My morning routine looks like this: oil pulling followed by a glass of apple cider vinegar, a wheatgrass shot, a vitamin B12 supplement and 8 tablets of spirulina. Needless to say it's quite an ordeal. 8 spirulina tablets? Who the heck came up with that? For whatever reason that I'm not aware of, it's apparently not possible to put a high enough dosage of spirulina into one pill.
That's why I got really excited when Frédéric Dubois and Yannick Lesbros, founders of the Swiss drink brand Spiralps, approached me to try their products. They produce organic spirulina drinks in a range of flavours to be consumed in form of a detox or simply as a healthy refreshment throughout the day. Bye bye chugging pill after pill, hello sipping on green juices to get my daily dose of spirulina. But why go through all this hassle to consume spirulina in the first place?
The fuzz about spirulina
Spirulina is made from algae just like chlorella and is naturally rich in micronutrients that are bio-available to the human body: vitamins, anti-oxidants, minerals, trace elements, essential fatty acids and amino acids. It has been shown to contain roughly 70% protein by weight, which makes it an excellent protein source for vegetarians and vegans. Not only is spirulina highly digestible and encourages the growth of healthy bacterial but it also helps the body to absorb minerals, lowers cholesterol and protects the immune system too. It does have a quite a strong 'green' flavour, hence why many people prefer to take it in tablet form. I love adding spirulina powder to my smoothies, but it's important to start with only a small amount and work your way up. A good rule of thumb is to start with half a teaspoon.
This is why Spiralps is a great alternative to those who are just starting out on their 'spirulina journey'. Especially their drinks with peach or apple and mint flavour (the small bottles) are very palatable and easy to drink. I ran the test on my meat-and-cheese-eating, detox-and- superfood-skeptical dad and he gave a stamp of approval. To guarantee top quality, Spiralps contains Spirulina produced in a controlled environment and added fresh – not dried.
They offer different detox plans, all of which answer a specific need. I personally didn't do a detox (because my body has been craving warming foods ever since it got colder in Switzerland) but chose to incorporate them into my daily life here and there. For example, I had the drinks in the morning as part of my breakfast or as a snack in the afternoon. A juice a day keeps the doctor away, right? In case you want to learn more about the positive effects of actually doing a spirulina detox, you can take a look at this review that I found online.
You can shop the product here and follow them on their Facebook and Instagram page.