Tag: antioxidant

Health Benefits Of Spirulina

Health Benefits Of Spirulina

The health benefits of spirulina are undeniable. Spirulina is hailed as a superfood that promotes body and brain health. This blue-green “miracle” algae grows naturally in oceans and salty lakes in subtropical climates.

The health benefits of spirulina are undeniable. Spirulina is hailed as a superfood that promotes body and brain health.  This blue-green “miracle” algae grows naturally in oceans and salty lakes in subtropical climates.

Abundant Nutrients For The Body

Spirulina is rich in nutrients, some of which aren’t found in the average daily vitamin. According to the FDA, the health benefits of Spirulina include significant amounts of calcium, niacin, potassium, magnesium, B vitamins and iron.  Spirulina is a great source of B-complex vitamins, beta-carotene, vitamin E, manganese, zinc, copper, iron, selenium, and antioxidants.  It also has essential amino acids (compounds that are the building blocks of proteins).  In fact, protein makes up about 60 to 70 percent of Spirulina’s dry weight.

An Antioxidant Powerhouse

One of the health benefits of Spirulina comes from its antioxidant properties. Spirulina protects our cells by warding off inflammation and other diseases in the body.  Spirulina has been shown to positively reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering “the bad” LDL cholesterol and triglycerides in the body while promoting HDL “the good” cholesterol.  In higher doses, spirulina could reduce blood pressure.

It’s Full Of Protein

Anemia is a fairly common ailment which can lead to fatigue due to a reduction in hemoglobin or red blood cells in the blood.  When one’s diet is supplemented with spirulina, it has been documented that hemoglobin content of red blood cells increases.

Spirulina has 4 grams of protein in a single tablespoon making it a more concentrated source of protein than red meat and only 20 calories.  With a high concentration of bio-available iron, it is excellent during pregnancy and for those with anemia as it will not cause constipation.  The health benefits of Spirulina are compounding in the body as the proteins and nutrients are bioavailable and easily absorbed.

Detox The Body

The health benefits of Spirulina include its ability to detoxify the body. It is great for cleansing the body of heavy metals by binding to them and removing them from the body.  Evidence suggests that it can bind to radioactive isotopes and may be useful for radioactivity exposure or radiation therapy.  A combination of zinc and Spirulina may help the body clear arsenic of people whose drinking water has unusually high levels, according to the National Institute of Health (NIH).

Prevent What Ails You

Many people promote Spirulina as a treatment for a range of metabolism and heart health issues, including weight loss, diabetes, and high cholesterol, according to the NIH.  The health benefits of Spirulina help a range of eclectic health problems, including premenstrual symptoms and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease), according to the NIH.  People also recommend Spirulina as an aid for various mental and emotional disorders, including anxiety, stress, depression and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

It’s Nontoxic

Toxicological studies of the effects of spirulina consumption on humans and animals, including feeding as much as 800 mg/kg, and replacing up to 60% of protein intake with spirulina, have shown no toxic effects.  Fertility, teratogenicity, peri- and postnatal, and multigenerational studies on animals also have found no adverse effects from spirulina consumption.

Doctors consider Spirulina to be safe in general, especially in light of its long history as a food.  Spirulina may become contaminated with toxic metals, harmful bacteria, and microcystins — toxins produced from some algae —if it is grown in unsafe conditions.  Be sure to buy Spirulina from a trusted source and always buy organic when possible.

Get Some Today

Spirulina is available in tablet, flake and powder form.  Adding a tablespoon a day to your fresh green juice or to 8 ounces of water will kill the sugar/carb cravings you have and keep you full for hours.  For those that want to reap the benefits of this powerhouse but can’t hack the flavor, capsules are a great way to go as spirulina has a very strong taste.  A little experimentation will help you find the way you will most enjoy adding Spirulina to your diet.  Here is a recipe to try:

Spirulina Chips

INGREDIENTS

  • 6 potatoes, thinly sliced
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 2 tablespoons spirulina
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 3 tablespoons Bragg’s Liquid Aminos

METHOD

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Cover baking sheets with parchment paper. Place potatoes on the parchment paper and toast in the oven for 10 minutes.
  3. Remove and let cool for 5 minutes.
  4. Mix all spices thoroughly in a bowl. Sprinkle spices over potatoes.
  5. Place back in the oven and bake until crisp, about 30 minutes.
  6. Store in an air-tight container.

By Stephanie Weeks June 2016

4 Surprising Health Benefits of Juicing Raw Marijuana

By Healthy Holistic Living

Did you know that marijuana is a vegetable? Yup – it’s true.

The marijuana plant’s leaves and buds are actually loaded with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer compounds. These compounds are known as cannabidiols (CBD) and they make marijuana, cannabis, or whatever you want to call it, a superfood.

Yup – it’s true.

Don’t Get Dazed And Confused

But when heated, all of that goodness evaporates – it goes up in smoke and is blown away. Instead, be blown away by the health benefits of juicing the raw marijuana plant.

When heated the psychoactive compound – tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)  – is released from the plant. Most people don’t want medicine to get “high” though. Our bodies were made to receive cannabidiols and the plant does not need to be heated to get these healing properties.

We have cannabinoid receptors built-in to our bodies. Getting CBD into your body can normalize functional systems like cell communication and immune functions. This means that the systems that make up your body, from cells to organs, will talk to each other better, have a better understanding of what’s going on, and help to clean things up.

Whole Lotta Love

It’s like a good relationship – both people should talk to each other and work with each other to keep the house clean.

And with cannabinoid receptors in our brains and pretty much no other way to get cannabidiol, marijuana seems to be the perfect medicine to ensure our bodies are working at peak performance. Major league sports would disagree.

CBDs bridge the gap of neurotransmission in the central nervous system by providing a two-way system of communication that completes a positive “feedback loop” says Dr. William Courtney, a medical marijuana expert and founder of Cannabis International. This is instead of a one-way transmission which promotes chronic inflammation.

CBDs mimic the body’s natural two-way communications system.

Stairway To Heaven

“The endogenous cannabinoid system acts as a modulator in fine-tuning a lot of these systems, and if something is deranged biochemically in a person’s body, it may well be that a cannabinoid system can bring things back into balance.” – Dr. Ethan Russo, a Seattle area physician, Senior Advisor to GW Pharmaceuticals.

Juicing marijuana ensures you’ll get the healing benefits of the plant without the high. No smoking, no high, and you can ingest higher doses of the drug, which will inevitably have your system running more smoothly and you feeling better. Juicing the plant also offers versatility: you can add other fruits and veggies to make delicious juices and incorporate cannabis into your diet.

Communication Breakdown

Smoking promotes inflammation which leads to infection and potential dysfunction or communication breakdowns in your body. While lots of doctors suggest vaporizing over smoking, most promote edibles over vaporizing. But you still need to heat up the drug to make edibles. That’s why, medically speaking, juicing the plant works best.

4 Health Benefits To Juicing Marijuana

Dr. Courtney and others are working hard to legalize the drug and work it into mainstream diets. They’ve found that using cannabis as a food (instead of a smokeable) it can help prevent, diminish, and fix:

  1. Autoimmune Disorders
  2. Cellular Dysfunction
  3. Chronic Inflammation
  4. Cancer Cells