RAW LIVER, RAW ORGANS

Consuming raw animal protein, especially that of organs has been occurring in this species' history for hundreds of thousands of years. Organ meats are the most nutritious, most readily digestible, and have the most vital healing effects on the body. Organs are large boosts of energy, Full of minerals, vitamins, enzymes, very high quality proteins, essential fatty acids, viable amino acids that are hard to find in other foods that aid in growth, recovery, and all aspects of cellular health. Organs are very high in vitality, the essence of what drives life is present and this is what is absorbed from consuming organs raw. The Nutrient profile is very much present to qualify these foods as the most energy providing, highly concentrated vitality boosting foods on the planet that also account for the very most important effects your body needs to live.




OF ALL THE ORGANS THE MOST REVERED, SOUGHT AFTER, AND HEAVILY CONCENTRATED ORGAN IS THE LIVER
THE LIVER IS YOUR MOST PRECIOUS ORGAN TO YOUR HEALTH, SO IT IS CONSISTENT THAT IT HAS THE MOST VITAL HEALTH EFFECTS WHEN CONSUMED

IT IS THE PRIZE IN NATURE, SAVED FOR THE ALPHA MALE AMONG LIONS AND OTHER CARNIVOROUS MAMMALS


KILLER WHALES HUNT GREAT WHITE SHARKS ONLY TO CONSUME THEIR LIVER

KNOW FOR ITS PROPERTIES OF CELLULAR REGENERATION AND ANTI-FATIGUE

EATEN RAW IN MANY CULTURES, ONLY THE HARD, ONLY THE STRONG

RAW LIVER FOR LIFEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

The benefits of eating RAW LIVER

December 10, 2008 in Uncategorized by Tiffany | 1 comment

Nourishing the Liver

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Spring time is when the ‘Chi’ is in the Liver Meridian more than any other time of year. The Liver energy is considered the General, the director of energy, the leader of all the meridians, the instigator, the birth. So we are at the beginning again. Each Spring, as it has done for millenia, chi begins its yearly movement round the body, focusing in each meridian as the moon waxes and wanes. (Forgive us those in the Northern Hemisphere for discussing Spring, while you are experiencing descent into winter darkness.)

In the spring. We are being born again, and as with our own birth, we are bestowed with the bounteous stores of energy our bodies have gathered during our time in the womb of the winter months. Suddenly our bodies release this energy, we clear away any accumulations and begin the ascent into the most Yang time of year, High Summer. We’ll need to be in tip top shape to cope with the extra energy needs of Summer. So our bodies begin to naturally detoxify.

Our Liver energy is responsible for the free flow of energy which is needed to clear away accumulations and project us into Summer. What happens in the body when the Liver Meridian is not flowing freely?

Symptoms such as:

• ligament and muscle tightness or pain (caused by Liver stuckness and or Yin deficiency*)
• depression with or without bursts of anger, grumpiness, crankiness (caused by stuckness and or Liver Yin deficiency*)
• itchy scalp, eyes, nasal passages and skin, usually put down to pollen allergies, but if the Liver was moist and moving well, these symptoms wouldn’t manifest
• psychosis caused by liver wind which occurs when Liver Yin is deficient
• digestive difficulties like bloating, constipation and diarrhoea alternating, floating stool – Liver stuckness impinging on the digestive processes
• angry red swelling pimples or sores on the face and neck – Liver Fire caused by either stuckness or Yin deficiency
• dry eyes – Yin deficiency
• headaches – Yin deficiency, fire, stuckness or wind
• irritability – Yin deficiency or stuckness

* Yin is the principle related to the feminine, nourishing, moistening, cooling energies of the body.

You may notice these symptoms appearing or worsening during Spring.

How do we deal with these symptoms?

The Liver is trying to do it’s job but in order to do so it needs, you guessed it, Nourishment.

Most of these symptoms are expressions of liver Yin deficiency so nourishing the Yin would be the best way to bring balance.

In the case of excessive symptoms like red hot pimples, painful muscles or ligaments or digestive difficulties involving pain some may be tempted to ‘cleanse’ the Liver with herbs and fasting. Be aware however, that most people have impaired digestion and starving it or giving the body only cold raw juices will not improve this, nor will herbs be very well digested. Instead, most excessive situations will respond to nourishment.

HOW DO YOU NOURISH THE LIVER?

Ancient Chinese Medical Texts prescribe the organ of an animal to treat the organ that is out of balance and its associated energy meridian. Kidney of an animal for the Kidney energy, tripe for digestion, liver for the Liver. The Li-Chi, a handbook of rituals published during China’s Han era (202B.C. to 220A.D.), lists liver as one of the Eight Delicacies.

Practically every cuisine has liver specialties. Some cultures place such high value on liver they consider it the seat of the soul. It is so sacred that human hands can’t touch it. As soon as a beast is slain, special implements extract the liver and cut it into as many pieces as there are members in the tribe. They would eat it there and then, raw and warm. Much like other great predators, ancient humans sought out older animals who would have larger livers and fatty offal and would often left their lean rump for the carrion.

It is widely known by all ancient societies that liver is the most nourishing food on the planet. Liver contains more nutrients, gram for gram, than any other food including:

• High-quality protein
• Vitamin A – nature’s most concentrated source
• All the B vitamins in abundance, particularly vitamin B12 if consumed raw
• One of our best sources of folic acid
• A highly usable form of iron
• Trace elements such as copper, zinc and chromium; liver is our best source of copper
• A yet unidentified but proven to exist anti-fatigue factor
• CoQ10, a nutrient that is especially important for cardio-vascular function if consumed raw
• A good source of purines, nitrogen-containing compounds that serve as precursors for DNA and RNA.

BUT ISN’T LIVER DANGEROUS?

In spite of widespread tradition and abundant scientific evidence on the health benefits of liver, conventional nutritionists now warn against its consumption.

Toxins

“What about the Toxins” is a common response to the suggestion of consuming liver. Indeed, one of the roles of the liver is to neutralize toxins (such as drugs and pesticides); but the liver does not store toxins. Instead, poisonous compounds that the body cannot neutralize and eliminate are likely to lodge in the fatty tissues and the nervous system. The liver is not a storage organ for toxins but it is a storage organ for many important nutrients (vitamins A, D, E, K, B12 and folic acid, and minerals such as copper and iron). These nutrients provide the body with some of the tools it needs to get rid of toxins.

