Nutrition by Nature | Alana Ward Hurst, MS, RDN/LDN, CPT
[Photo] Nayyar (2017)
Spirulina has been a hot supplement across social media and markets due to it being loaded with nutrients that may offer numerous health benefits. But what is spirulina? Spirulina is an organism that belongs to a family of cyanobacteria referred to as blue-green algae.
So what can this heavily pigmented blue-green algae do for us? Spirulina supplements have been advertised as the secret to better sports performance offering increased endurance, strength, and mental agility. Other benefits include it's alkalinity and richness in iron, protein, amino acids, calcium, selenium, manganese, copper, zinc, and vitamins B, K, E, and A, all which may aid in reducing fatigue, improving sleep, muscle building, and muscle recovery.
Spirulina is a main component of many green powders to enhance athletic performance and overall health and wellness. In a double-blind study conducted by Hernandez-Lepe et al. (2018) supplementing with spirulina helps improve body composition and cardiorespiratory parameters. Spirulina can be helpful for all different athletes from strength/lifting athletes to high endurance athletes as it helps prevent oxidative stress, aiding in the prevention of inflammation and allowing athletes to carry on with their sport. Over an 8-week period, a dose dependent spirulina supplement was given administered which confirmed its antioxidant properties that prevents inflammation (de Freitas Brito et al., 2020). While Hernandez-Lepe et al. (2018) found spirulina to have an effect on body composition, mostly on those overweight, Chaouachi et al. (2020) found spirulina to offer minimal effects for rugby players and did not improve body composition. On the other hand, this study did find that spirulina aided players in their vertical jump and sprint performance. Spirulina is a common supplement that has been used by many Olympic teams and they have indicated improved performance (Braakhuis and Hopkins, 2015). Other benefits have been reported including an improvement in quadricep force. While there is much research indicating improved athletic performance, Braakhuis and Hopkins (2015) stat it is premature to recommend spirulina as a go-to supplement for athletes.
References
Braakhuis, A.J. and Hopkins, W.G. (2015). Impact of Dietary Antioxidants on Sport Performance: A Review. Sports Medicine, 45(7), 939-55. 10.1007/s40279-015-0323-x
Chaouachi, M., Gautier, S., Carnot, Y., Bideau, N., Guillemot, P., Moison, Y., … Groussard, C. (2020). Spirulina platensis Provides a Small Advantage in Vertical Jump and Sprint Performance But Does Not Improve Elite Rugby Players’ Body Composition. Journal of dietary supplements, 1-16. 10.1080/19390211.2020.1832639
De Freitas Brito, A., Silva, A.S., de Oliveira, C.V.C., de Souza, A.A., Ferreira, P.B., de Souza, I.L.L., … da Silva, B.A. (2020). Spirulina platensis prevents oxidative stress and inflammation promoted by strength training in rats: dose-response relation study. Scientific reports, 10(1), 6382. 10.1038/s41598-020-63272-5
Hernandez-Lepe, M.A., Lopez-Diaz, J.A., Juarez-Oropeza, M.A., Hernandez-Torres, R.P., Wall-Medrano, A. and Ramos-Jimenez, A. (2018). Effect of Arthrospira (Spirulina) maxima Supplementation and a Systematic Physical Exercise Program on the Body Composition and Cardiorespiratory Fitness of Overweight or Obese Subjects: A Double-Blind, Randomized, and Crossover Controlled Trial. Marine drugs, 16(10), 364. 10.3390/md16100364
Nayyar, N. (2017, May 3). Spirulina. Women Fitness. Retrieved from https://www.womenfitness.net/herbs/spirulina/
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