Recognizing good spirulina

How to recognize good quality spirulina?

Spirulina has been all the rage for several years, and purchasing it should be done with the utmost caution. Indeed, many companies are taking advantage of this craze to offer very poor-quality spirulina, or even algae that look like spirulina but are not, and whose consumption can be very dangerous for your health.

1. Information on the composition of the product

The terms "spirulina," "spirulina," "spirulina cyanophyte algae," "Spirulina platensis," or "Arthrospira platensis" must appear on the label, guaranteeing the product's quality. The spirulina content in tablets must be greater than 98%, and the product must not contain any preservatives or colorings. Granular or powdered forms must contain 100% spirulina.

2. Visual aspect of good spirulina

Spirulina should have a nice dark green, matte color .
A bright color indicates that the spirulina has been crushed, compacted, and coated with a layer of binder to prevent it from falling apart again.
The packaging should contain little dust. The presence of dust also indicates that the spirulina has been atomized and then compacted, thus losing some of its nutritional qualities.

3. Smell of good spirulina

This algae does have a distinctive odor, but it shouldn't be unpleasant. A strong odor indicates that the oxidation rate is high and that the product is degraded.

4. Dissolution

The dissolution rate of spirulina must be:
– not too fast , so that the product passes through the stomach and releases its active ingredients in the intestine, where they can be absorbed by our body
– nor too slow , because in this case, the product will only be weakly absorbed during its digestive journey. The nutrients contained in the product will be absorbed by our body in smaller quantities.

For a health effect, it is therefore important to choose a good spirulina.

5. Digestion of spirulina

In the first few days, spirulina can, in rare cases, cause slight gas. Therefore, it is advisable to gradually increase the dosage of the product. However, excessive gas is generally an indication of a substandard or degraded product.