So why would you want to clean something that is not dirty? Practitioners who recommend liver cleansing usually mean, deprive your body of any substantial food so your liver doesn’t have to work on digestion and can clean your blood of toxins. Again, this will only work well if your digestion is strong and you are not deficient of energy. Still, healing through nourishment is, in most cases, more valid a protocol.

It deserves to be mentioned: Do not consume the livers of animals who’ve lived in confinement. Pasturefed and Organic are better choices (if you’re in Australia organic means animals have access to grass and natural feed). If you only have supermarket options, ask for calves liver, they have lived on pasture.

Vitamin A Toxicity

Concerns about Vitamin As toxicity stem from studies in which moderate doses ofsynthetic vitamin A were found to cause problems and even contribute to birth defects. But natural vitamin A found in liver is an extremely important nutrient for human health and does not cause problems except in extremely large amounts.

The Merck Manual cites vitamin A toxicity in Arctic explorers who developed drowsiness, irritability, headaches and vomiting, with subsequent peeling of the skin, within a few hours of ingesting several million units of vitamin A from polar bear or seal liver. These foods are incredibly high in Vitamin A and need to be eaten with foods that are high in Vitamin D such as blubber from these animals. When A and D are in balance, that is a ration of 10:1, toxicity doesn’t occur so easily.

The putative toxic dose of 100,000 IU per day is contained in two-and-one-half 100-gram servings of duck liver or about three 100-gram servings of beef liver. From the work ofWeston Price, we can assume that the amount in primitive diets was about 50,000 IU per day.

A good recommendation for liver is one 100-gram serving of beef, lamb, bison or duck liver (about 4 ounces) once or twice a week, providing about 50,000 IU vitamin A per serving. Chicken liver, which is lower in vitamin A, may be consumed more frequently. If you experience headaches or joint pains at this level, cut back until the symptoms go away.

Eat it Raw

If you are trying to balance Liver yin deficiency eating your liver raw will nourish the yin more than cooked. Eating Liver raw ensures you get the full dose of B6 and B12, CoQ10, enzymes and possibly the anti-fatigue factor. It’s yin energy soothes dried liver symptoms (itchiness, headaches, dry eyes, muscle tightness, irritability).

The best way to eat raw liver is to freeze it for 14 days to avoid any parasitic infection (unlikely but possible especially in those with impaired immune systems). When frozen, cut it into teaspoon sized pieces and put them into little coin bags. Keep them in your freezer and use one baggie at at time, chopping into little pills to swallow with a drink. The primary benefit of swallowing liver pills frozen, is you can’t taste it. I take my liver pills with raw milk for the extra nourishment and so I don’t burp up the taste.

The physician Max Gerson used raw liver juice, extracted with a special juicer that pressed out the liquid, in his original healing protocol with pancreatic cancer patients. His daughter, Charlotte Gerson, later dropped this part of the protocol because of the unavailability of fresh clean liver without bacterial contamination. Now a crude liver extract injection or desiccated liver tablets are used in the current protocol. However, Dr. Nicholas Gonzalez, a New York doctor who treats cancer holistically, insists that all his patients eat raw liver.

Also grate frozen liver into the yolk of an egg or add it to tomato juice.

LIVER RECIPES

Lynn Razaitis, Leader of the Atlanta, Georgia Chapter of the Weston A Price Foundation, has found some wonderful medieval European recipes. She recommends florilegium.org, where participants provide translations and comments on recipes in old cookbooks.

She says,”Ancient cookbooks even describe the use of liver to thicken sauces, apparently by pressing raw puréed liver through a fine strainer and adding it to sauce that was then carefully heated but not boiled. (During Lent, fish livers served to thicken sauces!) As long as the liver flavor does not overpower the flavor of the sauce, this could be a good way to get liver into your family without them ever knowing it!

A liver recipe from a 1529 Spanish cookbook goes like this: “Take onions and cut them very small, like fingers, and fry them gently with fatty bacon; and then take the liver of a kid or a lamb or a goat and cut them into slices the size of a half walnut, and fry it gently with the onion until the liver loses its color; then take a crustless piece of toasted bread soaked in white vinegar and grind it well, and dissolve it with sweet white wine; and then strain it through a woolen cloth; and then cast it over the onion and the liver, all together in the casserole; and cast in ground cinnamon; and cook until it is well thickened and when it is cooked, prepare dishes.”

http://editor.nourishedmagazine.com.au/articles/anti-fatigue-factor-of-liver

Anti Fatigue Factor of Liver

By Joanne Hay

Taking raw liver as a superfood supplement is probably the best advice I have ever taken. I swallow about a teaspoon, frozen, cut into pillules, with a glass of raw milk and my energy level soars. This time of year is when I begin to take raw liver pills daily. In traditional chinese medicine Spring is the season the liver energy is at it’s highest, so now is the time to heal thy liver.

Lynn Razaitis, a writer and chapter for the Weston A Price Foundation reveals some interesting research on liver….

“Liver’s as-yet-unidentified anti-fatigue factor makes it a favorite with athletes and bodybuilders. The factor was described by Benjamin K. Ershoff, PhD, in a July 1951 article published in the Proceedings for the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine.

Ershoff divided laboratory rats into three groups. The first ate a basic diet, fortified with 11 vitamins. The second ate the same diet, along with an additional supply of vitamin B complex. The third ate the original diet, but instead of vitamin B complex received 10 percent of rations as powdered liver.

A 1975 article published in Prevention magazine described the experiment as follows: “After several weeks, the animals were placed one by one into a drum of cold water from which they could not climb out. They literally were forced to sink or swim. Rats in the first group swam for an average 13.3 minutes before giving up. The second group, which had the added fortifications of B vitamins, swam for an average of 13.4 minutes. Of the last group of rats, the ones receiving liver, three swam for 63, 83 and 87 minutes. The other nine rats in this group were still swimming vigorously at the end of two hours when the test was terminated. Something in the liver had prevented them from becoming exhausted. To this day scientists have not been able to pin a label on this anti-fatigue factor.””

From “The Liver Files” on the Weston A Price Website.

