Spirulina health benefit cancer, cholesterol antioxidant

Spirulina health benefit, cancer, cholesterol and antioxidant uses, what is the right dosage?

Two New Age foods which contain high concentrations of whole food nutrients are the single-celled microalgae Chlorella and Spirulina. Chlorella and spirulina algae are used as a supplement or ingredient or as a complete food to enhance the performance and state of the human body, or improve a specific bodily function. You can find spirulina in a weight loss product called Diet Rx pill.

Source Naturals Spirulina, Hawaiian

For over 30 years spirulina ( Spirulina platensis ) has been the premier choice for supplementing a vegetarian diet. Source Naturals 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. Source Naturals Spirulina is naturally grown and harvested without herbicides or pesticides.

Suggested Use: 1 to 4 spirulina tablets daily with meals. Take a week off from use each month.

Click Spirulina to purchase or to see a complete list of products at Physician Formulas

Diet Rx with spirulina and hoodia
All natural appetite suppressant, decreases appetite so you eat less, contains hoodia
Helps you maintain healthy blood sugar levels
Helps you maintain healthy cholesterol and lipid levels
Provides a variety of antioxidant from two dozen herbs and nutrients
Provides healthy fiber
Improves energy
Balances mood
Improves mental concentration and focus
Improves will power and choice of food selection

Spirulina health Benefit
Spirulina platensis, a blue-green alga (photosynthesizing cyanobacterium) has diverse biological activity. Due to high content of highly valuable proteins, amino acids, vitamins, beta-carotene and other pigments, mineral substances, fatty acids and polysaccharides, spirulina has benefit for use as bioactive additive. Spirulina stimulates the immune system by enhancing the production of antibodies and cytokines and thus improving resistance of humans, mammals, chickens and fish to infections. Under the influence of spirulina, macrophages, T and B cells are activated. SPreparations obtained from SP biomass have also been found active against herpes virus, cytomegalovirus, influenza virus, etc. Spirulina 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 spirulina with respect to microorganisms holds good promise for using these microalgae as components of culture media.

Spirulina health benefit as an antioxidant
Spirulina fusiformis provides protection against mercuric chloride induced oxidative stress in Swiss albino mice.
Food Chem Toxicol. 2007 Jun 28; Department of Zoology, RLS Government (PG) College, Kaladera, Jaipur 303 801, India.
Oxidative stress induced by mercuric chloride in mice substantially increases the lipid peroxidation level along with corresponding decrease in the reduced glutathione and various antioxidant enzymes in liver and increase in serum transaminases activity. Supplementation of Spirulina (800mg/kg body weight orally, in olive oil, along with mercuric chloride) for 40 days resulted in decreased LPO level, serum glutamate oxaloacetate and serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase activity along with increase in liver GSH level. The activities of antioxidants enzymes superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione-S-transferase were also concomitantly restored to near normal level by Spirulina supplementation to mercuric chloride intoxicated mice.

Spirulina benefit for cancer
Long-term effect of Spirulina platensis extract on DMBA-induced hamster buccal pouch carcinogenesis (immunohistochemical study).
Med Oncol. 2009 January. Grawish ME, Zaher AR, Gaafar AI, Nasif WA. Oral Biology Department, Faculty of Dentistry, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt.
In this study, 80 male golden Syrian hamsters were divided into four equal groups; the right buccal pouches of the hamster rats in group 1 were painted with 0.5% solution of 7, 12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA), three times a week for 32 weeks. The same pouches of group 2 were subjected to the same DMBA painting; but at the same time, the animals received 10 mg daily Spirulina platensis extract for the same period. In group 3, the same regimen of DMBA painting was done but for 24 weeks only and the daily systemically Spirulina platensis was received for the 32 weeks. In group 4, neither DMBA painting nor Spirulina platensis administration was done but pouches were painted with saline and served as a control one. Our results show spirulina platensis extract has a beneficial role in regression of cancer progression.

Spirulina health benefit for high cholesterol
Hypocholesterolemic effect of spirulina in patients with hyperlipidemic nephrotic syndrome.
J Med Food. 2002 Summer;5(2):91-6. Department of Foods and Nutrition, M S University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat, India.
In nephrotic syndrome, large amounts of plasma proteins are lost in urine, causing a decrease in the plasma oncotic pressure. This leads to enhanced hepatic synthesis of albumin and other proteins, including lipoproteins, causing a secondary hyperlipidemia. In this study 23 patients (age 2 to 13 years) with nephrotic syndrome received either medication (group I) or medication plus 1 gram a day Spirulina. It can be concluded that spirulina capsules, rich in antioxidants, GLA, amino acids, and fatty acids, helped reduce the increased levels of lipids in patients with hyperlipidemic nephrotic syndrome.

