Spirulina powder: Benefits, uses and dosage

Susan Spring

spirulina powder can be considered a vitamin. It belongs to the family offood supplements, composed of nutrients, vitamins and minerals essential to the body. An antioxidant, spirulina powder is one of the most widely consumed supplements. With its high vitamin B12 content, it boosts the immune system and vitality, whether in capsule, powder or other form...

All the nutritional qualities of spirulina are explained in this article.

How do I drink spirulina powder?

Spirulina is a blue-green algae that grows in freshwater environments. It is also a very popular dietary supplement with numerous health benefits and high nutritional value. Spirulina contains plenty of vegan protein, iron and other minerals, and B vitamins. There are many ways to incorporate spirulina into your daily diet. You can add spirulina powder to smoothies, juices, matcha, lattes and cocktails.

Spirulina can be consumed as a powder, tablet or soft drink. Store opened bottles or packets of spirulina powder and tablets in the refrigerator. Spirulina is a blue freshwater algae commonly used as a dietary supplement. It's a "superfood" rich in protein, iron and B vitamins, making it a real find for any type of diet, especially plant-based.

spirulina powder

Spirulina is most often sold in pressed tablet or powder form. If you can take spirulina tablets without food or water, we recommend mixing spirulina powder with food. Spirulina has an earthy, slightly marine flavor that many people don't like, which is why it's often mixed into drinks and added to food recipes to mask the taste. This article will give you even more tips on how to incorporate spirulina into your daily diet while masking its taste! But first, let's talk about the benefits of this dietary supplement.

How to use spirulina powder

There are many different ways to include spirulina in your recipes, and it's all a question of imagination! Not only can you mix spirulina into your drinks, but you can also add it to the various dishes you cook! The options are endless: you can add spirulina powder when making pesto sauce, make superfood bites or "energy balls" with spirulina, nuts and figs, or add spirulina to hummus to create a quick and healthy snack. You can also replace spirulina with seaweed and ground spinach in your food. You can also use small quantities of spirulina powder in place of the green food coloring that may be present in your recipes.

At present, no study has definitively determined the exact recommended dose of spirulina. However, the general recommendation is to take no more than 2 tablespoons (14 g) a day, as even a small amount of this blue-green algae is loaded with nutrients, since 60-70% of its content is pure protein. However, it's best to consult a doctor before starting to use this supplement.

What are the health benefits of spirulina powder?

Spirulina's high nutritional value makes it a true superfood. First of all, dried blue-green algae contains around 60% protein by weight, making it the best vegetable source of protein and an excellent addition to any plant-based diet. It also contains digestive enzymes and fatty acids necessary for normal brain and nervous system function, which account for 7% of spirulina's weight.

Spirulina powder has many health benefits. Here are just a few examples:

Spirulina helps support an energetic metabolism: spirulina is therefore highly recommended as a complement to a healthy diet for sports performance, weight loss or to reduce fatigue.
It prevents and helps combat anemia, so iron-deficient people don't need to take iron supplements. It also improves the immune system.
Some studies suggest that spirulina can help you feel more energetic and, at the same time, reduce stress and fatigue.

Smoothies

Adding spirulina powder to a smoothie masks its marine flavor and, at the same time, makes the drink more aesthetically appealing. You can mix this supplement into any smoothie you like, but its flavor goes best with sweet, fruity smoothies. Next time you make a smoothie, try sprinkling around 5 g of spirulina powder into the mixture before blending. This will give the drink a dark green color, but the flavor will be covered by the sugar and fruit. The best fruits to mix with spirulina are pineapple, banana, orange and mango, but you can also opt for any other sweet, ripe fruit. This method works just as well for smoothie bowls, and adding spirulina powder will only increase their antioxidant, electrolyte, vitamin and mineral content. You can also try adding spirulina powder to spinach smoothies, as it blends well with salty ingredients without giving them too strong a taste.