The wisdom of ancient chinese practises, where it is common to heal a complaint related to an organ by prescribing the consumption of that particular organ, corresponds to these findings. So if, like me, you are cleansing, increasing your exercise or in any way healing your liver at the moment, try raw liver. Of course, it must be organic! And be sure to freeze it for 14 days to avoid any parasitic infection (unlikely but possible). When frozen, cut it into teaspoon sized pieces and put them into little coin bags. Keep them in your freezer and when you’re after a boost, chop one into little pills to swallow. The primary benefit of swallowing liver pills frozen, is you can’t taste it. I take my liver pills with raw milk for the extra nourishment and so I don’t burp up the taste.

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About the Author...

Joanne Hay, Editor of Nourished Magazine, Chief Nourisher and Mother of three is very grateful to live in Byron Bay and be able to share all she has learned about Nourishment. She has trained as an Acupuncturist (unfinished), Kinesiologist (finished) and parent (never finished). She serves the Weston A Price Foundation as a chapter leader. She loves sauerkraut, kangaroo tail stew, home made ice cream, her husband Wes and her kids Isaiah, Brynn and Ronin (in no particular order…well maybe ice cream first).

KEFIR GRAINS/COCONUT WATER KEFIR

KEFIR:

Kefir is a cultured, enzyme-rich food filled with friendly micro-organisms that help balance your “inner ecosystem.” More nutritious and therapeutic than yogurt, it supplies complete protein, essential minerals, and valuable B vitamins.

• Kefir is simple and inexpensive to make at home.
• Kefir is used to restore the inner eco-system after antibiotic therapy.
• Kefir can be made into a delicious smoothie that kids love.
• Kefir is excellent nourishment for pregnant and nursing women, the elderly, and those with compromised immunity.

What if I’m lactose intolerant, and don’t do dairy? Or don’t digest milk products well? Is kefir right for me?
The beneficial yeast and friendly bacteria in the kefir culture consume most of the lactose (or milk sugar). Eat kefir on an empty stomach first thing in the morning before (or for) breakfast and you’ll be delighted to find it can be easily digested — as numerous people who have been lactose intolerant for years have discovered.

NUTRITIONAL CONTENT OF KEFIR:

In addition to beneficial bacteria and yeast, kefir contains minerals and essential amino acids that help the body with healing and maintenance functions. The complete proteins in kefir are partially digested and therefore more easily utilized by the body. Tryptophan, one of the essential amino acids abundant in kefir, is well known for its relaxing effect on the nervous system. Because kefir also offers an abundance of calcium and magnesium, which are also important minerals for a healthy nervous system, kefir in the diet can have a particularly profound calming effect on the nerves.

Kefir’s ample supply of phosphorus, the second most abundant mineral in our bodies, helps utilize carbohydrates, fats, and proteins for cell growth, maintenance and energy.

Kefir is rich in Vitamin B12, B1, and Vitamin K. It is an excellent source of biotin, a B Vitamin which aids the body’s assimilation of other B Vitamins, such as folic acid, pantothenic acid, and B12. The numerous benefits of maintaining adequate B vitamin intake range from regulation of the kidneys, liver and nervous system to helping relieve skin disorders, boost energy and promote longevity.

The Tibetan Milk Mushroom aka Kefir Grains

On April 24, 2011, in Kefir Grains, Tibetan Mushrooms, by KefirMaker

What’s in a name anyhow. Kefir Grains or Tibetan Milk Mushrooms?

I seem to have have acquired a relationship with my Kefir Grains over the past months because of the help they are giving me and relate to them more by what I believe to be their true name; “Tibetan Milk Mushrooms“. I mentioned this a few times in previous blog postings. Whether the Tibetans discovered how to put together this amazing group of bacteria together or not, I feel the word “Kefir”, meaning “fizzy”, does not do this complex of bacteria and yeast justice.  To refresh myself of this complex; the bacterial strains Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacilllus bulgaricus, work together and transform milk into the fizzy drink we call Kefir Milk. The thirty or so strains of bacteria and yeast found in the Tibetan Milk Mushroom Grain, (AKA the Kefir Grain), band together to form a complex ecology capable of digesting almost any food source and fending off harmful pathogens. The microbes of the Tibetan Mushroom even provide themselves with little homes in the form of grains that are composed of a polysaccharide matrix. So in my books anyhow, the Tibetan “Milk” Mushroom creates the fizzy milk drink we call Kefir Milk which I continue to consume every day.

http://kefirgrains.info/?p=755

TIBICOS: JAPANESE WATER CRYSTALS: WATER KEFIR GRAINS

The health benefits are endless and just like Milk Kefir grains, the Water Kefir Grains will supply you with all the probiotics in an awesome Flat or Fizzy clear drink. Tibicos, (aka Water Kefir Grains or Japanese Water Crystals),  are also good for those that cannot tolerate Milk Kefir.

To make a Kefir Water drink you basically do it the same way as with Kefir milk except you will be using mineral water or Well water and sugar. A 1/4 cup organic, (can be white),  sugar dissolved into 2 cups of Mineral water. (Do not use right from the tap, boil first then let cool to get rid of chlorine). Now add your Tibicos into your jar of sweetened water.  (I have about 3 tablespoons at the moment going into 2 cups of water). Cover with a coffee filter to keep out the bugs and let sit for 48 hours. After this strain out your Tibicos and start your next batch. Either enjoy the drink right away or let sit, (double fermentation), for another 48 hours with some added fruit or fruit juices. If you want Fizzy then keep sealed. If you want it flat then keep the lid loose. There is much to blog about this and I will as the days go by.

As with Kefir Milk Grains, it is very important that you NEVER use any metal utensils or tools when handling living cultures such as the Water or Milk Kefir Grains. They don’t like metal and may be adversely affected if exposed to it. The exception to the rule is stainless steel. Aluminum is the destroyer of the good bacteria in the Kefir grain.

http://www.yumuniverse.com/2011/01/28/the-benefits-of-non-dairy-coconut-kefir/

The Benefits of Non-Dairy Coconut Kefir

January 28, 2011 9:30 am
By Heather Crosby

9

I can’t quite remember where I first heard about coconut kefir, but I do remember what made me look into it enough to try it. Donna Gate’s important book about controlling candida, The Body Ecology Diet: Recovering Your Health and Rebuilding Your Immunity, was my catalyst.

