14 Health Benefits of Spirulina Powder

Editor’s Note: This article is a reprint. It was originally published November 5, 2018.

Imagine a plant that can provide most of the protein you need for health, help prevent the sniffling and sneezing of allergies, reinforce your immune system, combat inflammation, help you control high blood pressure and protect against stroke and cancer. Does such a “superfood” exist?

Yes. It’s called spirulina. As noted in a 1993 scientific review of spirulina’s benefits in the Journal of Applied Phycology:1

“Many preclinical studies and a few clinical studies suggest several therapeutic effects ranging from reduction of cholesterol and cancer to enhancing the immune system, increasing intestinal lactobacilli, reducing nephrotoxicity by heavy metals and drugs and radiation protection.”

Unlike plants you may grow in your garden, this “miracle” plant is a form of blue-green algae that grows in warm, freshwater and saltwater. It’s a simple, one-celled organism that got its name from the Latin word for helix, meaning spiral, because of its spring-like physical characteristic. Its scientific name is Arthrospira platensis, and it belongs to the cyanobacteria family.

What Are the Health Benefits of Spirulina?

Throughout the years, various studies have been conducted regarding spirulina’s potential health benefits. Their findings have revealed that spirulina may help:

1. Protect against HIV infection of T-helper cells (because of its amino acid content)
2. Fight inflammation
3. Provide allergy relief
4. Maintain cardiovascular health and control high blood pressure levels
5. Enhance brain health and reduce stroke risk
6. Combat candida overgrowth, promote a healthy gut microbiome and boost immune system health
7. Reduce cancer risk and protect against nephrotoxicity of cancer treatments
8. Treat chronic arsenic poisoning
9. Shield the body from the effects of radiation
10. Inhibit viral production
11. Boost muscle strength and endurance
12. Promote better blood and bone marrow health
13. Support eye health
14. Enhance liver health

A Quick History of Spirulina

The use of spirulina as a food source dates all the way back to ninth century Chad and it is believed spirulina was used by the Aztecs in 16th century Mexico.2 Historical records report the selling of cakes made from spirulina harvested from Lake Texcoco. The dried flat cakes called “dihé” were a staple for many meals.

Spirulina didn’t come into commercial production until the 1970s, when a French company began the first large-scale spirulina production plant. Within a few years, America and Japan began producing their own spirulina.

Today, spirulina is being seriously considered as a sustainable food source with the potential to end world hunger, due to its nutritional profile and unique ability to withstand extreme temperature variations and neglect. The United Nations has identified it as a primary ingredient in the fight against malnutrition worldwide.3

In the report “Sustainable Approaches to Combat Malnutrition,”4 economist Urs Heierli, Ph.D., a former country director of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation in Bangladesh and India, notes that a single gram of spirulina per day can correct malnutrition in a child within a matter of a few weeks.

Spirulina is so nutritionally dense, NASA and the European Space Agency are researching the benefits of incorporating spirulina into astronauts’ diets on spaceships and possible missions to Mars.5,6,7

Beyond nutrition, spirulina also offers multiple environmental advantages. For instance, producing spirulina requires 10 times less water than other vegetables, and harvests occur year-round.

Spirulina Nutrition Facts

Although spirulina is often described as blue-green algae, it is technically a type of cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria are classified as bacteria because their genetic material is not organized in a membrane-bound nucleus. Unlike other bacteria, they have chlorophyll and use the sun as an energy source, in the way plants and algae do.

One of the special traits of spirulina is its rich protein content. It’s 50 to 70% protein by weight (which is even better than red meat, which is about 27% protein). You would need to consume only 2 tablespoons of spirulina as a protein substitute for a meal. Fifteen to 20% of its weight is carbohydrates.

It also contains 18 different amino acids, including all of the essential amino acids and 10 of the 12 nonessential ones, as well as sulfolipids, which may be protective against HIV infection of T-helper cells.8 Spirulina also contains:

The Spirulina-Bilirubin Connection

James DiNicolantonio, coauthor of my book, “Superfuel,” published a groundbreaking paper, “Antioxidant Bilirubin Works in Multiple Ways to Reduce Risk for Obesity and Its Health Complications.” He notes that in mammalian cells, phycocyanobilin is converted into phycocyanorubin, a compound nearly identical to bilirubin, a breakdown product of red blood cells (heme) and the chemical responsible for the yellow color of bruises, urine and jaundice.

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When a newborn baby gets jaundice, he is placed under “bili lights” in the hospital nursery to prevent brain damage (kernicterus), should his bilirubin levels become too high. The lights break down the bilirubin so it can be excreted.

However, at appropriate levels, bilirubin has a strong free radial scavenging effect. Until recently, scientists were unaware that bilirubin may actually have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and atheroprotective properties, and there is a growing body of scientific and clinical evidence to support this.

From an evolutionary/biological perspective, it makes sense that nature would have created a way for your body to break down heme,9 which can be toxic if it accumulates. The way bilirubin is thought to provide these health benefits is through its ability to inhibit NADPH oxidase, a metabolic enzyme activated in a large number of pathological conditions that generates a great deal of oxidative stress.

