Yo,

So what is Spirulina Protein powder? I’d like to first start by thank you for choosing to read this post my friend. I hope to provide value and tell you everything you’d want to know about spirulina protein powder.

Most people, including myself up until recently, most likely didn’t even know such a product existed. If you’re like me, you’re pretty curious about the protein powders on the market and this protein powder is no exception.

Whey, pea, casein, plant, organic and those kinds of protein powders, sure, you’ve probably heard of them.

Spirulina though, don’t even be surprised if you have no idea.

So you and me will be going through a few things today. We’ll be introducing spirulina protein powder, going into the nutritional profile, comparing it against whey protein powder and going into your benefits. Furthermore, we’ll explore how to include it into your diet for results and provide a final verdict.

How does that sound my friend?

Great! Let’s get into it together.

Introduction to Spirulina Protein Powder

• Definition of Spirulina Powder

Spirulina is a type of algae that is found in fresh and marine waters all across across the world.

So you’re essentially drinking a protein shake where the sources come from some green stuff in the ocean. Fascinating isn’t it?

Don’t worry though. Spirulina is actually very good for you and can provide a variety of benefits, which we’ll go into later.

Did I forget to mention that spirulina is considered a superfood and it’s been used for centuries?

I probably did, but now you know

• Preparation and extraction process

But then, how is made? How does this alien looking algae transform into something that will help our fitness goals? Well, it goes like this (bear in mind that it may depend on the manufacturer) and I’ll provide to summaries; a quick and a longer version.

Quick version: Algae is taken from a pond or controlled environment. After it reaches a certain condition, it is harvested. Algae experienced straining and filtration. It is then dried and milled into a powder. Protein content is extracted and this final protein powder may be purified and dried again.

Longer version: The spirulina algae is usually cultivated in a large open pond or in an environment where various factors such as temperature, ph. and nutrient levels are monitored. It essentially optimises the growth of the algae

After the spirulina reaches a certain ‘biomass’ it’s harvested. After harvesting it’s the algae is strained and filtered.

It’s then dried to minimise and reduce the moisture and then it is milled into is grinded/milled into a powder form.

The protein is extracted from the powder and can be done through a few ways, such as enzymatic extraction. The protein content may go through purification and drying afterwards.

Oh and another thing my friend. You know how nowadays, more often tha not, we have to be checking the ingredients on the packaging for foods we’re eating to be safe.

That’s not really needed here for spirulina protein powder.

Why?

Well this is because many spirulina powders look like this.

Yep. More often than not, the only ingredient will be SPIRULINA. 100% Spirulina my friend.

Want another example? Alright look below again.

You see, this is an excellent feature about most spirulina protein powder manufacturers.

Let’s now take a deeper look into the nutrition. I’m glad you’re still here.

The Nutritional Profile of Spirulina Protein Powder

• Macros

With Spirulina protein powder, the serving size is small… and I mean really small.

I’m yet to see a serving size bigger than 8g.

The serving size is around 5g for the most part.

However, gram for gram.

Nutrient for nutrient.

Density for density.

Spirulina might be the most nutrient-dense food on the planet (or amongst the top 10). Seriously.

With a serving of only 5 grams, your body will thank you for the following. (this is from the bulk nutrients page. We used this just to be consistent. This is the macros from their product)

Calories: 19

Protein: 3g

Fats: 0.3g

Carbs: 0.8g

It may not look like much, but think about this. Multiply the serving size by 5, so we now have a 25 gram serving.

This means that the calories go from 19 to 95, the protein from 3 to 15, the fat from 0.3 to 1.5 and the carbs from 0.8 to 4.

That is a lot packed into that serving size.

However, as stated before, the serving size is quite small and many manufacturers place a small serving size. This is for a number of reasons;

One reason is that having too much spirulina can cause short-term and long-term issues, such as indigestion, nausea and could promote metal toxicity.

Another reason is that there have been studies and recommendations made by experts that it is not advisable to go beyond a specific range. The range is typically 1-10g a day.

So, if you want a specific dosage recommendation (seek an expert if you are concerned), I would suggest staying in the 1-8g range per day. On top of this, if there is a specific serving size on a product, I would recommend not going beyond that. It’s nutrient dense anyway and more does not always mean better.

Like anything in life, too much of anything is bad. Spirulina is no different.

• Identifying key proteins

For the most part, spirulina is considered a complete protein. This means that it contains all nine essential amino acids. It isn’t a superfood for nothing, eh?

Another thing, it’s quite rare and unique for a plant protein source to actually be complete, so bear this in mind.

So out of the 20 amino acids for protein, spirulina has 18 of them. (Spirulina also contains non-essential amino acids, which is where the other 9 came from, to make 18).

So, the amino acids are as follows:

(essential)

– Isoleucine

– Leucine

– Lysine

– Methionine

– Phenylalanine

– Threonine

– Tryptophan

– Valine

– Histidine

(non-essential below)

– Alanine

– Arginine

– Aspartic acid

– Cysteine

– Glutamic acid

– Dlycine

– Proline

– Serine

– Tyrosine

Let’s also go over some vitamins and minerals inside this protein powder. They include B complex vitamins, beta-carotene, vitamin E, manganese, zinc, copper, iron, selenium and gamma linolenic acid.