For 21 days so far, I have followed her guidelines. I have suspected for quite a while that I have a Candida Albicans overgrowth. I have experienced many of the symptoms, and if they weren’t enough to prove it to me, actually experiencing the drug-addiction-like withdrawl from sugar the first week, did. See, sugar is the food for yeast and without it, yeast will die off and the yeast doesn’t want to die so the cravings are off the charts.

I cannot explain how important this experience was for me. It was shocking. The changes I see in my body, strength, focus and sleep so far have me almost convinced to never eat sugar again. While I know that is definitely not possible, and that once I get control over the candida overgrowth I can have sugar here and there again, my feelings about sugar have changed. I look forward to the benefits of keeping it to a minimum in my diet and truly enjoying it when I occasionally “go there.” As Dr. Jenna Taylor said in a recent YU interview, “When you see [changes] firsthand, it is always more meaningful.”

One of the important ways to keep a candida overgrowth from occurring is to populate your intestinal microflora with plenty of the ”good guys”—probiotics. Probiotics are the organisms that help your body defend against disease causing bacteria, viruses, yeast and other unwelcome and dangerous invaders. You want more probiotics than yeast in your gut to keep a healthy balance, which results in a strong immune system. Say goodbye to colds, folks!

Taking probiotics also encourage the growth of other friendly bacteria in the gut or intestines. They do this by attacking microbes that are not good for the body and destroying them. Probiotics also compete for food that organisms like Candida Albicans thrive on. This competition for food ensures that all the microbes do not dominate the body and a balance is maintained.

You can easily take probiotics is capsule or powder form, but you can also prepare “food tools” to create a vibrant inner ecosystem. Coconut kefir yogurt and fermented beverages, in addition to fermented veggies, are a way to do this.

Traditional kefir is made with dairy and kefir grains (bacterial colonies), and while I am completely behind the probiotic benefits, dairy is acid-forming and not for me. Plus, I’m not a baby cow, but I digress.

To make non-dairy kefir you can ferment the water in a fresh young coconut to create a champagne-like, fizzy probiotic beverage and/or blend the highly digestible, enzyme- and protein-rich meat into a pudding and ferment it into yogurt. The liquid of the young coconut has an abundance of minerals and electrolytes. Check out this list of coconut kefir benefits from The Body Ecology:

- – -It stops your cravings for sugar.
- – -
It aids digestion of all foods
- – -
It has a tonifying affect on the intestines and flattens the abdomen
- – -
It appears to cleanse the liver. In Chinese medicine, the liver rules the skin, eyes, and joints. Coconut water kefir eases aches and joint pains. Many people report having a prettier complexion. They experience the brown liver spots on the skin fading away and skin tags, moles, or warts drying up and disappearing. Vision also improves.
- – -
It contains high levels of valuable minerals, including potassium, natural sodium, and chloride, which explains why the hair, skin and nails become stronger and have a prettier shine.
- – -
It appears to have a beneficial, cleansing effect on the endocrine system (adrenals, thyroid, pituitary, ovaries).Women find that their periods are cleaner and healthier; some who had experienced early menopause have found this important monthly cleansing returning again.
- – -
It increases energy and gives you an overall feeling of good health.
- – -

I have experienced many, if not all, of these benefits so far this month.

COCONUT KEFIR YOGURT RECIPE:

http://www.yumuniverse.com/2011/01/31/easy-coconut-kefir-yogurt/

COCONUT WATER KEFIR RECIPE:

http://www.yumuniverse.com/2011/02/02/easy-coconut-kefir-beverage/

NASSIM HARAMEIN, FUNDAMENTAL NATURE OF THE UNIVERSE

Nassim Haramein at the Rogue Valley Metaphysical Library

The fundamental nature of the universe and creation that includes black holes, gravitational forces, dimensions, and the very structure of space itself. Giant ufos, crop circles, Alien-sun gods.
http://theresonanceproject.org/

GROW GUIDE: LIVE SPRULINA + CHLORELLA

(CHLORELLA GROWS THE SAME WAY)

Growing Spirulina at Home

June 16, 2011, by Dr. Aaron Baum
AlgaeIndustryMagazine.com
he popular image of algae farming is bubbling green columns and white-coated scientists, and seems out of reach for ordinary people. Is the experience of algae farming limited to professionals? A growing network of DIY algae farmers is proving that we can all participate, by creating successful algae ponds and growth tanks in our own homes.
These are not mere science projects. Because of the high rate of algae growth and their potential nutrient density, it is possible to produce enough in a single window to significantly supplement an ordinary person’s experimentalist’s diet.
Helping these folks is the mission of our lab and website, Algaelab.org. Although there are many kinds of algae, and we’re committed to helping people grow any strain they’re interested in, we believe that Spirulina is the best species for DIYers to start with, for three main reasons:

Spirulina in microscope

1. The unique health value of live, fresh Spirulina, even at small doses.
Just a few grams of Spirulina powder a day have been shown to have definite health benefits. Spirulina is by far the most-studied nutritional algae, both in terms of its benefits and lack of harm. It has been shown to make a difference in preventing and treating ailments from obesity to malnutrition, cancer to heart disease.
These studies are on powdered Spirulina. Though it hasn’t been studied, it seems obvious that the live, fresh stuff—which is only available if you grow it yourself—would be even healthier. Personally, I find that eating a few grams of Spirulina with every meal makes the meal more satisfying, smoothes out sugar highs and lows, and gives me extended endurance and stamina.
2. Spirulina is safe and easy to grow.
As innocent as it may seem, Spirulina is in fact an extremophile, capable of growing in extremely alkaline water inhospitable to almost every other organism. Most other algae grow in essentially pH-neutral water, which supports the growth of a vast range of algae—including types that produce toxins—as well as doing nothing to inhibit the growth of other potentially harmful organisms such as bacteria. In my biofuel-algae work, we’re constantly fending off invasive species. It’s not just an academic concern. Since it is generally hard to control the growth of possibly harmful stuff (and although it’s fun, we think you should look at your culture under the microscope every day), this aspect of Spirulina cultivation is pretty key to growing pure and safe cultures on a DIY basis. One of the best aspects of growing your own Spirulina is knowing that the product that you are growing is as pure and free of contamination as possible.
3. Ease of harvest, and no need for further processing.

