Health Watch

How safe is Super Blue-Green Algae?

People are buying sensational products produced from single sources like Super Blue-Green Algae(SBGA), melaleuca, etc. which promise all kinds of miracle results. Are they safe? Do they offer what we need to build long-term health benefits?

We need to find out what the facts really are. Just because something feels good now and is "natural" does not mean it is good for you. We need to know if a product is legitimately a part of the human food chain, and it should be backed by a reasonable degree of scientific research. What are the long-term benefits or risks?

Natural Health Magazine stated(July/August 1995 issue):

Those islands of turquise that float on water are known as blue-green algae, though cyanobacteria is the scientific name. Scientists have been following the toxicity of cyanobacteria strains with unease as blue-green algae becomes more popular as a health food product.

Toxic cyanobacteria are easily scooped up with the non-toxic, healthful variety, warns Wayne W. Carmichael, a professor specializing aquatic biology/toxicology at Wright State University, writing in "Scientific American".
Screening tests are not done systematically enough, says Carmichael. One misconception: toxic strains occur only in contaminated waters. "Many cyanobacteria can be toxic," says Carmichael, "regardless of whether they're in a polluted water source or a pristine environment."

Vegetarian Times(August, 1995 issue) stated:

Two studies by published biologists in 1960 and 1971 found samples of Klamath Lake algae to be lethal to fish and white mice. Jacob Kann, an aquatic ecologist based in Klamath Falls, says endangered fish species in Klamath Lake are declining in number.

"Conditions are worse than they were then," he says, mainly because the water is being infused with agricultural runoff. He has tested another type of blue-green algae from Klamath Lake that contains a liver toxin which affects mammals.

Cell Tech distributors acknowledge that blue green algae users can experience nausea, vomiting, tingling and flatulence, since the body is "ridding itself of toxins", according to Tanya Heater, Cell Tech Business Manager. J. Curt Stager, Ph.D., associate professor of biology at Paul Smith's College, interprets these as the possible first symptoms of nerve and organ damage. "I'm mainly concerned because of the possible danger to children, fetuses, the elderly and the ill," he says. "But the long term effects on healthy adults aren't known either."

Cell Tech recently released a statement saying it tests each batch of algae for toxins and pesticides, but a phone representative wouldn't say who conducts these tests. Critics say they aren't opposed to blue-green algae being on the market, but want questions resolved about Lake Klamath's water quality and the methods for testing the algae.

An FDA spokesperson says the agency is aware that some strains of blue-green algae that exist in Lake Klamath are toxic, but as long as Cell Tech uses only testimonials and does not make health claims on labels, it is not in violation of federal truth-in-labeling laws.

What is Anatoxin-a?

Quoting from Toxicon, volume 17, "Pharmacology of Anatoxin-a, Produced by the Freshwater Cyanophyte Anabaena flos-aquae[a type found in Klamath Lake]" by Carmichael, Biggs, and Peterson, 1979, page 229:
"Anatoxin-a (formerly called very fast death factor) is the term being used for the potent alkaloid neurotoxin produced by the freshwater cyanophyte Anabaena flos-aquae.

"It's pharmacological properties have been investigated and compared with that of a synthetic anatoxin-a which was derived from L-cocaine."

"Anatoxin-a is a potent depolarizing neuromuscular blocking agent possessing both muscarinic and nicotinic activity."

from page 236: "Structurally, anatoxin-a does not resemble decamethonium but instead is simiar to the tropane alkaloids, specifically cocaine."

Nutritional Value?

A nutritional analysis of Cell Tech Blue-Green Algae admittedly reveals a significant number of different nutrients, but in very, very small amounts. (Please request a chart showing a comparison with Neolife's Formula IV.) There does not appear to be a nutritional basis for the claims made for SBGA.

The Manufacturer of Super Blue Green Algae lists the nutrients in micrograms rather than grams, which makes comparison difficult. Upon close examination it is found that aside from vitamin B12, iron and beta carotene, SBGA contains only trace amounts of most nutrients, usually less than 1% of U.S. RDA. It is also noted that the nutrition information given was for six capsules, but the recommended dose is 2 to 4 capsules daily.

For comparison sake, to get as much vitamin C as in just two Formula IV capsules, you'd have to take 720 capsules of SBGA. This ratio gets even worse for other essential nutrients. Nutrient diversity is important, but so is nutrient density.

Interestingly, many algae eaters report a rapid, sometimes immediate increase in "energy". From examining the above, where do you think the boost is coming from?

Here is a Reuters dispatch:

ClariNet story HEALTH-ALGAE from Reuter / Suzanne Rostler

FEATURE-Is blue green algae good for the brain? Copyright 1996 by Reuters / Tue, 29 Oct 1996 9:01:13 PST

NEW YORK (Reuter) - Its fans call it ``brain food,'' claiming it has powers to boost energy, stimulate the immune system, heighten mental clarity and increase sexual stamina.

