Spirulina

Better Nutrition, July, 2005

Feeding your brain may be as easy as topping your morning cereal with blueberries, having steamed spinach with your dinner or boosting a smoothie with a teaspoon of spirulina--an edible, super-nutritious, blue-green algae you've likely seen in health food stores. According to a pair of studies--the most recent published in the May 2005 issue of Experimental Neurology--a diet rich in spinach, blueberries and spirulina just might ward off two down-the-road brain threats: senility and loss of mobility caused by a stroke.

Researchers from the National Institute on Drag Abuse in Baltimore fed rats one of three different antistroke diets suggested by earlier studies. One diet was high in spinach, one in blueberries and one in spirulina. The animals had far less severe strokes than a second group fed a regular diet. Their movement was much less affected and they lost fewer brain cells.

That's great news for rats. But does it mean that humans should increase their consumption of these foods? Researchers suggest the answer is yes.

Rats and humans suffer comparable brain and motor damage during a stroke, which is why researchers suspect that the diets will work for humans. In both, strokes generate a flood of free radicals--charged particles linked to brain damage, aging and other problems. But antioxidants neutralize free radicals, and these three foods are loaded with antioxidants that seem to excel at reducing stroke damage. Earlier studies by this team found that the diets fought brain degeneration too.

Getting these protective benefits is easy. Just load up on blueberries and spinach--they're delicious as well as healthful. And spirulina supplements are readily available. Or try an all-in-one super summer salad of spinach, blueberries, almonds for crunch and spirulina sprinkled on top.