Harvesting Spirulina with a cloth filter

Even when an algal culture looks nice and thick, it’s probably still about 99.9% water. Separating the desired .1% from all that water can be a real trick. As a general rule, algal cells are tiny, roughly spherical, and devilishly difficult to pull out of the water without some special (read: expensive) tech. This is where the corkscrew shape of Spirulina cells comes in; when a culture is poured through nothing more complex than a fine cloth, it filters out easily, leaving a thick paste, which can be consumed immediately. Contrast that with the need for cell rupturing, drying, and product extraction in typical algal production systems, and it’s easy to see why Spirulina is a good place to start.
So if you or someone you know wants to get involved, what is necessary? Nothing more than a sunny window, some sort of transparent container, and a kit of supplies. If you want to assemble your own kit, we can set you up with spirulina starter, growing tips, and any other equipment you might want.

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Some FAQs about growing algae at home:
How long does it take to grow from the kit with the 1 liter starter bottle, until I can start harvesting from my tank?
Grow-up proceeds in stages—see the instructions; you put half the contents of the bottle into one quarter of the tank (2.5 gallons for a 10-gallon tank) to start with, which results in a very thin culture at first, which will thicken over time. After a couple of weeks, the algae should be thick enough that you can double the culture volume, then after a week or so, double again, so that the tank is full. Once the tank is full, the algae are thick (3cm Secchi or less, see below), and the pH has been at least 10 for 24 hours, you should be able to harvest. This process can take from 3 to 6 weeks.

AlgaeLab DIY Spirulina Growth Kit

Can I harvest multiple times?
Once you have a thriving culture (which typically takes a few weeks), you can harvest from it regularly (how often depends mostly on how much light the algae get, the more the better); each time you harvest, you add a little Make-Up Mix to the culture to make up for the nutrients that are taken out in the harvested algae.
What kind of water should I use to make the growth medium?
We use tap water, filtered through activated carbon (such as a Brita) or through a ceramic filter (such as a Berkey). Algae are quite sensitive to chlorine (which is why it’s used in the first place!), so tap water is only usable if the chlorine has been removed—which can be done using products sold for fish aquariums. The afore-mentioned filters, and de-chlorination, leave minerals in the water, which is generally a good thing; if you want to use de-mineralized water such as distilled or reverse osmosis water, or if your water is particularly soft, you may get better growth if you add some combination of 0.1 g/L magnesium sulfate, 0.5 g/L potassium sulfate, and/or 0.1 g/L calcium chloride (or lime or plaster). That said, we have yet to hear of anyone having trouble growing in non- or de-chlorinated drinking water of any kind.
How much Spirulina will I be able to harvest from my tank, how often, and for how long?
If you follow the instructions and thus provide proper temperature, pH, and nutrients, yield will depend mostly on the hours of bright light the tank receives. This generally means sunlight. (See below for a discussion of artificial lighting.) 
In a south-facing window with plenty of direct sun exposure, you can get roughly a tablespoon of live Spirulina harvest from a typical 10-gallon tank every other day. Two or three such tanks (or bigger) can fit in a window for daily harvest.
For how long? If the proper amount of make-up mix is added back to the tank after every harvest, the nutrient balance can be maintained for a high level of growth for about four to six months, at which point the pH will have risen too high (11+) for good growth. At this point you simply mix up a new batch of medium, harvest all your Spirulina, and immediately put them in the new medium.  After a couple of weeks your culture should be full, dense, and ready for harvest again, ready to start the 4-6 month cycle. So, you need enough starter mix to renew your culture every 4-6 months, though it’s a good idea to keep some on hand in case anything else might go wrong with your medium (though this is unusual). There is no reason why you shouldn’t be able to keep going this way indefinitely. The formulae for the starter and make-up mix are in the instructions if you want to make your own.
How do I use the Make-Up Mix?
As described above, the make-up mix is used only at harvest time (or when removing dead algae). Add an amount of make-up mix proportional to the harvested algae—one teaspoon of the mix per tablespoon of harvested algae, plus a dash of iron juice. This makes up for the nutrients lost in the harvested algae, thus the name.
How do I keep my Spirulina alive when I go on vacation?  Can they be “parked” for a while?
The trick is to slow down their metabolism by lowering the tank temperature. This can be done simply by turning off the heater. The tank should also be kept from strong direct light during this time as well, although it does need some light. If kept in this way, it should be fine for several weeks or more. When bringing it back from this state, raise the temperature and light in stages, over a few days, and the algae will be fine.
Can I use artificial lights to grow my algae?
Some algae-nauts have had good results from using artificial illumination, but it’s worth remembering that direct sunshine is about 100x brighter (~100,000 lux) than the light in what would be considered a very well artifically-lit room (1000 lux). It’s hard to compete with the sun. If using artificial lighting, it’s smart to take advantage of the heat generated by the light fixture as well. See below for a discussion of the optimal color for an artificial light source.
Do I need to tell you to be very careful about combining water and electricity? Watch for dripping water going along power cords – keep plugs high so you won’t get shocked!
What are the health benefits of eating Spirulina?
Too many to mention here; take a look around the Web for a more complete picture. In a nutshell, because it lacks a cell wall or any other indigestible components, Spirulina is a super-concentrated, highly available nutrient source, which enhances the nutrition of any food eaten with it. Spirulina is about 65% complete protein, and the remainder is packed with anti-oxidants, essential omega-3 fatty acids, and other compounds with healthful anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and anti-cancer properties. As a blue-green algae, its nutritional value is unique, since blue-green algae split evolutionarily from green plants approximately a billion years ago.
My experience with Spirulina (I eat about 15 grams a day) is that it greatly improves my stamina, raises and levels out my mood, and speeds up all kinds of healing. The first two effects are consistent with clinical studies that show a large reduction (up to 50%)in the glycemic index of foods eaten with even a small amount (2.5%) of Spirulina.
Is live Spirulina better for you than the powder or pills I can get at the health food store?
All studies of the health benefits of Spirulina have been on the dead, powdered stuff. It stands to reason, though, that the live, fresh version of such a highly perishable food would have superior properties, and this is my experience, having eaten both. Purveyors of the powder claim that they take every precaution to preserve the nutritional properties of the algae, but what would you rather eat, a fresh blueberry, or a powdered blueberry?
How long does the live, fresh Spirulina last? How can I preserve it?
Fresh Spirulina, once removed from the preserving alkaline environment of the tank, is like raw eggs in its perishability—it should be eaten or refrigerated within an hour or so of harvest. It will last in the fridge for up to three days. If frozen, it lasts indefinitely; if dehydrated (and kept dry), it will last for about a year, longer if kept in an airtight container. It’s not hard to tell if it does go bad—it smells like rotten eggs.
Is there an optimal artificial light to use for growing Spirulina?
As a general rule, a plant or alga (or anything else for that matter) absorbs the wavelengths (colors) that are not present in its apparent color, which is made up of the wavelengths that it bounces out without absorbing. So, the chlorophyll of green plants absorbs mainly red and blue light, and bounces out green light. Green plants need both red and blue light to thrive. Blue-green algae, such as spirulina, have special accessory pigments called phycocyanins and allophycocyanins, which allow them to capture more red and orange light (and to a lesser extent yellow and green) than green plants. They do have chlorophyll (only slightly different from green plants’ chlorophyll), so they also use blue light.
For these reasons, ordinary “grow lights”, which are optimized for green land plants, are not particularly good for growing Spirulina or other blue-green algae (though they will work). A light with more red and orange light—i.e. a “warmer” color—would be more efficient for growth, as a higher fraction of the light will be absorbed. Another approach would be to use white light supplemented by a red-orange light source (peaking at 620-650 nm), to hit the phyco-pigments better. I have used the “warmer” colored compact fluorescents with some success, but haven’t done any side-by-side testing. In general, though, the color of the light source is not as important in my experience as getting the nutrients and temperature right, and providing LOTS of light, which is a lot easier using sunshine!

