Vegetarians are often faced with somewhat of a challenge when looking for complete, good sources of protein, such as the type that can be found in meats and fish. For example, one of the hardest nutrients to come by that is often found in red meat, which obviously vegetarians don’t eat, is the combination of iron and vitamin B12. B12 is absolutely essential to energy levels, and often those that do not eat meat are hard pressed to find good, readily usable forms of this vitamin in alternative protein sources.
Another complexity of finding protein is to find one that is complete. That is, one that contains all of the essential amino acids. Actually, there is one that I really love the flavor of and happen to eat frequently since being introduced to it a short while ago, and that is quinoa. It contains all of the essential amino acids, and is therefore an excellent complete source of protein, especially for vegans, who are even more hard pressed to find good sources of protein that are healthful in other ways.
Spirulina, which you have probably heard of before, is actually a blue green algae that partly gets it’s name from it’s spiral structure. It is found not only in fresh water, but also in sea water, and it is thought to carry some beneficial health effects as well, although some of them are argued.
For example, there is supposed to be vitamin B12 in spirulina, but the bioavailability of it is in dispute. This means that even though there may be some amount of this vitamin in spirulina, it may not be used by the body properly and is therefore useless if this is true.
Spirulina does, however, contain a complete source of protein, and for that reason it has been used therapeutically as ways to keep weight on cancer patients as well as a way to get vegetarians and vegans a complete, energy giving source of protein.
Spirulina also may have benefits for those with allergies, as it is thought to have effective prevention effects against allergies. It is also used as an energy enhancer. I have eaten spirulina in little energy snacks that can be found at health food stores, and I also like to drink it in smoothies that can also be found at health food stores, and it may just be psychosomatic, but I swear I do get a nice energy boost from it.
