Building on Ingestible Beauty with Algae

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If you are looking for the newest insider beauty tip, you won’t find it at your favorite beauty counter. This beauty solution is straight from Mother Nature and so natural and nutrient dense. So what is it? It's algae. Algae is part of a booming trend called “ingestible beauty.” It’s a segment that is exploding due to the rapidly growing awareness that what you put in your body affects your wellness and beauty more than what you put on it. In other words, what you eat or ingest will show up on your skin, and if you aren’t eating ideally, you need “ingestibles” like algae that can mitigate long-term problems from any missing nutrients.

Algae is a whole food with just one ingredient, 40 vitamins and minerals, 60% protein and no caffeine, sugar, chemicals or gluten. Just one serving of algae tablets per day gives you all the nutrition you need to renew and protect your health, boost your vitality, improve your skin and hair, remove toxins, satisfy your hunger, increase your energy and focus and replace your vitamins. Algae do all this and more. That’s why it’s referred to as “efficient nutrition.”

The History of Algae

So what exactly is algae and why is it so amazing for your skin, hair and wellness? We’ll get to that soon but first a little history. First of all, it’s important to understand that although algae might be new to you, algae isn’t new. Algae is almost four billion years old and was the first life on earth. Remarkably, algae have outlasted Ice Ages, dinosaurs and billions of years and are still here.

Tens of thousands of years ago before skin moisturizers were used, ancient cultures including the Asians and Aztecs consumed seaweeds like algae, to revitalize their skin and body. However, with the passing of time, algae’s powerful anti-aging benefits were forgotten until the late 1800s when a Dutch scientist discovered that algae also had the highest concentration of protein in the world and could be used as a food. This was later confirmed by German scientists whose research on algae led to a Nobel prize in the early 1900s.

Algae was never grown large scale as an agricultural crop until the early 1950s when the Japanese learned about algae’s detox, energy and anti-aging benefits and decided they needed it. It took them ten years to figure out how to grow algae for large scale consumption, and thanks to their efforts, algae is now grown throughout Asia where it's a multi-billion dollar industry. In Japan, they don’t take vitamins, they take chlorella algae every day are renowned for having beautiful skin, extraordinary longevity and low rates of cancer. Could it be the algae? It’s certainly food for thought.

Once Japan and other countries in Asia were successful with algae, many other countries around the world took note and started growing and researching it too. Algae is now grown in India, China, Greece, France, Italy, Germany and others, and it's the most studied food in the world. 

Bringing this Trend to the Spa

Fortunately, consumer interest in plant-based nutrition is white hot and interest in beauty “ingestibles” is also exploding. Algae uniquely unite these two high growth trends since it is a plant-based ingestible with scientifically proven wellness benefits. The greatest benefits of algae definitely come from ingesting it, not just from applying it. What you put inside your body is far more powerful than what you put on it.

There is a lot to learn about algae including the fact that not all algae have the same quality, so you want to be sure you buy yours from a highly reputable company. Tablets are always the better choice in terms of the type of algae you buy since they can be easily carried in handbags, gym bags or backpacks, they don’t need to be mixed like powders or kept in the freezer like frozen algae do. Clients will also have the option of chewing, swallowing or adding tablets to smoothies or salads.

Even NASA says algae has 1,000 times more nutrients than any other fruit or vegetable. The United Nations says spirulina algae is the answer to world hunger. With endorsements like this, no wonder the buzz about algae is growing and explains why the White House just passed the first “Algae Agricultural Act.” The algae bill was included in the 2019 Farm Bill to encourage farmers in the U.S. to grow algae.

Breaking Down Algae Types

There are two main types of algae that you need to know about because they do quite different things in your body.

Spirulina algae. This is a blue-green alga and is regarded as “one of the most protective, functional and healing foods of the 21st century, with unmatched nutrients and benefits.1 Spirulina has the highest concentration of protein in the world, and it's powerhouse of 40 vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other nutrients work synergistically and naturally to elevate energy, improve mental focus, enhance skin and hair health, improve athletic performance, boost vitality, reduce inflammation and support optimal health.2,3,4,5,6,7 In 1974, the United Nations even identified spirulina as the answer to world hunger.8,9 Spirulina’s health benefits have been documented in over 25,000 scientific studies.

Chlorella algae. Chlorella is a green alga that is recognized for its wellness and medicinal properties including its unique ability to remove metals like mercury and lead.10,11 This alga has the highest concentration of chlorophyll in the world, which is essential for cellular health, cleansing your body, helping to prevent wrinkles and reducing or preventing chronic diseases.12,13 Chlorella also has high amounts of bio-available iron, RNA/DNA, chlorella growth factor and 40 other vitamins and minerals that help to boost your immune system, speed cellular renewal, support mitochondria function, reduce aging accelerate recovery from athletics and improve eye health.14,15,16 Chlorella alga is a rare source of natural vitamin K2 which supports heart health, bone health and skin health.17,18,19 

The Ingestible Benefits

If your clients are looking for glowing skin, strong nails and healthy hair, optimal health and vitality, consider suggesting algae ingestibles to them.

Beauty is an “inside job” and once you start adding algae to your daily routine you’ll see why. Give your skin and hair a beauty break and feed it love and nourishment from algae. It’s a beauty tip that has stood the test of time and comes straight from Mother Nature. Don’t forget, she’s been around a lot longer than any of us.

Resources:

  1. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5061973/
  2. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27507218
  3. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5387034/
  4. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4772061/
  5. www.naturopathic.org/article_content.asp?edition=105§ion=157&article=949
  6. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20010119
  7. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3576896/
  8. http://iimsam.org/en/category/press-releases/
  9. www.un.org/en/ecosoc/docs/statement08/iimsam.pdf
  10. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26561078
  11. www.nihadc.com/library/detox-for-life-class-2-addit-resources/54-4-dosing-with-chlorella/file.html?accept_license=1
  12. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC526387/
  13. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5286777/
  14. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4200191/
  15. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4186384/
  16. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22313576
  17. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4566462/
  18. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4566462/
  19. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3583891/

 

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Catharine Arnston is the CEO and founder of ENERGYbits Inc. www.energybits.com. Her mission is to help the world improve wellness naturally with Mother Nature’s oldest and original food-algae.

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