CHLORELLA AND SPRIULINA

 http://www.chlorellafactor.com/

The astounding health benefits of chlorella and spirulina

What can these two superfoods really do for your health? They offer a stunning array of health benefits. Chlorella and spirulina have been shown to be effective in treating and even reversing the following conditions:

• Cancers (all types)
• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Hypoglycemia
• Arthritis
• Depression
• Severe liver damage and liver disorders
• Intestinal ulcers
• Hemorrhoids
• Asthma
• High blood pressure
• Constipation
• Bleeding gums
• Infections
• Inflammation of joints and tissues
• Body odor / breath odor
• Various degenerative diseases
• Essential fatty acid deficiencies
• Mineral deficiencies (magnesium is a common deficiency)

Both chlorella and spirulina are particularly useful for:

• People with poor digestion and assimilation (these micro-algae are easy to digest and absorb)
• People with poor vitality and anemia
• Individuals who consumer large quantities of animal protein (the micro-algae protein, in contrast, is easier to digest and offers a far healthier balance of minerals)
• People who eat refined or processed foods
• People who take prescription drugs (spirulina protects the kidneys and liver)
• People who are overweight or obese
• People who engage in physical exercise and / or strength training
• People with low energy levels (feeling depleted, exhausted, etc.)

In fact, both chlorella and spirulina have been described as "the perfect food:"


Chlorella:

Chlorella has been touted as the perfect whole food. Aside from being a complete protein and containing all the B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E, and the major minerals (with zinc and iron in amounts large enough to be considered supplementary), it has been found to improve the immune system, improve digestion, detoxify the body, accelerate healing, protect against radiation, aid in the prevention of degenerative diseases, help in treatment of Candida albicans, relieve arthritis pain and, because of its nutritional content, aid in the success of numerous weight loss programs.

- Earl Mindell's Vitamin Bible

Spirulina:

Spirulina's predigested protein provides building material soon after ingestion, without the energy-draining side effects of meat protein; its mucopolysaccharides relax and strengthen connective tissue while reducing the possibility of inflammation; its simple carbohydrates yield immediate yet sustained energy; its GLA fatty acids improve hormonal balance; and its protein-bonded vitamins and minerals, as found in all whole foods, assimilate better than the synthetic variety. Spirulina can generally be considered an appropriate food for those who exercise vigorously, as evidenced by the many world-class athletes who use it

- Healing With Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford

Chlorella and spirulina have such strong health benefits that even well-known doctors and authors use these products and note their benefits:

It is possible that the GLA found in spirulina and possibly these other products accounts for some of the positive effects that people experience when using them, including decreased appetite, weight loss, and improved energy levels, especially mental energy. I personally have used all of these products and must say I have experienced a subtle increase in mental clarity and alertness (not like a nervous, caffeine-type stimulation). These algae must subtly stimulate our nervous systems or release certain internal neurochemicals that create this "up" feeling.

- Staying Healthy With Nutrition by Elson Haas, M.D.

In all, these two superfoods are effective in not just reversing a long list of serious diseases (discuss in far more detail below), they are powerful health enhancers that demonstrate phenomenal benefits even to people who are in "good" health!

he treasure inside: chlorella & spirulina

Both chlorella and spirulina are packed with nutrients and phytochemicals that boost health and fight disease. In this section, we'll take a closer look at their major nutritional components and see just what these superfoods have to offer.

Chlorella is a tiny, single-celled water-grown alga containing a nucleus and an enormous amount of readily available chlorophyll. It also contains protein (approximately 58 percent), carbohydrates, all of the B vitamins, vitamins C and E, amino acids, and rare trace minerals. In fact, it is virtually a complete food. It contains more vitamin B12 than liver does, plus a considerable amount of beta-carotene.

- A-to-Z Guide To Supplements, James F. Balch M.D.

Protein

Spirulina is simply the world's most digestible natural source of high quality protein, far surpassing the protein bioavailability of even beef (which most people consider to be the #1 source of protein). The digestive absorption of each gram of protein in spirulina is four times greater than the same gram of protein in beef. And since spirulina already contains three times more protein (by weight) to begin with, the net result is that, ounce for ounce, spirulina offers twelve times more digestible protein than beef.
That's an astounding difference. It means that spirulina is the ideal food source for people working to get more protein into their diets:

• People on low-carb, high-protein diets like the Atkins Diet or the South Beach Diet.
• People who exercise vigorously or engage in strength training.
• People who are frail, who have trouble gaining weight, or who are malnourished.

