How to Choose the Best Spirulina Supplement: A Buyer's Guide
- Josh Boughton
- Sep 22
- 10 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
Spirulina might be small, but these little green guys pack a hell of a nutritional punch. There's a lot to know about spirulina, and this guide will help you understand how to choose the best spirulina. While the labels may look the same, what's inside the bottle can vary significantly from brand to brand. Explore our blog to discover why labels don't tell the whole story.
What is spirulina?
Spirulina (Arthrospira platensis), commonly referred to as blue-green algae, is actually a type of cyanobacteria. While they are bacteria, they use photosynthesis, like plants and algae, to produce their own food. They are one of the oldest organisms on Earth. Aztec civilizations were some of the first to use it. In 1992, the World Health Organization declared spirulina as the “best food for the future,” and the most nutritionally complete source of food for the 21st Century.
Nutrients in Spirulina
Spirulina is packed with nutrition. It’s rich in:
B1
b2
B3
Copper
Iron
Potassium
Magnesium
Phosphorous
Carotenoids
Fatty acids
Amino acids - It is a complete protein, containing over 50% protein per gram.
Per gram, it has more protein than almost any other food.
Chlorophyll
It is also one of the richest food sources of real chlorophyll, unlike most "chlorophyll supplements," which are not actually chlorophyll but a semi-synthetic compound called sodium copper chlorophyllin.
Phycocyanin
Phenolic compounds
And a whole lot more!
Does spirulina contain B12?
While many people think spirulina contains B12, it actually does not. It contains a B12 analogue, which is not usable by the body. Properly grown chlorella is a good source of usable B12 for those looking to get a good vegan food source of vitamin B12.
Benefits of spirulina
People take spirulina for a variety of reasons, the two main ones being energy and adding green vegetable nutrition to their diet. It is also a potent antioxidant that supports a healthy heart, joints, and eyes. Basically, anything green vegetables are good for, spirulina is also good for.
How to use spirulina
Spirulina should be taken with food and a full glass of water.
The powder can be mixed with any food or beverage of your choice, whether hot or cold, including smoothies, applesauce, yogurt, and more.
You can also bake with it and use it in recipes and cooking.
We recommend taking it earlier in the day because lots of people get energy from spirulina, so it's not a good idea to take it at night.
After opening, store spirulina in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight and moisture.
Spirulina comes in many forms: pills, powder, flakes, sprinkles, etc, so choose the one that fits best in your lifestyle!
This hummus recipe is one of our favorite ways to use it.
Ingredients:
3 cups canned chickpeas
2 cloves of finely minced garlic (or however much the ancestors tell you to add). Tip: to tame its pungency, allow minced garlic to sit in a little bit of lemon juice for a few minutes.
1/3 cup tahini
Fresh lemon juice from 1 lemon
1 teaspoon of spirulina sprinkles (let them soak in a tiny bit of water for 20 min or more)
A pinch of salt to your liking
A generous drizzle of quality extra virgin olive oil
Directions:
Dry the chickpeas well, then add them to the bowl of a food processor. Run the processor until the chickpeas turn into a smooth paste.
While the food processor is running, add a couple of tablespoons of water, tahini, salt, lemon juice, and spirulina sprinkles. Blend for a few minutes. Check, and if the consistency is still too thick, run the processor and slowly add a little hot water. Blend until you reach the desired silky smooth consistency.
Spread the hummus in a serving bowl and add a generous drizzle of olive oil. Add a few chickpeas to the middle if you like, and sprinkle spirulina sprinkles on top. Or garnish with pinon nuts and/or diced black olives or fresh parsley.
Enjoy with your favorite veggies.
How much spirulina should you take?
Most people take between three and ten grams per day.
It’s best to start spirulina very slowly and gradually increase to your desired dosage. If you start with too much, you can get loose stools, bloating, or an upset stomach. We recommend starting with just one tablet or a ¼ teaspoon of powder. Every few days, increase the dosage by a bit till you reach your goal dosage.
As always, talk to your doctor or healthcare practitioner before starting any supplements.
If you have an autoimmune condition, it is best to avoid using spirulina.