Its detractors say it is nothing more than pricey pond scum and the latest bit of nutrition quackery. Eating it can cause nausea and vomiting. Some strains have been found to cause paralysis in laboratory animals.

Known to more neutral observers as blue green algae, this food supplement has come under fire by scientists, nutritionists and consumer advocates, while sales have surged.

``The problem is that most of the information on blue green algae is anecdotal and you can't separate that from the placebo effect,'' said Varro Tyler, professor of pharmocognsy, or plant, animal and mineral pharmacy, at Purdue University.

People who take blue green algae products are convinced it improves their mental and physical health. Samantha Cintron, a 30-year-old actress in New York City, said the supplements corrected an underactive thyroid and boosted iron levels in her blood. ``I also felt more focused mentally,'' Cintron said. ``I was motivated and had more energy.''

Such claims lie at the heart of the products' success. Sales of Super Blue Green Algae, the most popular brand nationwide, rose to $133.6 million in 1995 from $17.9 million in 1993. Oregon-based Cell Tech, which harvests and markets SBGA products through distributors in the United States and Canada, said its marketing network has grown to 350,000 from 7,000 in 1985. Sales of spirolina and chlorella, two other strains of algae, have also increased during that time, said several health food stores that sell the products nationwide.

``It absolutely sells itself,'' Marta Kollman, president of Cell Tech, said. ``Let's face it: we don't eat correctly so we are missing some basic nutrients. The human body is an amazing thing if you feed it the right stuff.''

Super Blue Green Algae products contain protein, vitamin B-12, beta carotene and essential minerals no longer present in the soil, according to Cell Tech. The company said a volcano that erupted thousands of years ago continues to provide the Upper Klamath Lake region, where Cell Tech is based, with a deep bed of these very minerals.

Critics argue such claims lack scientific proof.

``There is very little evidence of a nutrition deficiency in the soil of this country,'' Marion Nestle, chairwoman of the department of nutrition and food studies at New York University, said. ``People can take anything and feel better.

At an average cost of $60 to $100 a month for Cell Tech's products and about $40 a month for recommended dosages of spirulina, consumers would pay less for actual food containing the same nutrients. The supplements cost about six times more than a roast beef dinner containing equal amounts of protein and many times more than carrots and sweet potatoes, foods rich in beta carotene, Purdue's Tyler said.

But Kollman says years of pesticide and chemical use have sapped vegetables of virtually all nutrients. ``Chemical companies have figured out how to make (vegetables) taste great but if you were to test it what's really inside? A plant is only as good as the soil it's grown in, and our soil has been farmed so hard and so fast there is nothing left.

But concerns go beyond costs.

Spirolina that came from lakes in Mexico was found to be contaminated by fecal matter in the 1980s, Arthur Whitmore, a spokesman with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said. And according to an FDA investigation, a strain of algae found in Cell Tech products caused laboratory animals to stop breathing and become paralyzed.

``Aphanizomenon flos aqua (the strain of algae in Cell Tech's SBGA) has been found to produce a toxin that is a powerful neuromuscular blocking agent. In laboratory studies it has caused animals to stop breathing,'' the FDA said in its investigataive report.

Cell Tech concedes the strain of algae found in its products can be deadly but said no toxins have ever been discovered in the algae in Upper Klamath Lake. What's more, each batch of algae undergoes a series of rigorous tests by independent laboratories.

``With all of this testing, no neurotoxins have ever been found in Super Blue Green Algae,'' a company brochure reads. It says the articles questioning the purity of the products ``have legitimate, but in the light of close examination, unnecessarily excessive concerns about the algae's safety.''

The federal government seems to agree. Under the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, the FDA cannot pull a dietary supplement off the shelves unless it can prove the product is dangerous.

``Our hands are tied,'' Whitmore said. While the toxic effects of algae in general are well-documented in humans, only a handful of adverse effects have been reported from the food supplements, he said. ``We cannot say there is no potential for toxic algae to be in these products but we cannot do anything about a potential.''

Meanwhile, as long as the company does not claim that a product cures a disease or has medicinal powers, it is not violating the law. Manufacturers do not always follow even this rule since there is very little policing of products and no mechanism in place to guarantee safety, critics said.

``We have the worst regulations in the world with respect to these products,'' Tyler said. ``The customer cannot be assured of anything.''

Such warnings worried Cintron and prompted her temporarily to give up her daily doses of algae. But when a trip to California left her tired and depressed, Cintron she went back to her plastic bottle. ``Now I have more energy and things are clearer to me,'' she said.

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