In fact, there's probably no better single food source on the planet than spirulina for these people. The protein found in spirulina is also a complete protein, meaning that it contains all eight essential amino acids, unlike beans, whole grains and other plant-based foods that typically lack one or more amino acids.
Personally, I've found spirulina to be the perfect replacement for meat in my own diet. For a variety of reasons that I don't have the space to write about here, I prefer to avoid animal meats in my diet. But tofu and soy products have never given me the "fullness" feeling of animal proteins. Spirulina is the only plant I've ever found that gives me as much protein as eating animal products. And I only need a few grams of spirulina to get the job done: I frequently take 5 grams with each meal, and I find it does the job of eating an entire serving of animal meat.
When it comes to protein, the bottom line is that spirulina is the world's best source for it. You can't grill it like a steak, but if you really want the best protein nutrition you can get, spirulina can't be beat.

The vitamin and mineral content of chlorella and spirulina

I've already mentioned many of the vitamins found in these micro-algae: all of the B vitamins, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, provitamin A, and so on. But what's important about these vitamins isn't just that they are present: it's the fact that they are found in their natural forms in these micro-algae.
In other words, if you take "bulk" vitamin supplements, you are often taking synthetic vitamins that have been manufactured in a chemical plant from ingredients that you'd never normally eat. These synthetic vitamins may be molecularly similar to the vitamins found in plants, but clinical trial show that they aren't the same in effect. There's something almost magical about vitamins found in plants: they're simply more healthful, more absorbable, and more effective at getting the job done.
That's why I never recommend people take isolated vitamins in pill form. There's simply no need to. The best way to take vitamins is to eat vitamin-rich superfoods like chlorella and spirulina. In this way, you get all the vitamins you need, in the proper natural form that the human body was meant to digest.
And you don't have to worry about dosages, either. If you take both chlorella and spirulina, you automatically get near-perfect ratios of the most important vitamins and nutrients your body needs. That's one reason why these superfoods are called "perfect foods." In fact, you can eat these in large quantities without any worry of overdosing on individual vitamins.
Whatever vitamin you need: C, E, B, A, and so on, chances are that it's found in either chlorella or spirulina.

Minerals

Virtually all Americans are deficient in certain minerals like magnesium and zinc. That's because all refined foods have had their mineral content stripped. When a food processing plant refines wheat berries to make white flour, it removes as much as 98% of some minerals. The resulting powdery substance -- white flour -- is technically unfit for human consumption because it is nutritionally deficient and simply cannot sustain human life. That's why they have to "enrich" these flours: by law, certain vitamins have to be put back in just to prevent the more obvious nutritional deficiency diseases like beriberi and ricketts!
By eating these processed foods, and by not getting enough "natural" foods like chlorella and spirulina, most Americans simply don't get enough magnesium and zinc in their diets, not to mention trace minerals and other macrominerals. Worse, yet, virtually all low-carb dieters are calcium deficient due to the high acidity of their diets and their near-complete lack of dietary magnesium thanks to eating animal meats and dairy products. Although they are technically eating moderate amounts of calcium found in meats and dairy products, their bodies can't use it because they don't have the magnesium and Vitamin D necessary to turn calcium into strong bones.
What all these people have in common is a serious need for mineral balance in their bodies. They need more magnesium, more zinc, more trace minerals, and better sources of potassium and calcium, just to name a few. Truly, this need is present across the board. Hardly a person can be found who isn't deficient in one or more of these minerals.
With chlorella and spirulina, however, you can reverse your mineral deficiencies because these superfoods are rich in minerals! An ounce of chlorella, for example, contains far more calcium than an ounce of milk. So much for the "milk builds strong bones" hype: chlorella's calcium and magnesium content far surpasses milk in building strong bones.
Many people, in trying to deal with calcium deficiencies, take calcium supplements containing calcium carbonate. That's made primarily from ground up seashells, and this brings up a question: do people really need to be eating ground up seashells? Of course not. The idea of eating seashells is absurd, yet that's exactly what people are doing when they take common calcium supplements. Sure, you're "taking" the calcium, but are you absorbing it? Probably not.
Similarly, many people take coral calcium supplements, which are made from ground up coral reefs instead of ground up seashells. Once again, it's probably better than taking nothing at all, but were human beings really meant to eat coral reefs? Of course not! Scuba divers like to observe coral reefs, but you never find them chewing on reefs. This is not a food source intended for human beings. In fact, no animal on planet Earth eats coral reefs!
Plants, on the other hand, are fully intended for human consumption. The human digestive system reveals this truth in rather obvious ways, such as the need for dietary fiber in order to support healthy bowel movements, not to mention the existence of certain vegetable-grinding instruments found in the mouths of every human being: they're known as "molar teeth." Clearly, our bodies were designed to chew vegetables, not seashells or coral reefs. Not surprisingly, then, it's plants that offer the healthiest sources of the vitamins and minerals our bodies really need -- in the form we need. Put simply, the minerals in micro-algae are easily absorbable by the human body. If you experienced some health benefits from taking coral calcium, you'll be stunned at the much stronger benefits from consuming micro-algae.

The plants richest in chlorophyll—the micro-algae and cereal grasses—were cited earlier as good sources of magnesium. Green plants also have the greatest concentration of calcium of any food; because of their magnesium, chlorophyll, and other calcium cofactors, increasing the consumption of green plants often is a simple solution to calcium problems.

