Spirylene is a microscopic blue-green algae whose carotenoid pigments are responsible for the orange-pink hue of flamingos.

At high enough doses, it can also turn us orange too, like if we eat too many carrots, but it's considered benign

and goes away on its own when you cut back.

The strangest color change I ran across was this, green breast milk following ingestion

of blue-green algae.

Whoa.

But thankfully that also disappears after stopping. Spirillin is said to have various promising

health effects. At the same time, on the contrasting note, there are toxins that might contribute

to acute poisoning, cancer, liver damage, and gastrointestinal disturbances with long-term

consumption potentially leading to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

Okay then.

And those purported prominent health effects, like playing a positive role in treating muscle cramps,

are based on a study in which mice were injected with formaldehyde and vinegar.

What can spiruline actually do in people?

Spiruline can improve long-term blood sugar control in rats, but apparently not in humans.

Also disappointing when it comes to anti-inflammatory or antioxidant effects.

Spirulina may help lower cholesterol, though, perhaps due to reducing fat absorption,

and lower blood pressures by four or five points.

There was a recent trial where mild to moderate Alzheimer's patients were randomized to a gramma

day of spiruline or placebo for 12 weeks and appeared to end up slightly better off cognitively

than those in the control group.

So those are some of the potential upsides.

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