Spirulina: Health Food or Fraud

http://www.netasia.net/users/truehealth/Spirulina.htm

By George Nava True II

For a health food, spirulina leaves a lot to be desired. It looks bad, is very expensive, and tastes terrible.
But people are buying this blue-green algae because they believe it will cure a litany of ills ranging from diabetes to depression. Since spirulina promoters don’t want to disappoint their customers, their risk of claims is growing daily.

Cure-all
Aside from being an energy booster, spirulina is said to treat obesity, is good for the skin, and is purported to be rich in vitamins and protein. Other conditions that supposedly respond to spirulina are alcoholism, herpes, diabetes, arthritis and cancer.
"A dose of one to two grams will supposedly cure everything from wrinkles and shortness of breath when climbing stairs to hives, asthma and white hair in young people," wrote Arnold Bender, vice president of the International Union of Food Science and Technology in Health or Hoax?
Long before spirulina became a favorite of the health food industry, it was eaten by North Africans and Mexicans centuries ago. The plant was discovered by the Western world in 1962. Since then, it has been cultivated in several countries, including Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, and the United States.

Survivor
Part of man’s fascination with spirulina stems from the fact that the plant is a survivor. It grows almost by itself on lakes and ponds and doesn’t need any special care from the farmer.
Apparently, those who buy spirulina products hope they will be as strong as the plant. Unfortunately, most of the claims made for spirulina are baseless if not ridiculous.

Low protein source
For instance, it’s claimed that spirulina is a rich source of protein. True, the plant contains 62 - 68% protein but you’ll spend less by eating white fish which has 97% protein, chicken (80%) or white lean beef (79%). Moreover, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said most spirulina products provide only negligible amounts of protein when taken as directed by their labels. Some products advertised as spirulina have no spirulina at all.
Another sales pitch is that spirulina is packed with vitamins. But nutritionists say you’ll get more vitamins from broccoli and other green vegetables.
Dieters may be enticed by ads which say spirulina only has 3.9 calories per gram. They may be surprised to know that sugar contains 4 calories to the gram while bread has only 2 calories per gram. Both are cheaper than spirulina.

Contaminated
Because it has a considerable amount of vitamin B12, spirulina is usually recommended to strict vegetarians who can’t get this vitamin from plant sources. But Dr. Varro Tyler, a world renowned authority on herbs at Purdue University, said spirulina’s vitamin B12 content is due mainly to contamination with insect or animal fecal matter. This is not surprising since spirulina grows in open lakes and ponds and is not thoroughly washed before it’s dried.
In Health Schemes, Scams and Frauds, Dr. Stephen Barrett, a psychiatrist and board member of the National Council Against Health Fraud, Inc. said an FDA analysis of one popular product called Blue Green Manna contained "15 whole or equivalent adult flies, 164 adult fly fragments, 41 whole or equivalent maggots, 59 maggot fragments, one ant, five ant fragments, one adult cicada, one cicada pupa, 763 insect fragments, nine ticks, four mites, 1,000 ostracods, two rat or mouse hairs, four bird feathers, six bird-feather barbules, and 10,500 water fleas." Some strains of spirulina also have toxins that can cause nausea, diarrhea and throat infections.
"In test animals injection of the toxic algae causes tumors, and larger doses can cause death within minutes. Batches of contaminated spirulina have been seized by the FDA. Since the toxins are not routinely tested for by all manufacturers, it would seem that using the algae is like playing Russian roulette," according to nutritionist Kurt Butler in A Consumer’s Guide to Alternative Medicine.
Spirulina promoters are apparently aware of this but tell their customers that these side effects are signs that their products are working and "cleansing" the body. In truth, you’re probably poisoning yourself without knowing it.
To protect consumers, US law enforcement agencies have taken actions against several multilevel companies making fraudulent claims about spirulina. One American distributor was fined $225,000 by California authorities for false and misleading advertising.
Here in the Philippines, little progress has been made against spirulina peddlers who are free to fool people. For your safety, ignore them. Until the health claims of spirulina are validated by the scientific community, don’t pin your hopes on this plant.

Coconut Oil - Health and Nutritional Benefits

Mary G. Enig, Ph.D -
"Coconut oil has a unique role in the diet as an important physiologically functional food. The health and nutritional benefits that can be derived from consuming coconut oil have been recognized in many parts of the world for centuries. A review of the diet/heart disease literature relevant to coconut oil clearly indicates that coconut oil is at worst neutral with respect to atherogenicity of fats and oils and, in fact, is likely to be a beneficial oil for prevention and treatment of some heart disease. Additionally, coconut oil provides a source of antimicrobial lipid for individuals with compromised immune systems and is a nonpromoting fat with respect to chemical carcinogenesis.

Approximately 50% of the fatty acids in coconut fat are lauric acid. Lauric acid is a medium chain fatty acid, which has the additional beneficial function of being formed into monolaurin in the human or animal body. The antiviral, antibacterial, and antiprotozoal properties of lauric acid and monolaurin have been recognized by a small number of researchers for nearly four decades: this knowledge has resulted in more than 20 research papers and several U.S. patents, and this past year it resulted in a comprehensive book chapter, which reviewed the important aspects of lauric oils as antimicrobial agents (Enig 1998). Monolaurin is the antiviral, antibacterial, and antiprotozoal monoglyceride used by the human or animal to destroy lipid-coated viruses such as HIV, herpes, cytomegalovirus, influenza, various pathogenic bacteria, including listeria monocytogenes and helicobacter pylori, and protozoa such as giardia lamblia. Some studies have also shown some antimicrobial effects of the free lauric acid."

Not all Fats are Alike. Replacing the fats you now eat with coconut oil may be the wisest decision you can make to lose excess body fat. We often think that the less fat we eat, the better. However, you don’t necessarily need to reduce your fat intake, you simply need to choose a fat that is better for you, one that doesn’t contribute to weight gain. You can lose unwanted body fat by eating more saturated fat (in the form of coconut oil) and less polyunsaturated fat (processed vegetable oils). One of the remarkable things about coconut oil is that it can help you lose weight. Yes, there is a dietary fat that can actually help you take off unwanted pounds. Coconut oil can quite literally be called a low-fat fat. The anti-obesity effect of coconut oil is clear in all of the animal studies.
When coconut oil was fed as 7% of energy to patients recovering from heart attacks, the patients had greater improvement compared to untreated controls, and no difference compared to patents treated with corn or safflower oils. Populations that consume coconut oil have low rates of heart disease. Coconut oil may also be one of the most useful oils to prevent heart disease because of its antiviral and antimicrobial characteristics. JAMA 1967 202:1119-1123; Am J Clin Nutr 1981 34:1552
Coconut oil for weight reduction

One of the remarkable things about coconut oil is that it can help you lose weight. Yes, there is a dietary fat that can actually help you take off unwanted pounds. Coconut oil can quite literally be called a low-fat fat.

Raymond Peat, Ph.D. - "The anti-obesity effect of coconut oil is clear in all of the animal studies, and in my friends who eat it regularly."

http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/cholesterol.htm