nutrients should be moderate in the body—excessive supplementation only becomes a burden.
Fang Zhouzi
Recently, a friend traveled to Lijiang, Yunnan, and told me there are many specialty stores selling spirulina tablets there—"expensive, with many believers and buyers." They hoped I would look into it. Spirulina is not actually a local specialty of Lijiang; it originates from salt lakes in the Americas and Africa, where indigenous people have a tradition of consuming it. In the 1980s, spirulina began appearing as a health supplement in foreign markets. A search for the term "spirulina" online yields about 500,000 simplified Chinese webpages, most of which are promoting spirulina tablets, indicating that its entry into China as a health supplement is not recent and has already gained significant traction.
The promotional materials are largely similar, claiming that spirulina is a natural, green health food, one of the most nutritionally comprehensive and balanced foods known. They assert that 1 gram of spirulina is equivalent to 1,000 grams of various vegetables in nutritional value, with three times the protein content of fish or meat. It is said to prevent and treat various diseases, hailed by "international authoritative organizations" as the "ideal food of the 21st century" and designated by NASA as a space food. There’s even a claim attributed to a French Dr. Clement: "Two major discoveries of the 20th century: atomic energy and spirulina, with the latter’s significance far surpassing the former."
Whether this astonishing French doctor actually exists is unclear, and I couldn’t find the original sources for the "international authoritative organizations'" praise of spirulina. What I do know is that in the 1970s, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization promoted single-cell foods like spirulina and yeast to address malnutrition in Africa, but the effort was halted due to war. How this "poor man’s food" transformed into a luxury health supplement is beside the point—let’s examine whether the advertising claims hold up.
Spirulina does indeed have a very high protein content, reaching up to 70% when dried, so the claim that it has three times the protein of fish or meat isn’t exaggerated. However, unless you’re eating spirulina as a staple, this number is meaningless. Consuming a few spirulina tablets a day provides only 1–2 grams of protein, negligible compared to the dozens of grams needed daily. The same logic applies to other supplements boasting high protein or amino acid content.
Spirulina is also rich in various B vitamins, carotenoids, and minerals, making it a nutritious food. But these nutrients can be obtained more affordably from everyday foods. For comprehensive vitamin and mineral supplementation, multivitamin tablets are a more practical choice. Spirulina contains vitamin B12, which is rare in plant-based foods, making it seem like a good source for vegetarians. However, the ads conveniently omit that spirulina’s B12 is in a form that the human body cannot absorb.
So, as a food, spirulina isn’t all that ideal. What about its medicinal claims? Some studies suggest potential benefits in boosting immunity, preventing cancer, and lowering cholesterol, but these are very preliminary. Other purported effects lack evidence or even have counterevidence. For example, its role in weight loss was debunked by a double-blind clinical trial: participants taking 8.4 grams of spirulina daily showed no significant weight difference compared to the placebo group.
Spirulina also has a less healthy side as a food. Being a single-cell organism, it is very high in nucleic acids.Nucleic acids are not essential nutrients for the human body. On the contrary, excessive intake of nucleic acids from food may increase the risk of gout and kidney stones.
Animal experiments suggest that spirulina itself appears to be non-toxic. However, the growth environment of spirulina is highly susceptible to contamination by other toxic blue-green algae, particularly microcystis. Microcystin is highly toxic to the liver and is also a carcinogen. The Oregon Health Department in the U.S. once tested 87 types of algae-based health supplements on the market and found that 85 of them contained microcystin. Similarly, the Preventive Medicine Research Institute at Fudan University in China tested spirulina supplements from various origins available in the domestic market and also detected microcystin contamination.
Heavy metal contamination is another serious concern. If the water contains toxic elements such as mercury or lead, spirulina can easily absorb and accumulate them. Additionally, if spirulina is cultivated using organic fertilizers made from animal manure, there is a risk of bacterial contamination. Like other health supplements, the safety of spirulina products currently lacks sufficient regulation.
While skeptical individuals may have some immunity against exaggerated advertising claims and avoid blind belief, few may consider the many unhealthy factors lurking behind so-called "health foods."
Source: http://tech. sina. com. cn/ d/ 2006- 08- 09/ 07141076983. shtml
Is Spirulina A Health Food?
