Spirulina

Roc takes 1g Spirulina daily. He has been taking it for several years now.  Spirulina is a blue-green algae.  It is a rich source of a variety of antioxidant polyphenols. At a Linus Pauling meeting years ago, there was a session about the benefits of blue-green algae phytochemicals.  In summary, people produce a variety of free radicals of different energy levels, all harmful to our metabolism.  We need a variety of antioxidant compounds to absorb those harmful radical energy levels so they do not damage important molecules like DNA, RNA, and proteins.  And like fish oil, it seems reasonable that we evolved in an environment where algae was part of our diet.  He figured there was no harm – it’s like a concentrated vegetable – and there is plenty of likely benefit. The article below just strengthens that conviction.

J Nutrition Mar 2015 article: Green algae (in the spirulina supplement I take daily) prevents obesity