Are There Differences in Blue and Green Spirulina?

Blue vs. Green

Spirulina has been a popular health supplement for years, but now it has a new challenger on the court: blue spirulina.

One thing is for sure; blue spirulina is definitely Instagram-worthy.

People make some of the most out-of-this-world sea-inspired morning smoothies and hot drinks named after mythical creatures like unicorns and mermaids using blue spirulina.

Even though it makes some pretty pics for the ‘gram, this new type of spirulina has thrown many for a loop and caused many questions.

Is this a whole new type of algae?

Does the color of spirulina really make that big of a difference in its nutrition?

What health benefits does blue spirulina deliver?

Which should I choose, blue or green spirulina?

These are all valid questions. We all want to know what is behind that pretty blue exterior and find out the nutritional power it delivers.

We’ll answer those questions and more. Read on to learn the differences between blue and green spirulina.

What is Spirulina?

The original spirulina is a blue-green alga. Its scientific name is Arthrospira platensis. This seaweed of sorts is actually a cyanobacterium, which is a single-celled microorganism.

Although relatively new to the new Western diet, the Aztecs used it for centuries as a healing element and nutritional booster.

This alga grows in lakes, ponds, and even in the ocean. It needs the sun to grow through a process we all learned in elementary school; photosynthesis.

Spirulina, in its natural form, contains both blue and green-colored nutrients. It is considered a whole food with protein, vitamins, minerals, and much more.

Nutritional Benefits

There is a reason people tout spirulina as a superfood that delivers many health benefits. This seemingly useless pond scum has a dense nutritional profile that includes all your essential amino acids, omega-3, and omega-6 fatty acids.

Spirulina is known to improve your heart health, reduce allergy symptoms, decrease your blood sugar levels, fight against anemia and detoxify the blood.

That’s the basics about the spirulina most of us know, but there is a new type of spirulina on the market, a spinoff of the original, blue spirulina.

Learn more about the incredible health benefits you can reap by supplementing with spirulina by reading our article, 21 Health Benefits of Organic Spirulina.

There are critical differences between the two, besides just the color.

Blue spirulina is simply the phycocyanin extracted from the original spirulina, with none of its other nutrients.

Although many companies tag their product as blue spirulina when it is not pure phycocyanin, it must be a pure source of phycocyanin for a product to be considered blue spirulina.

You may be wondering at this point why someone would want to extract the phycocyanin from spirulina when they lose so much of the excellent stuff spirulina contains and all the health benefits that come with it.

The phycocyanin in spirulina may hold special powers of its own. Researchers have wondered what benefits would come with a supplement that’s a more potent version of this powerful antioxidant.

Let’s delve into the key pros and cons of both types of spirulina.

Green Spirulina

Green spirulina powder is a superfood powder that is hard to beat. It certainly has its share of pros from its supplementation, but there are still some notable cons.

These are the benefits that you get from using green spirulina as a supplement:

Pros of Supplementing with Green Spirulina

Full Nutritional Profile

Green spirulina is a food source since it contains more than just one nutrient. We’ve already remarked on how green spirulina can deliver protein, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals.

In fact, one tablespoon of green spirulina powder contains four grams of protein, plenty of B vitamins (the energy vitamins), and vitamins A, C, D, and K. It also delivers essential minerals such as potassium and magnesium.

One tablespoon of this supplement contains only one gram of fat, but they are the healthy fats that are good for your heart. It also only adds twenty calories to your diet and minimal carbs.

Not only is this supplement an overall wellness aid, but it can also help with weight loss since it gives you so much nutrition in so few calories.

It Contains Phycocyanin (aka Blue Spirulina) but Also …

Green spirulina has everything that blue spirulina has, plus a full antioxidant profile to boost effectiveness.

It offers Beta carotene, a pigment that improves eye health, which our bodies convert into vitamin A. It's also an antioxidant that fights cancer-causing free radicals. The beta carotene content of one gram of spirulina is 6.8 milligrams.

There are nine milligrams of zeaxanthin in each gram of spirulina. Zeaxanthin is another antioxidant with eye-healing powers.

It Contains Chlorophyll

Chlorophyll is the antioxidant that gives spirulina its green color. We know this antioxidant as the substance used in the photosynthesis process to draw energy from the sun.

Chlorophyll is known to be anti-cancerous, anti-aging, and be good for the skin.

Superoxide dismutase is another antioxidant found in spirulina. This enzyme breaks down any potentially harmful oxygen cell that could turn into a free radical and cause cellular damage.

Of course, we can’t forget about the antioxidant that has caused this entire debate, phycocyanin. There are 240 C-phycocyanins in a gram of spirulina and 519 phycocyanins total.

We’ll talk more about phycocyanins and their benefits when we discuss blue spirulina.

Better Absorption

The human body always absorbs more nutrients from whole foods than from an extract.

Since green spirulina is a whole food, the body gets the added nutrition that it contains and possibly absorbs more of the phycocyanins themselves.

Health Benefits

Hands down, green spirulina can boast many more health benefits than blue spirulina.