Fruit juices

Another tasty tip is to sprinkle a little spirulina powder into your fruit juice to give it a nutritional boost. As with smoothies, mix the juice with 1 teaspoon (5 g) of spirulina powder and shake to dissolve the powder. The drink will then take on a dark green color, but the fruity flavors will still be present. Mango juice, pineapple juice and orange juice are perfect options for mixing spirulina powder. But don't add the powder to your juicer, as it won't be effective for blending spirulina into your drink. Instead, pour the juice into a bottle and shake to mix with the spirulina.

Matcha

Adding spirulina to your matcha is also an option! Matcha is a delicious drink known for its antioxidant effects and vibrant green color. By combining it with spirulina, it becomes a super drink! Sprinkle about 1/2 teaspoon of spirulina into a small portion of matcha, or a full teaspoon (5 g) into a large portion. The hot liquid will quickly dissolve the powder, and the flavors will blend well together.

However, bear in mind that spirulina flavours are still present even when mixed with matcha. So add less powder if you don't like the taste of spirulina.

Café

Just like with matcha, you can experiment and add a little spirulina to your café au lait or cappuccino and drink it on the go!

Lemon cocktails

You can also try adding spirulina powder to a citrus cocktail, such as a lemon drop. There aren't many cocktails that are better with a bit of seafood flavor, but acidic dishes and drinks cover up spirulina's offsetting flavor and instead bring out some of its fresh notes, which work very well with the tart notes of lemon. Simply add around 1 teaspoon (5 g) of spirulina to the drink and enjoy its health benefits.

How can I increase the shelf life of a spirulina-based drink?

Open bags of spirulina powder and containers of spirulina tablets should be kept refrigerated. Soft drinks containing spirulina should be stored according to the manufacturer's instructions. Once spirulina has been opened and exposed to air, the amount of oxygen-sensitive nutrients in the supplement will decrease over time, so it is best to consume it within a few months of opening.

As a dietary supplement, spirulina is subject to different ingredient labeling requirements than food, although its safety is still regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Spirulina comes in powder or tablet form, and can be consumed on its own or mixed with food.

About spirulina

Spirulina is a dried blue-green saltwater algae. According to NYU Langone Medical Center, spirulina is rich in carotenoids and B vitamins and contains a host of essential minerals, including calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium and zinc. It's also a good source of protein, with over 70% protein by weight of dried spirulina. Spirulina is mostly presented as having therapeutic as well as nutritional benefits, however, many claims have yet to be proven.

Digestive process

Your digestive system can absorb both spirulina tablets and powders, but as the tablets are harder and more compact, they may pass undigested or only partially digested. This means you run the risk of not getting the full nutritional value of spirulina. While spirulina powder offers the advantage of easier absorption, if you combine it with foods that your body has difficulty processing, you also run the risk of losing spirulina's nutritional content. For example, if you suffer from mild lactose intolerance and add spirulina to a smoothie, your body may not be able to absorb all the spirulina.

Be careful with fillers

To maintain their shape and provide volume, tablets often contain fillers or binding agents such as silica dioxide. Binding agents are not easily digested by your body, which can make it more difficult to break down the tablet and fully absorb spirulina's nutritional content. As ingredients are listed in order of weight in the final product, the higher the binder in the ingredient list - for example, the third ingredient rather than the fifth - the more binder the spirulina tablet will contain. Some tablets are manufactured without binders or fillers; check the label for the words "binder-free".

Ease of use

Spirulina tablets are easy to carry around, as their small size makes it simple to take them with you, without them taking up much space. However, spirulina powder lends itself well to use in baked goods or drinks, making it not only easy to consume spirulina throughout the day, but also giving the finished product a nutritional boost. Add 1-2 tablespoons of spirulina to a fresh fruit juice or smoothie, blending or stirring well, to create a nutrient-rich "green" drink. You can also mix spirulina with dry products for baked goods, or use it in salad dressings to thicken texture and boost nutrient levels.