- Healing With Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford

he essential fatty acids found in chlorella and spirulina

Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) are the "good" fats you've been increasingly hearing about in recent years. Your body can't live without them. They're needed for a healthy heart, a healthy nervous system, and especially a healthy brain (the human brain is around 80% fat).
You've no doubt heard about omega-3 EFAs. Perhaps you've also heard of GLA (gamma-linolenic acid, found in borage oil) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid, found in many fish oils). If you've read anything about low-carb dieting or the "Mediterranean Diet," you know that the consumption of these healthy oils, from sources such as flax oil, produces astounding health benefits in the human body. Heart disease and various cardiovascular disorders respond quickly and positively. Brain function is improved, diabetes is brought under control, blood sugar is regulated, and cancer risk soon plummets.
Most of us think of these oils coming from fish or seeds. That's why I was pleasantly surprised to learn that chlorella and spirulina contain these essential fatty acids! I was stunned to learn that Spirulina contains a sizable dose of GLA and omega-3 fatty acids. It is especially high in GLA, which is something that is almost universally lacking in the American diet.
Human breast milk is high in GLA, probably due to the infant child's need for brain-building fats. And since many infants never gained the important nutritional benefits of their mothers' milk, they've been GLA-deficient for their entire lives. The American diet of processed foods contains virtually no GLA whatsoever. And low-carb dieters aren't getting any either, unless they specifically supplement it. But you can get it from spirulina:

The richest whole-food sources of GLA are mother's milk, spirulina micro-algae, and the seeds of borage, black currant, and evening primrose. GLA is important for growth and development, and is found most abundantly in mother's milk; spirulina is the next-highest whole-food source. We often recommend spirulina for people who were never breast-fed, in order to foster the hormonal and mental development that may never have occurred because of lack of proper nutrition in infancy. The dosage is the amount of oil that provides 150-350 mg GLA daily. A standard 10-gram dosage of spirulina provides 131 mg of GLA

- Healing With Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford

I'd like to note the last sentence of the quote mentioned above: a standard 10-gram dosage of spirulina provides 131mg of GLA. This is important to understand, because almost everyone who takes spirulina or chlorella takes far too little to be effective. They frequently make the mistake of thinking these superfoods are medicines or drugs, and they take one or two tablets at a time. That provides only one gram of spirulina, which is 1/10th the recommended standard dosage. You can't get much benefit from just one gram. These superfoods aren't drugs. They aren't medications. They are foods. You can eat them like you eat a salad or a steak. You can eat a hundred grams a day and be all the better for it.
I discuss this in more detail in a later section, but the important point here is that most people take far too little to be of much help! If you really want to get well on these superfoods, you've got to take large quantities. These are foods, remember, not pills. As I mentioned earlier, I take 5 grams at each meal, and even that dose is considered only half of a "standard" dosage.

The astounding chlorophyll content of chlorella and spirulina

Chlorella is the richest source of chlorophyll on planet Earth. What's so good about chlorophyll? There's nothing more cleansing and detoxifying than chlorophyll. And people who follow Western diets (high in processed foods and animal foods) are in desperate need of cleansing and detoxifying.
Here's something interesting: chlorophyll actually helps remove heavy metals from your body that have accumulated due to the ingestion of contaminated food products. Certain sea foods are especially known to contain dangerous levels of heavy metals like mercury, but these contaminants are also found in animal products and even non-organic crops. If you've been eating refined foods, you undoubtedly have mercury, cadmium, arsenic, lead, PCBs and other contaminants in your body. The chlorophyll in chlorella actually helps remove those heavy metals from your body, which can have seemingly miraculous benefits to your health.
Another common source for contaminants is mercury fillings used by dentists. They call them "silver fillings," actually, since they don't want to openly admit they're still putting mercury -- one of the most potent nerve toxins on the planet -- into the mouths of patients. These mercury fillings emit a steady stream of mercury vapor that gets absorbed into your body. Frequently, small bits of these mercury fillings crack, break off, and are swallowed with your food. In this way, nearly all dental patients in America and other "civilized" countries are subjected to routine mercury poisoning at the hands of their dentists.
Chlorella can help protect you against this mercury be escorting the mercury out of your body before it can do damage. If you take chlorella before and after receiving dental work, you will help protect yourself from the toxic effects of mercury fillings. This is especially important if you decide to have your mercury fillings removed, as more and more people are doing. The very process of drilling them out results in a tidal wave of mercury exposure in your body. Having a stomach full of chlorella offers considerable protection against the mercury bits you inevitably swallow during this procedure.
I underwent a full-scale mercury filling removal program myself. It required nearly ten sessions in the chair, and I used chlorella each time. As a result, I suffered no ill effects from the mercury removal. Today, my mouth is 100% free of mercury, and the chlorella that I continue to take on a daily basis protects me from dietary mercury that might find its way to my dinner plate.
Chlorophyll does much more than protect you from mercury, however: it's also a general detoxifier that supports liver function so that your lives can do a better job of eliminating toxins from your system.

Chlorella vs. spirulina

In this section, I've talked about chlorella and spirulina as if they were twins. But they aren't: each has a unique nutritional profile. Although I strongly recommend using them both as part of every meal (I do), you may find yourself needing one or the other based on certain circumstances. So here's the score:

Chlorella:

• A better source of chlorophyll, which makes it more detoxifying and cleansing.
• It is especially good for people with liver disorders or people who drink or smoke.
• It is very helpful for people with dry stools who suffer from constipation.
• It is especially good for people who need "rebuilding" -- people who suffer from degenerative diseases (muscle, nervous system, etc.) or people who are frail.
• Contains Chlorella Growth Factor (CGF), which boosts the immune system, reverses cancer, and offers other health benefits.
• CGF also helps repair nerve tissues throughout the body and is excellent for treating degenerative brain and nerve disorders.

Spirulina:

• A superior source of digestible protein. Contains 12 times the protein of beef.
• Easier on the digestive system than chlorella, which can cause diarrhea in sensitive individuals.
• The best source of gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), a "good" fat necessary for the human brain, proper heart function, and other body systems.
• Contains phycocyanin, a potent anti-cancer phytochemical that also gives spirulina its characteristic blue hue.

As you can see, both chlorella and spirulina offer a vast range of health benefits, and many of their strengths overlap. That's why I generally recommend that people consume both in substantial quantities. As a general rule, you should consume spirulina and chlorella in a 2:1 ratio. In other words, if you take 10 grams of spirulina a day, take 5 grams of chlorella, too.
If you are suffering from a particular health condition, increase your consumption of the micro-algae best suited for that condition. These health conditions are discussed in more detail below. Recommended dosages of chlorella and spirulina are also covered in more detail in the "how to take chlorella and spirulina" section later in this guide.
Now we'll take a look at the use of chlorella and spirulina for specific health conditions and dietary patterns.