Blue Spirulina Powder
Because of its striking blue color and neutral taste, "blue spirulina" has become very popular on social media. The thing is, though, there is no such thing as blue spirulina. It is incredibly misleading for companies to label products as such. What they are selling is a single compound extracted from spirulina, Phycocyanin, and labeling it as blue spirulina. This compound does not have any of the nutrients or other compounds found in spirulina. Companies like to market it as no fishy smell and pleasant taste, but it’s definitely not spirulina. If you extract just the vitamin C from an orange and sell the powder of that, you wouldn’t call it white orange powder. Don’t fall for marketing gimmicks; there is no such thing as blue spirulina.
What should you look for in a spirulina supplement?
As with other supplements, where and how the spirulina is grown is very important, as spirulina will absorb contaminants from its environment, and unlike a piece of lettuce, you can’t just rinse off the bad stuff.
Most spirulina is grown in outdoor ponds in China, India, Taiwan, and Japan. You will see marketing claims like grown far from civilization, fed by streams in the mountains, etc. The problem with these claims is that it rains everywhere. And many of the areas where spirulina is grown are heavily polluted. The pollution in the rain (and things like bird droppings) comes down into the spirulina ponds. It’s really not a good situation for an ingredient that readily takes up contaminants, which is why you see so many reports of contaminated spirulina. The water is also where the heavy metals come from in many spirulina products. If spirulina is grown in polluted water or if its cultivation is not carefully controlled, it can contain microcystins, which are a liver toxin. Even if companies claim to test for contaminants, there are so many pollutants that come down in the rain in many of these countries that many possible contaminants don’t get tested for. So while good testing is important, it is not enough with spirulina. It is so important to know exactly how and where your spirulina is grown, not just the country of origin.
How is spirulina grown?
There are three main ways that spirulina is grown.
The first and most common method is the industrial outdoor pond grown. The vast majority of spirulina is produced this way, which has the problems outlined above.
The second is a closed bioreactor-grown system. This is where spirulina is cultivated in large tanks in a laboratory, under carefully controlled conditions. This is a cleaner method of growing spirulina, but it has the drawback of being expensive, and the spirulina is not exposed to natural sunlight.
The third way is greenhouse-grown spirulina, where the water used to grow the spirulina comes from deep underground aquifers, not surface water, which would have the same issues as pond-grown spirulina. This is called the French Artisan Method of spirulina cultivation. This method differs from the large-scale commercial spirulina farms from which most spirulina comes. First, the farms are smaller, and more attention and care are given to the spirulina by the artisans than in open pond cultivation. Think artisanal sourdough bread versus a big bakery for commercial white bread. Second, using a greenhouse rather than open ponds reduces water evaporation, which is better for the environment, as less water and energy are needed. Third, it will be free of the dust that comes onto outdoor pond-grown spirulina, which can often contain pesticides and herbicides from nearby ponds. Fourth, it will be much fresher as most greenhouse growers harvest daily during the growing season, then quickly dry and package it. This results in a much more nutritious spirulina. It gives the benefits of protection from environmental pollutants while allowing the spirulina to receive the full spectrum of natural sunlight. It is also less expensive to produce than the bioreactor spirulina. This is the ideal method for producing spirulina. While it is slower and more labor-intensive than industrial spirulina production, it's a better way of doing things.
How is spirulina dried?
Most spirulina is dried quickly using high heat, which can damage fragile compounds in the spirulina, but it allows for cheaper and faster production.
Gentle drying, such as solar oven, sun drying, freeze-drying, and refractance window drying, are the best methods to help preserve and protect fragile compounds in spirulina.
Third-Party Tested Spirulina
While many companies claim to have third-party tested spirulina, it’s important to understand that there are a lot of issues with third-party testing. Often, the wrong testing methods are used, or the testing does not cover many of the things that spirulina should be tested for. Unfortunately, third-party testing has become more of a marketing gimmick than anything else. Check out our blog to learn more about the issues with third-party testing and what you should be looking for.
The best brands of spirulina
The best brands of spirulina will use spirulina that:
Is grown in greenhouses according to the French Artisan Method of spirulina cultivation, which is what will help ensure your spirulina is free of harmful levels of contaminants like heavy metals and pesticides.
Is grown with water coming from deep underground springs and aquifers.
Is gently dried and packaged quickly after harvest
Is traceable back to the farms it came from.
Apogee Spirulina
Finding spirulina that was made the right way was not an easy task. Nearly all of the spirulina we looked at in the US was grown in outdoor ponds, so they ruled out about 90% of them.