In fact, NADPH overactivity appears to play a significant role in a wide range of health conditions, including but not limited to vascular diseases and vascular complications of other diseases (diabetes, kidney failure, blindness and heart disease, for example), insulin resistance, neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, cancer, glaucoma, pulmonary fibrosis and erectile dysfunction.

NADPH appears to be a chemical that can be helpful or harmful depending on how much of it is circulating at the time, so it needs to be carefully regulated by your body. For example, NADPH oxidase plays a key role in helping your immune system fight bacteria, and helps your T-cells to function properly.

It follows then, that preventing many chronic diseases would require finding a means of inhibiting or modulating NADPH oxidase. Bilirubin is believed to assist with this modulating effect.

People with Gilbert Syndrome comprise 5 to 10% of the population and illustrate this phenomenon quite nicely, as they are genetically predisposed to chronically elevated levels of unconjugated bilirubin. These individuals, having two to three times as much bilirubin as the rest of us, enjoy a greatly reduced risk for coronary artery disease, hypertension, carotid atherosclerosis and overall mortality, and this protection is thought to be related to their high bilirubin levels.

Since phycocyanobilin is a very close relative of bilirubin — and spirulina is a great source of phycocyanobilin — spirulina has enormous clinical potential due to its NADPH oxidase inhibiting effect. This is why phycocyanobilin has been the focus of a large amount of research.

Phycobilin extracts have been shown to inhibit NADPH oxidase activity in human aortic endothelium, aortic smooth muscle and renal cell cultures. And bilirubin protects against diabetic nephropathy via downregulation of NADPH oxidase in rats.

Bilirubin Lowers Risk for Obesity and Related Health Problems

Research published by DiNicolantonio10 has also found that bilirubin reduces the risk for obesity and related health problems through a number of mechanisms, but primarily by inhibiting NADPH oxidase complexes, and that downregulating NADPH oxidase activity — which can be done with spirulina, thanks to its bilirubin-mimicking phycocyanobilin — could potentially have “profound implications for preservation of metabolic and vascular health.” As further explained by the authors:

“Expression of inducible form of heme oxygenase, HO-1, can be boosted by oxidative stress — often derived from NADPH oxidase activity; the resultant production of bilirubin feeds back to quell this oxidative stress …

[Phycocyanobilin, which is covalently attached to phycocyanin] is readily converted by biliverdin reductase to the bilirubin analogue phycocyanorubin, which appears to share bilirubin’s ability to inhibit NADPH oxidase complexes. Arguably, this may largely explain the versatile antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of oral spirulina … in rodent studies …

A recent cross-sectional epidemiological study evaluating subjects with [Gilbert Syndrome] has discovered that [Gilbert Syndrome] is associated with a reduced tendency to gain body fat in later life … A reasonable deduction is that chronically elevated free unconjugated bilirubin — and perhaps an upregulation in intracellular bilirubin generation — somehow opposes age-related gain in body fat.

Of related interest is a study showing that intraperitoneal administration of bilirubin — administered daily for 14 days — inhibits weight gain in rats fed a diet high in fats and sugar. Bilirubin injections were also found to prevent deterioration of glucose tolerance …

A credible case can be made that the favorable impact of elevated bilirubin on risk for undesirable weight gain reflects preservation of hypothalamic leptin sensitivity …

Activation of NADPH oxidase is a key mediator of proinflammatory microglial activation; hence, elevated bilirubin might be expected to support effective leptin function in the arcuate nucleus, thereby aiding appetite control.

Oxidative stress in adipocytes, stemming largely from NADPH oxidase activity, appears to play a key role in the induction of insulin resistance and the skewing of adipokine and cytokine production in hypertrophied adipocytes.

Hence, bilirubin and heme oxygenase activity could be expected to aid maintenance of adipocyte insulin sensitivity. Indeed, plasma levels of unconjugated bilirubin have been found to correlate inversely with risk for metabolic syndrome and diabetes in prospective epidemiological studies, as confirmed in a recent meta-analysis.

In both cross-sectional and prospective studies, higher plasma bilirubin levels are associated with better insulin sensitivity and decreased risk for metabolic syndrome and Type 2 diabetes — independent of BMI … A direct protective effect of bilirubin on adipocyte function may be largely responsible for this phenomenon.”

In addition to inhibiting systemic inflammation, which is a hallmark of insulin resistance,11 spirulina also benefits diabetics by improving your lipid profile (reducing serum triglycerides and increasing high-density lipoprotein or HDL cholesterol), and improving vasodilation in those who are obese as a result of high-sugar diets.

