Know Your Spirulina: 3 Questions Every Buyer Should Ask
Spirulina is spirulina, right? How complicated can a free-floating bio-mass of filamentous cyanobacteria (of the genus Arthrospira) be?
There are Different Species of Spirulina
According to Wikipedia, there are several different species included in Arthrospira, and the common name spirulina only refers to one of these species: A. platensis. A. platensis is the most widely distributed and is mainly found in Africa, Asia, and South America. A different species, A. maxima, is found in Central America and possibly in California.
Most cultivated spirulina is produced in open channel raceway-type ponds with warm (around 30 °C/86 °F), highly alkaline freshwater (pH around 8.5). Paddlewheels are used to agitate the water.
How Do I Know the Spirulina I’m Buying is Safe?
That’s a great question! While it’s nice to know the scientific name of the ingredient, and it’s good to know where it comes from and how it’s grown, those things won’t tell you whether the product you’re holding is safe for you or your animals to consume.
Has It Been Tested?
This is the most important thing to look at. Spirulina is prone to having high heavy metal content, and few brands offer their test results to the public. Manufacturers should specify that their spirulina is free of heavy metals and should be willing to send you the test results.
Just because the label says it’s safe, doesn’t make it so! Ask to see the test results.
Review the certifications and test results for G’s Pure Organic Spirulina Powder and Tablets.
Is it Human-Grade?
As a rule of thumb, if the manufacturer doesn’t say that their spirulina is “Human-Grade”, it’s probably not safe to feed your animals. While feeding human grade spirulina to your horse or dog may seem silly, the reasoning behind it isn’t. Spirulina is an algae, meaning that it picks up everything in the water which it is grown in. So if there are heavy metals in the water, they end up in the spirulina. Spirulina which is deemed to be human-grade has safe levels of heavy metals for long term consumption which means that your animal won’t end up with heavy metal poisoning.
G’s Pure Organic Spirulina is grown in a controlled environment to ensure it is free of all heavy metals. It’s human-grade and certified Organic, Vegan, and Kosher. It is so safe, that we even take it ourselves.
What Other Ingredients Are in the Mix?
Believe it or not, many products that claim to be pure spirulina are actually blended to either mask the flavor or bind the powder to decrease dust. At G’s, we don’t believe in labeling something ‘pure’ if it isn’t just that.
G’s Pure Organic Spirulina is pure and organic. Our product consists of one (1), single, ingredient: spirulina. There are no additives, no binders - not even in our spirulina tablets! We cold-press the spirulina powder to form the tablets so no binders or coating is required to hold them together.
Are you in the market for Spirulina?
Learn more about G’s Pure Organic Spirulina and shop for yours today!