Here are the main benefits that you can get from green spirulina:

• Fights cancer
• Improves heart health and lowers cholesterol
• Lowers blood sugar levels
• Improves allergy symptoms
• Combats anemia
• Detoxifies the body
• Improves your immune system
• Helps your digestive system

Beauty Benefits

Along with the health benefits above, beauticians and beauty-minded DIY-ers have also used spirulina to improve their aesthetics.

Adding spirulina to a face mask may improve skin complexion.

Spirulina powder is also added to shampoos, conditioners, or deep conditioning masks to improve hair health. It can help add shine, strength, and growth.

When supplementing with spirulina, individuals report having stronger nails, bright eyes, beautiful hair, and clear skin.

Cons of Supplementing with Green Spirulina Powder

All good things have some downside, and green spirulina is not exempt from this rule.

The biggest complaint that most people have about green spirulina is its taste. Because it comes from fresh bodies of water and contains many minerals, it has a more fishy taste than blue spirulina.

This is also true of the smell, although you don’t have to worry about that affecting your breath since you supplement in small doses.

Of course, we must not forget that green spirulina can’t deliver that gorgeous blue color that makes you feel like you’re eating something ethereal.

Blue Spirulina

Unlike green spirulina, blue spirulina is a pretty simple supplement made of one powerful ingredient.

Here are the reasons to choose, or leave behind, this colored spirulina:

Pros of Supplementing with Blue Spirulina Powder

Traditionally, blue spirulina is simply made of pure phycocyanin. Using this spirulina version instead, you’ll get a more significant dose of this powerful antioxidant with each serving.

Similar to chlorophyll, phycocyanins help to absorb and transmit energy from the sun during photosynthesis.

Phycocyanins have their own list of health benefits, some of which they share with green spirulina.

Phycocyanins help combat cancer, have powerful anti-inflammatory properties, and boost the immune system.

Many people consider blue spirulina easier to take since you don’t have to deal with the fishy smell and taste that comes with green spirulina.

Lastly, blue spirulina has fewer heavy metals than green spirulina. If the blue spirulina is top quality, you should have no heavy metals in your powder.

Cons of Supplementing with Blue Spirulina Powder

The most adverse factor of using blue spirulina powder over green is that it lacks the other nutrients in the whole food spirulina supplement.

This reduces the energy you will get from your supplementation and also negates its ability to deliver as many health benefits.

Blue spirulina is often more expensive due to the multiple-step process that it takes to extract the phycocyanins from the green spirulina and the little product left as a result.

Which Spirulina Powder Should You Take?

With all of this data compiled, you still might be on the fence about which spirulina powder you want to invest in.

To help you decide, ask yourself if you fit into any of the categories below.

Looking for the Most Dense Nutritional Profile?

If you’re on a quest for a supplement that will boost your entire body’s health, green spirulina wins, hands down.

Green spirulina can deliver more health benefits and provides much more than just one powerful antioxidant.

It contains a little bit of every macronutrient that you need, fat, protein, and carbs.

It also contains many of the micronutrients that your body uses for optimal performance, including five different antioxidants.

Looking for More Bang for Your Buck?

To reap the most nutritional value for the cost, green spirulina is a better choice. The nutritional efficiency for the cost of the supplement favors green spirulina.

We’ve already discussed how blue spirulina is more expensive simply because it must undergo more extensive processing.

Can’t Stand the Taste of Spirulina?

If you really can’t stomach the taste of green spirulina, blue spirulina is the choice for you.

Since spirulina and other algae are the only phycocyanin sources, you can still get phycocyanin benefits by taking blue spirulina, which doesn’t have the same taste.

Looking for Pretty Pics for Your Instagram?

If you really like to have fancy food pics for your Instagram account, both green and blue will work. It all depends on preference.

Both types of spirulina look great in smoothie bowls, and both create healthy puddings, toasts, and drinks.

Don’t Settle for Just Any Spirulina

No matter which you choose, blue or green, you must still be choosy. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves spirulina for consumption, but it does not regulate its manufacturing and processing since it’s a supplement.

So you must do some research before adding it to your cart and going through checkout.

You don’t want to buy a spirulina product if it’s not non-GMO certified and it should be gluten-free.

Check to see if the product features a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) seal. This means that the laboratory, factory, and distributing centers that produce and deliver these supplements follow safe manufacturing practices.

Always, always read the label and check the list of ingredients. You don’t want any fillers, added chemicals, or sugars in your supplements.

In Conclusion

Is spirulina worth your attention? Without a doubt! With both green and blue, you add extra nutrition to your body that wouldn’t otherwise be there.

And while you know all about the benefits of both of these unique algae, you may still be unsure how to add them to your diet. Don’t worry, we have you covered there too!

If you want to make smoothies that look and taste great while still delivering a potent punch of antioxidants from spirulina, try our Collagen Peptides & Super Greens smoothie powder. It’s a delicious way to support healthy skin and hair, boost immunity, and improve digestive health in every sip.