By Dr. Bob McCauley
They are not extracts, concentrates or amalgams of vitamins and minerals that look good on paper such as the vitamin and mineral supplements that people generally believe to be healthy. In reality, the body does not absorb 90% of these vitamin supplements because they are dead, void of enzymes. On the other hand, eating Spirulina and Chlorella is like eating any other whole food such as a banana, apple or broccoli.
Which one should you take?
Even though the nutritional profile of Spirulina and Chlorella are quite similar they are completely different foods, as different as apples and oranges. Although many of the nutrients in these foods are the same, they will assimilate and benefit the body in different ways. This is also why we should attempt to get as many different types of foods into our diet as possible. The greater array of nutrients in any food, the more nutritious it is.
Spirulina is a nitrogen based blue green algae and has the predominant odor of seaweed. Chlorella is an oxygen based green algae that has the predominant odor of fresh grass. Chlorella gets its name from the high amount of chlorophyll in it, up to 10 times that of
Spirulina which is itself quite high in chlorophyll. Chlorella belongs to a class of algae called chlorophyta.
Chlorella: A maintenance dosage of Chlorella is about 3 – 5 grams per day. Although you will not see significant changes taking such a small amount of whole food, your body will be getting a broad array of nutrients unlike it has seen before. Since Chlorella is a detoxifying whole food, not a concentrate or extract, a person can eat as much as they desire without any fear of it becoming potentially toxic in any way.
Chlorella is best taken before a meal with probiotics, our friendly bacteria ( Acidophilus and Bifidus ). Chlorella causes probiotics to multiply at four times the rate of normal.
Maintenance Dosage: 3 – 5 grams/day
Significant Part of the Diet: 6 – 10 grams/day
Immune System Builder: 11 – 14 grams/day
Primary Source of Protein : 12 – 19 grams/day
Healing Purposes & Heavy Metal Detoxification: 20 – 30+ grams/day
Best before a meal to aid with digestion.
Spirulina: A maintenance dosage of Spirulina is 3 — 5 grams per day. Although their nutritional profile may appear to be quite similar, Spirulina and Chlorella are completely different foods. Spirulina is great before a physical workout. I take 5 – 6 grams religiously before any kind of physical training. Stamina, endurance and recovery are significantly improved with Spirulina. After a strenuous workout where the body is pushed to its limits, an additional 10 – 20 grams should be taken during the following 24 hours to rebuild the body and muscle tissue that has been torn down.