Boston company 聽is selling algae strains spirulina and chlorella as the next : power supplements that improve stamina and reduce inflammation. The algae is sold in one-calorie tablets about the size of an Advil, and the company recommends taking 30 spirulina tabs 15 to 20 minutes before exercise, then another 30 chlorella tabs immediately following in order to get algae鈥檚 full endurance and recovery benefits. Promised superhuman power as motivation, I recently found myself standing in my kitchen with a palmful of green pills, wondering if I could down them all in one gulp. (It took two.)聽
ENERGYbits isn鈥檛 the first organization to market聽algae as a superfood. After World War II, several U.S. institutions 聽to feed a booming population because they thought it鈥檇 be relatively easy and cost-efficient to grow, and researchers liked chlorella鈥檚 high vitamin, mineral, and protein content.听
The former turned out to be false. Cultivating algae was difficult and expensive, so it never really took off as a mass-market food that could solve world hunger. But the second part is actually true. At about 60 percent protein, and stuffed with Vitamin A, B vitamins, zinc, iron, and magnesium, among other vitamins and minerals, algae certainly counts as nutritious. For that reason, back in the 鈥50s, NASA , but abandoned the idea when it became apparent that growing it in space would be unwieldy.听
So while algae has shown great potential as human fuel, it鈥檚 never become the miracle crop it promised to be. That鈥檚 about where algae is now as an athletic supplement: full of promise, but low on delivery.听
Jeukendrup doubts the claim that algae, in this form, will provide instant energy. A serving actually comes in around 20 calories. Which聽would allow you to run for about 90 seconds.
鈥淎lways be suspicious if a product claims to do everything from performance to immune function to preventing disease and recovery鈥攁nd that it works in all athletes from 100-meter sprinters to ultrarunners,鈥 says world-renowned sports nutrition scientist, . While fitness pundits have been , Jeukendrup is not a fan of concentrated algae supplements for several reasons. He鈥檒l start with protein content.
One serving size of 30 ENERGYbits tabs contains 4.6 grams of protein, Jeukendrup said, the same as in half a cup of milk. One almond, he said, has 25 percent more protein than one tablet. The bits are 鈥渁 source of protein but I wouldn鈥檛 call it a good one,鈥 he concluded. At $2.80 per 30-tab serving, 鈥測ou can get 30 times as much protein for your money by buying a gallon of milk.鈥
If the money factor doesn鈥檛 get you, the origin of algae鈥檚 super-high, potentially focus and energy-boosting vitamin B12 content will. 鈥淚t鈥檚 actually from contamination from insect and animal fecal matter,鈥 Jeukendrup says, because the algae for many supplements is grown in lakes and ponds, then dried. In other words, algae .听
ENERGYbits CEO, Catharine Arnston, has 聽that her algae are grown 鈥渋n fresh water tanks that are carefully monitored and tested every day for purity.鈥 Though some sort of bacteria must be introduced to produce the B12 content. But let鈥檚 say you don鈥檛 care where the B12 comes from. 鈥淭hen the question becomes: does it benefit the athlete?鈥 says Jeukendrup. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no evidence whatsoever that an intake of vitamin B12 will affect performance.鈥澛
On top of that, he doubts the claim that algae, in this form, will provide instant energy. A serving actually comes in around 20 calories. Which according to Jeukendrup would allow you to run for about 90 seconds.
Furthermore, foods that have concentrated levels of vitamins and minerals generally also聽have high concentrations of heavy metals like arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury.
The final blow to concentrated algal supplements builds on this too-much-of-a-good-thing issue. The high concentration of antioxidants may actually stunt long-term training adaptation, though more research needs to be conducted before experts can make any definitive conclusions about that.听
With that knowledge, it seems athletes in the U.S. won鈥檛 turn algae into the Next Big Thing. As for my one-woman experiment, I did have a fantastic run after downing 30 ENERGYbits (if peppered by a few ocean-tasting burps). I felt strong, alert, and energetic. But it鈥檚 impossible to tell if a placebo effect, the fact that I鈥檇 taken two days off before that workout, or the algae itself was behind the good vibes.听