After a long search, we came upon an incredible spirulina farmer in New Mexico, Nic. He trained in France in the artisanal way of growing and making spirulina. Then he came back to the US and started a spirulina farm and company, Apogee Spirulina.
The Apogee Spirulina Farm is located near the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Because they get about 300 days of sunshine a year, they can tap into the abundant solar energy. It’s a perfect environment for growing spirulina in the French Tradition.
While a lot of spirulina is grown with questionable ingredients, these are the only things added to the spirulina ponds as food, besides the water and sunshine:
Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) – to keep the water alkaline and provide carbon.
Salt & magnesium – for balance and cell function.
Phosphate & nitrogen – to support strong, healthy growth.
Potassium & iron – essential for nutrition and vitality.
Trace minerals – to complete the balanced mix spirulina needs.
They harvest five days a week during the growing season, and on weekends, they let the ponds rest to allow them to rejuvenate. This results in a fresher, more nutrient-rich spirulina. After harvesting, the spirulina is air-dried in the solar oven. No harsh drying or processing methods are used. Once it’s harvested, the spirulina is then pressed into sprinkles, which are coiled strings of spirulina (like little spirulina spaghetti) that give the algae a larger surface area. This larger surface area means that the spirulina has less nutritional loss than industrial spirulina powder production, making for a higher-quality product.
“Spirulina isn’t just a product. It’s a reflection of how we try to live our lives: healthily. Positively. Sharingly.
Apogee: the highest point. It’s what we strive for. We want our spirulina to be the best there is, not just for our customers but also for ourselves. That’s because it’s kind of become a way of life. A way of living, and being. Spirulina wasn’t so much something we chose as a career, it’s a way of living that opened up to us, a way of living we hope others open up to as well.
Sure, it’s become our trade. But because of what it is, and because of the folks who passed it on to us, who shared their way of harvesting spirulina with us, spirulina represents something far more. It represents possibilities. It points to something grander. And it’s low impact, it’s water-based, it’s billions of years old. And it comes from the sun. What could be more pure? More free? More universal?
Besides, it’s fun. It’s clean and clear and it makes you feel good. Not just good in the way that eating your broccoli makes you feel like you’ve done your good-vegetable-deed for the day, but good in a deeper way. In an almost existential way.”
We are proud to partner with Apogee to bring you the most incredible spirulina from a fantastic guy, thanks for all your hard work, Nic!
Algen Markt Spirulina
Algen Markt Spirulina is produced in the French Artisanal manner in greenhouses in Germany and Greece.
Unlike conventional spirulina manufacturing, which uses hot spray drying, Algen Markt's spirulina is dried slowly and gently in the air at temperatures below 42°C . This preserves its nutrients and the raw nature of the spirulina.
100% of the energy they use is renewable, and because of the greenhouses, they use far less water than traditional spirulina growing. This is a much more environmentally friendly way to grow spirulina. Their special greenhouse films allow the full spectrum of sunlight to get through to the algae, without worrying about contaminants from the outdoors. The water for their greenhouses comes from deep underground springs.
Due to their careful growing and processing techniques, their spirulina has a mild, crispy flavor – without the otherwise typical, strong fishy aftertaste present in industrially grown spirulina.
There are no Chilean nitrates used in the growing of Algen Markt spirulina. They are banned from use in the EU for the growing of organic spirulina.
Their spirulina is EU-certified organic, and each batch of spirulina is tested for a variety of contaminants, including heavy metals.
All of their spirulina is free of additives, fillers, binders, flavorings, and sweeteners!
Algen Markt makes a variety of forms of spirulina to suit every need.
Easy to use and convenient.
Perfect for mixing into smoothies and foods.
An excellent topping for salads, soups, vegetables, and muesli. They also add a nice umami flavor to pesto and guacamole.
These come with a spice grinder, making it easy to add freshly ground spirulina to every meal. The adjustable grinder allows for coarse grinding, great for salads, etc, and smooth for dressings and smoothies.
Freshly ground spirulina has a more intense flavor and is more nutrient-rich than preground powder.'
We are thrilled to introduce this incredible spirulina, in all its forms, to the US for you to enjoy!
Spirulina Questions And Support
If you have questions about our spirulina, email us at info@rooted-nutrition.com, and we will be happy to answer them.