• Notice

It’s important to remember that other plant protein sources are not as complete as Spirulina. Spirulina is very nutrient-dense and is one of a kind, so don’t expect to see this many amino acids in many other protein powders.

Spirulina Protein Powder Vs. Whey Protein Powder

Of course, we’ve got to compare this to Whey protein powder, to see how it matches up. I’ve made a table for you below.

	Spirulina	Whey Concentrate
Calories per 10g serving	40	39
Protein	6.4g	8g
Carbs	2.4g	0.5g
Fats	0.4g	0.6g
Complete protein	Yes	Yes
Vegan	Yes	No
Protein Weight	50-70%	70-90% (Typically more focused on maximising protein)
Vitamins and Minerals	Vitamin B1, B2, B3, B6, B9 and B12. Vitamin C, Vitamin E vitamin K. Zinc, copper, iron, selenium, manganese and gamma-linolenic.	Vitamins B2, B5 and B12. Calcium, Phosphorus and vitamin D

• Analysis of their nutritional value

As you can see, they’re not identical and vary to some degree. Typically through the vitamins and minerals do we see a difference.

The protein content is higher in whey, which makes sense, considering that the product is designed to maximise the protein. It’s also important to remember that the amounts of each vitamin and minerals will vary amongst each manufacturer.

This is also why it’s important to have a balanced diet, so you’re able to gain a variety of vitamins and minerals.

• Comparison from a usability standpoint

Regarding usability, I would say that whey is more flexible. The taste of spirulina is not considered the greatest, so many stores recommend combining it with something else, such as a juice or another protein powder for example.

On the flipside, whey can taste much better. Many people, such as myself, have it with milk or with water.

There are also protein powder recipes that are more suited for whey, in comparison to spirulina.

This isn’t bashing spirulina at all, it’s just that whey appears to be more flexible and adaptable.

• Why someone should choose one over the other

So why would somebody choose spirulina over whey, or whey over spirulina.

Reasonings for spirulina

– You are a vegan.

– You prefer the nutritional profile of spirulina

– You’re not too focused on protein, and value the presence of other nutrients

– You want the antioxidants and inflammation-fighting properties

Reasonings for whey

– You want a dairy product

– You want to maximise protein

– You prefer the taste

– You don’t want a vegan product

These are only the common reasonings and they vary amongst person to person, so don’t forget. You reading this may have your own reasoning and that’s alright as well.

Your Benefits

• Muscle gain, Fat loss and Maintenance

It wouldn’t be a protein powder post without listing some benefits.

Of course, we have muscle gain, fat loss and maintenance. Despite the small serving size (and you may decide to increase the serving size anyway), you’ll still be getting some protein in.

Protein is of course, essential for muscle growth and any you can get will be beneficial. Protein forms the building blocks of muscle, so providing yourself with this will help you pack on that muscle my friend.

Protein enables you to remain full, which will help you beat those cravings and stay in a caloric deficit. Moreover, having protein will help you keep that muscle and actually LOSE FAT instead of losing your muscle.

Protein is also necessary for maintaining your body composition as well. Building muscle or losing fat, you need protein to ensure your muscles are maintained.

• Antioxidants

Spirulina is also known to contain a multitude of antioxidants. Antioxidants are compounds that help prevent disease and reduce damage caused by oxidation.

Spirulina has actually been consumed for centuries because it’s believed to improve overall health. Remember though these benefits may vary amongst each person.

Don’t forget the other benefits provided from the vitamins listed above!

How to include it in your diet for RESULTS

• Don’t depend.

Don’t depend on protein powder for results. I say this all the time because I want you to really get it in your head my friend.

Protein powder is a supplement. It’s an additional to what you’re already consuming in your diet, to top off what you’re not getting.

Dependency nullifies results in this context, because if you don’t see results, you will blame this product and stop using it. When in actual reality, the problem may be because of something else.

So that’s the first thing.

• Moderation and Frequently

The next thing is to take Spirulina protein powder in moderation, frequently. That’s the key, moderation and frequency. This means you’ll always be providing your body with the chance to take in those nutrients from the product

• Include in recipes

Try and find ways for you to include it in recipes. As stated before, it could be hard to have it on it’s own. Maybe combine it with another protein powder if you have some available, or combine it with juices.

The Final Verdict: To Take or Not To Take Spirulina Protein Powder

To take it ultimately depends on you.

Surprise, surprise.

Today we defined spirulina and introduced you to what the product is. We went over the nutritional profile and compared it to whey protein. We also went over some benefits and how you can use it for results.

So what should you do?

Consider if you’re really focused on protein, or if you’re not too focused on protein and the idea of a superfood is more appealing.

You may not even want a protein powder after all of this and that’s fine too.

Ultimately, Spirulina protein powder is a great option and I would recommend it to those who are looking for a protein powder where the serving size is small, are vegan and want to maximise the nutritional component.

However, there may be others (and this may include you), where you’re not one of the above and want to simply try it. That’s great too.

Regardless, I hope this post was of use to you today and we were able to discover some value about Spirulina protein powder. Let me know your experiences with this product as well!

Until we meet again my friend,

Declan.

(Note that I am not an expert or professional. I am someone who is constantly learning throughout their fitness journey. If you are really concerned, I recommend you go to a professional)