Spirulina health benefit in preventing muscle damage during heavy exercise
Preventive effects of Spirulina platensis on skeletal muscle damage under exercise-induced oxidative stress.
Eur J Appl Physiol. 2006 Sep;98(2):220-6. Sport Science Research Center, National Taiwan College of Physical Education, Taichung, Taiwan.
The benefit of spirulina supplementation on preventing skeletal muscle damage on untrained human beings were examined. Sixteen students volunteered to take Spirulina platensis in addition to their normal diet for 3-weeks. The results showed that plasma concentrations of malondialdehyde (MDA) were significantly decreased after supplementation with spirulina. The activity of blood superoxide dismutase (SOD) was significantly raised after supplementation with spirulina or soy protein. Both of the blood glutathione peroxidaes (GPx) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels were significantly different between spirulina and soy protein supplementation. In addition, the lactate concentration was higher and the time to exhaustion was significantly extended in the spirulina trail. These results suggest that ingestion of Spirulina platensis showed preventive effect of the skeletal muscle damage and that probably led to postponement of the time of exhaustion during the all-out exercise.

Spirulina health benefit for allergic rhinitis
Effects of a Spirulina-based dietary supplement on cytokine production from allergic rhinitis patients.
J Med Food. 2005 Spring;8(1):27-30. Mao TK, Van de Water J, Gershwin ME. Division of Rheumatology/Allergy and Clinical Immunology, University of California at Davis, School of Medicine, Davis, California, USA.
We evaluated the impact of a Spirulina based dietary supplement (Earthrise Nutritionals, Inc., Irvine, CA) on patients with allergic rhinitis by assessing the production of cytokines [interleukin (IL)-4, interferon (IFN)-gamma, and IL-2] critical in regulating immunoglobulin E-mediated allergy. These results indicate that Spirulina can modulate the Th profile in patients with allergic rhinitis by suppressing the differentiation of Th2 cells mediated, in part, by inhibiting the production of IL-4. To our knowledge, this is the first human feeding study that demonstrates the beenfit of spirulina towards allergic rhinitis.

Prevention of toxic
Protective effect of Spirulina against 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide induced toxicity.
Mol Biol Rep. 2010 Mar 30. Viswanadha VP, Sivan S, Rajendra Shenoi R. Department of Biotechnology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, 641046, India,
In the present study, we focused on the protective effect of Spirulina against 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide (4NQO) induced hepato and nephrotoxicity in the experimental rats. The 4NQO administration resulted in increased levels of hepatic and renal markers [Alanine Transaminase (ALT), Aspartate Transaminase (AST), Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH), urea, creatinine and uric acid] in the serum of experimental animals. It also increased the oxidative stress resulting in increased levels of the lipid peroxidation with a concomitant decline in the levels of non enzymic [reduced glutathione (GSH)] and enzymic antioxidants [(Superoxide dismutase (SOD), Catalase (CAT), Glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and Glutathione-S-transferase (GST)] in both liver and kidney. Oral pretreatment with aqueous extract of Spirulina prevented 4NQO induced changes in the levels of hepatic and kidney diagnostic marker enzymes in the serum of experimental rats. It counteracted the 4NQO induced lipid peroxidation and maintained the hepatic and kidney antioxidant defense system at near normal in both liver and kidney. The antioxidant responsiveness mediated by Spirulina may be anticipated to have biological significance in eliminating reactive free radicals that may otherwise affect normal cell functioning and provide a scientific rationale for the use of Spirulina.

Spirulina health benefit Emails
Q. I have been consuming Spirulina product over the past few months. I recently came across some articles which warned that the benefits of Spirulina claimed by manufacturers have not had much evidence behind them but on the contrary there may be ill effects as Spirulina may contain toxins and heavy metals. I feel concerned after reading the articles. I would like to ask if you can provide assurance to users that spirulina products are safe to consume and that there will be no toxic effects from consuming Spirulina. Thank you.
A. We cannot claim that any supplement is safe for long term use. There just isn't enough known about long term spirulina health benefit or potential harm. People should take breaks from the use of supplements just in case there's something harmful going on that we don't know about. By taking breaks from use, we can get many benefits from spirulina and from other supplements, and minimize risks.