Recently, a friend traveled to Lijiang, Yunnan, and told me there are many specialty stores selling spirulina tablets there—"expensive, with many believers and buyers." They hoped I would look into it. Spirulina is not actually a local specialty of Lijiang; it originates from salt lakes in the Americas and Africa, where indigenous people have a tradition of consuming it. In the 1980s, spirulina began appearing as a health supplement in foreign markets. A search for the term "spirulina" online yields about 500,000 simplified Chinese webpages, most of which are promoting spirulina tablets, indicating that its entry into China as a health supplement is not recent and has already gained significant traction.
The promotional materials are largely similar, claiming that spirulina is a natural, green health food, one of the most nutritionally comprehensive and balanced foods known. They assert that 1 gram of spirulina is equivalent to 1,000 grams of various vegetables in nutritional value, with three times the protein content of fish or meat. It is said to prevent and treat various diseases, hailed by "international authoritative organizations" as the "ideal food of the 21st century" and designated by NASA as a space food. There’s even a claim attributed to a French Dr. Clement: "Two major discoveries of the 20th century: atomic energy and spirulina, with the latter’s significance far surpassing the former."
Whether this astonishing French doctor actually exists is unclear, and I couldn’t find the original sources for the "international authoritative organizations'" praise of spirulina. What I do know is that in the 1970s, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization promoted single-cell foods like spirulina and yeast to address malnutrition in Africa, but the effort was halted due to war. How this "poor man’s food" transformed into a luxury health supplement is beside the point—let’s examine whether the advertising claims hold up.
Spirulina does indeed have a very high protein content, reaching up to 70% when dried, so the claim that it has three times the protein of fish or meat isn’t exaggerated. However, unless you’re eating spirulina as a staple, this number is meaningless. Consuming a few spirulina tablets a day provides only 1–2 grams of protein, negligible compared to the dozens of grams needed daily. The same logic applies to other supplements boasting high protein or amino acid content.
Spirulina is also rich in various B vitamins, carotenoids, and minerals, making it a nutritious food. But these nutrients can be obtained more affordably from everyday foods. For comprehensive vitamin and mineral supplementation, multivitamin tablets are a more practical choice. Spirulina contains vitamin B12, which is rare in plant-based foods, making it seem like a good source for vegetarians. However, the ads conveniently omit that spirulina’s B12 is in a form that the human body cannot absorb.
So, as a food, spirulina isn’t all that ideal. What about its medicinal claims? Some studies suggest potential benefits in boosting immunity, preventing cancer, and lowering cholesterol, but these are very preliminary. Other purported effects lack evidence or even have counterevidence. For example, its role in weight loss was debunked by a double-blind clinical trial: participants taking 8.4 grams of spirulina daily showed no significant weight difference compared to the placebo group.
Spirulina also has a less healthy side as a food. Being a single-cell organism, it is very high in nucleic acids.Nucleic acids are not essential nutrients for the human body. On the contrary, excessive intake of nucleic acids from food may increase the risk of gout and kidney stones.
Animal experiments suggest that spirulina itself appears to be non-toxic. However, the growth environment of spirulina is highly susceptible to contamination by other toxic blue-green algae, particularly microcystis. Microcystin is highly toxic to the liver and is also a carcinogen. The Oregon Health Department in the U.S. once tested 87 types of algae-based health supplements on the market and found that 85 of them contained microcystin. Similarly, the Preventive Medicine Research Institute at Fudan University in China tested spirulina supplements from various origins available in the domestic market and also detected microcystin contamination.
Heavy metal contamination is another serious concern. If the water contains toxic elements such as mercury or lead, spirulina can easily absorb and accumulate them. Additionally, if spirulina is cultivated using organic fertilizers made from animal manure, there is a risk of bacterial contamination. Like other health supplements, the safety of spirulina products currently lacks sufficient regulation.
While skeptical individuals may have some immunity against exaggerated advertising claims and avoid blind belief, few may consider the many unhealthy factors lurking behind so-called "health foods."
Source: http://tech. sina. com. cn/ d/ 2006- 08- 09/ 07141076983. shtml