Other Unique Properties of Spirulina

In addition to this rich nutritional blend, spirulina has the following special properties:

• The proteins in spirulina are of a highly digestible type (83 to 90% digestible), due to the fact that it does not have cellulose walls like yeast and chlorella do. Therefore, the net protein utilization is high (between 53 and 61%) and requires no cooking to increase the bioavailability of its proteins.
• Studies confirm a very high “protein efficiency ratio” for spirulina, meaning your body will be able to efficiently use these amino acids.
• GLA — a powerful anti-inflammatory — is rarely this high in any food and normally has to be synthesized by your body from linoleic acid. GLA is a precursor to important biochemicals such as prostaglandins, leukotrienes and thromboxanes, which serve as chemical mediators for inflammatory and immune reactions.
• Spirulina has no fatty acids with uneven carbon numbers and very low-level branched-chain fatty acids — two types of lipids that higher order animals, like you and me, cannot metabolize.
• Spirulina has about the same calcium, phosphorus and magnesium content as milk, with a vitamin E (tocopherol) level comparable to wheat germ.

Spirulina Versus Chlorella — Similarities and Differences

Chlorella is another form of algae that is sometimes confused with spirulina. The fundamental difference between spirulina and chlorella is that spirulina is millions of years older and does not possess the hard cell wall that makes chlorella closer to a plant than algae.

Chlorella is an excellent way to detoxify your body from mercury, a common problem if you have amalgam dental fillings, have received a thimerosal-containing vaccine or regularly eat contaminated fish. Spirulina is unable to remove heavy metals, as it lacks a cell membrane. It can, however, protect your liver against the toxic effects of heavy metals, and help eliminate toxins such as arsenic. Spirulina also protects against radiation.

Spirulina in the Treatment of Arsenic Poisoning

Most of us take clean, healthy drinking water for granted. Unfortunately, many countries struggle with severe arsenic contamination, and up until the mid-1990s, little could be done to treat patients dying from arsenic poisoning. As noted in a 2006 study:12

“Millions of people in Bangladesh, India, Taiwan and Chile are consuming high concentration of arsenic through drinking water, and thousands of them have already developed chronic arsenic poisoning. There is no specific treatment …

The present placebo-controlled double-blind study was conducted to evaluate effectiveness of spirulina extract plus zinc in the treatment of chronic arsenic poisoning … Results show that spirulina extract (250 mg) plus zinc (2 mg) twice daily for 16 weeks may be useful for the treatment of chronic arsenic poisoning.”

Bangladeshi researchers also conducted a hospital-based study13 where spirulina was given to 33 patients while 17 received a placebo. Eighty-two percent (27 of 33) of those taking spirulina showed tremendous improvement after taking 3 grams of spirulina per day for three months and drinking filtered water to avoid re-exposure.

How Spirulina Protects Against Radiation

There is also a great deal of research showing spirulina’s effectiveness in insulating you from the effects of radiation. Spirulina was actually used to treat children exposed to chronic low-levels of radiation after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Radiation causes hematopoietic syndrome, marked by a three-way drop in blood cells: The result is infection (related to insufficient white cells), anemia (inadequate red blood cells) and bleeding (diminished platelets). Spirulina helps with these symptoms.14

Soviet physicians at the Research and Clinical Institute of Radiation Medicine and Endocrinology in Minsk administered 5 grams of spirulina daily to some of the radiation-exposed children for 45 consecutive days.15

Compared to those who did not receive spirulina, the treated children showed rapid improvements, and there was evidence of bone marrow, spinal fluid, blood cell and liver regeneration. Dangerously low white blood cell counts of about 1,000 (typical of leukemia) rose to 3,000 in 20 days, and urine radioactivity levels decreased by 50% in 20 days.

The Belarus Ministry of Health concluded that spirulina accelerates the evacuation of radionuclides from the human body, without adverse side effects. Spirulina was particularly efficient at deactivating and eliminating radioactive cesium from their bodies.

Spirulina also helps shield cells from gamma radiation, as shown by a 1989 study16 on the bone marrow of mice. It also protects and supports the health of your kidneys, which are some of the first organs to suffer damage after significant radiation exposure. Research17 suggests spirulina also protects against the nephrotoxicity of cancer treatments.

Spirulina Enhances Immune Function

Spirulina also enhances health by acting as a powerful immune booster. In a study18 by investigators at the department of aquaculture at National Taiwan Ocean University, white shrimp were exposed to seawater containing a hot-water extract of spirulina before transferring them to seawater with a pH level of 6.8. The control group was not exposed to spirulina.

The shrimp exposed to the spirulina seawater showed a faster and more promising recovery rate to the high levels of pH than those not given the dose of spirulina first. In other words, the spirulina boosted immune recovery and had a beneficial impact on gene expression after exposure to environmental stress.

Other studies confirm and support spirulina’s reputation as a powerful immune booster, showing it can combat Candida overgrowth and encourage a healthy gut microbiome.19

Controlling Candida is particularly important if you have an autoimmune disease such as Crohn’s disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, Lupus or fibromyalgia, as chronic Candida yeast can worsen your symptoms. Spirulina has also been shown to inactivate the human immunodeficiency virus associated with HIV and AIDS.20

Other Research-Based Health Benefits of Spirulina

The health benefits of spirulina are truly far-ranging and continue to be widely researched. As a result, there is really no way to cover all of the literature related to its potential benefits because there is so much. That said, here’s a sampling of scientific studies demonstrating spirulina’s potential usefulness in preventing and/or treating a number of common health conditions: