No One Talks About Spirulina

So I guess I'll have to do it...

Whenever the discussion comes up on how to change our consumer habits to make it more sustainable, one thing that's often suggested is reducing the animal products in our diet, or giving them up completely. This, by the way, is also a great solution to many health problems, not to mention the money spent on food, etc. etc. I'm generally not opposed to a vegetarian or vegan diet (though admittedly I do love bacon, cheese, butter, and the like), but there is one thing that must be pointed out: we need sufficient proteins in our diet to be healthy!

Now social media feeds are abound with vegan memes and info material, mentioning nuts, beans, and mushrooms, among other things, that are rich in protein. Great, I say, but I always wonder: Why doesn't anyone ever mention THE best source of protein, namely Spirulina?

Spirulina Again???

I know, I know, I've made a bunch of Spirulina related posts already (if you haven't seen them, I listed them on the bottom of this post), but thanks to the recently published Alternative Consumer Challenge by @naturalmedicine, I became convinced yet one more is needed! So here it is:

The Best Source of Protein, Iron, Calcium and Vitamins A & B.

A hundred grams of spirulina have 57 grams of protein, making spirulina 57% protein. This will look even more impressive when compared to yoghurt (10%), eggs (13%), beef (26%), quinoa (14%), or soybeans (36%). What's more important, spirulina is a source of complete proteins, which means all nine of the amino acids essential to human nutrition are represented. Needless to say, since it's an alga, it is entirely plant based, doesn't come wrapped in cholesterol or other fats, and can be grown without the environmental devastation soybean cultivation is infamous for.

The tally is similarly impressive when we observe the iron content. Spirulina has 28.5 mg of iron in the same 100 g amount. In comparison, pork liver of that quantity has only 17.9 mg, soybeans 15.7 mg, and spinach, which is supposedly such an iron bomb, not more than 2.7 mg. Don't be sad, spinach, you're still delicious!

I think only these two nutrients should be a convincing factor, so I'm not even going to immerse myself in the nitty-gritty of calcium and vitamins. Okay, milk is still a strong competitor when it comes to calcium, and apparently Vitamin B12 is a controversial aspect. My primary source of info, the book Spirulina - World Food by Robert Henrikson claims it is the best source of this important vitamin, virtually impossible to find in non-animal-based foods. However, my other two sources I just consulted here on the go, Google and Wikipedia, seem to think otherwise. Dude, I don't know!!! So I'll leave it out before I say something foolish. In any case, on the iron and protein front Spirulina is unbeatable, that much is certain.

Sustainable Production

Apparently, Spirulina is not only the most nutrient-rich food around, it is also the oldest one, having evolved 3.6 billion years ago. Back then we didn't the diversity of life which we are getting rid of nowadays. So consequently, this little alga had to figure out how to thrive on... well, on the most basic conditions.

Being the most low-maintenance plant, all it requires is some luke-warm water to float around in, which should also be slight saline and very ... (did I say basic?) alkaline - a pH of 10 or above is best. To feed on, it needs sunlight of course, as well as some minerals, most of which occur naturally in the urine of the human caretaker. So not only is Spirulina super nutritious, but cheap to grow, and without having a huge impact on its environment.

Once again, I think I mentioned a bunch of these facts in great detail. I even made a video of my spirulina harvest in my cultivator on the roof, and another post on setting one up inside my living area. The former one I left with my friends in Oaxaca, and the latter one is teaching me that the conditions inside my apartment don't provide enough sunlight for it to grow decently, even during the brightest season. Good to know!

Thinking About the Future

I assume that it's just a matter of time before everyone starts speaking about spirulina all the time, like it was the greatest novelty ever. At the latest this will happen when the world's food production starts crumbling, and people won't have enough soybeans to make up for the missing animal products in their diet. So I can only recommend being a step ahead of this time of panic, and have not only a good amount of frozen spirulina saved up, but the know-how to show desperate people how to grow their essential amino acids themselves, in their bathtubs if needed. Like so many things, this is old stuff, it just needs to get out into people's consciousness.