spirulina….. has anyone tried this?

[SarahJane1471]

Has anyone tried this? A friend has recommended it to me and I’m not sure 🤔.

Any ideas?

[Hidden]

Spirulina contains iodine. Why did your friend recommend it to you?

[SarahJane1471 in reply to Hidden]

It was recommended for arthritis in my knees. I’ve been reading about it and I see that not all the products have iodine.

It seems to be a superfood. I’m curious 🧐

[Hidden in reply to SarahJane1471]

I wasn´t aware there are different types of spirulina, and that not all products contain iodine.

[SarahJane1471 in reply to Hidden]

I think it’s more about where in the world it’s harvested and whether the heavy metals have been removed etc. I’m still trying to read up about it all to be honest.

[Suzi-B in reply to Hidden]

can i just add it’s an alge packed full of iron i’ve never taken it for my thyroid i didn’t even know that’s what it’s for lol as i was told to take it as it’s packed full of iron!!

[bagpuss61]

medicalmedium.com/blog/heal...

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to bagpuss61]

That is not a site for information.

It is a sales organisation pushing itself on every "social" media platform going.

The content of this blog and any linked material does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Anthony William, AWI or the principal author, and is not guaranteed to be correct, complete, or up to date.

[bagpuss61 in reply to helvella]

Totally disagree with that comment... It is not a sales organisation, the site recommends products from different organisations that are filler free and healthier for you. And they do reflect the the opinions of Anthony William as it he's website. The same info is in his books.

Spirulina has played a huge part in my healing process over the last two years, increasing my iron levels and helping my body to gently detox.

[SarahJane1471]

Thanks. Interesting read. There appears to be different “qualities” of spirulina. The Hawaiian being the best product …. and the most expensive

[SmallBlueThing]

Bottom line, it's not a superfood (and nor is anything else):

quackwatch.org/related/algae/

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

Many who have tried it say it is one of the most disgusting things they have ever chosen to put into their mouths.

Suggest that if you do decide to try, you get only the smallest/cheapest pack that you can so, if you can't face it, you have not wasted too much.

[radd in reply to helvella]

😆

[Suzi-B in reply to helvella]

you can buy tablet form…….

[bagpuss61 in reply to helvella]

Tablet form is recommended, you wouldn't want to take many supplements in powdered form, as they could all be disgusting ( as you put it ).

I take 6 spirulina tabs a day which is the recommended amount for the ones I buy, if someone was to want to start with caution they could try just a couple at a time.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to bagpuss61]

However, a pretty neutral random image search suggests powder form is very common.

Results of image search for "spirulina"

[mabu2010]

I've tried it and it made no difference to my hypo symptoms. I didn't find it unpalatable when mixed in a smoothie. I've found that most supplement claims have no real scientific basis and are generally a waste of money. Sorry to be negative.

[SarahJane1471 in reply to mabu2010]

Thanks for all your replies. Sometimes you’ve got to ask 🤣

[Suzi-B in reply to mabu2010]

why didn’t you buy tablet form?

[mabu2010 in reply to Suzi-B]

It's very easy to make small adjustments to the dosage in powder form

[mabu2010]

If you don't ask you'll never find out...

[SarahJane1471 in reply to mabu2010]

👍

[Suzi-B]

It’s packed full of iron i took it when i was anemic, along with Chlorella which also happens to b full of iron! Please read up on the internet about both products.

[SarahJane1471 in reply to Suzi-B]

Yes I am reading. It seems they all have iodine which is not advised on here. I was looking to see if it helps arthritis

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to SarahJane1471]

The amount of iodine varies significantly. It can be pretty low.

You can check each product but you have to believe the supplier as we have no other sensible means of establishing how much iodine any particular product contains.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Suzi-B]

Yes, it does contain iron. One source suggests 28.5 milligrams per 100 grams.

100 grams seems quite a large amount to take!

[SmallBlueThing in reply to helvella]

Parsley was recommended at one time for iron, and I wondered if anyone was chomping through 300 g per day.

[thyr01d]

Hi SarahJane, I tried spirulina as powder and I like the taste (mixed it into yogurt on top of cereal) and am sure I felt better while taking it. Unfortunately I then read that it can boost the immune system and since I have Hashimoto's thought I'd better not take it any more. I still am tempted though, because the thyroid symptoms seemed better not worse and the endo I used to see thought my thyroid was doing nothing anyway - so nothing would make it worse.

[SarahJane1471 in reply to thyr01d]

Did you get Hawaiian? It’s more expensive but the other stuff from China gets a lot of bad reviews

[thyr01d in reply to SarahJane1471]

Hallo again, I didn't check which country the spirulina came from, didn't know it mattered. I almost certainly chose a cheap one though.