Research Highlights
- Microalgae can enhance the circulation of adult stem cells (Page 107)
Stem cells have the potential to develop into many different types of cells. As such they serve an essential role in our body's repair system.
Dr. Paula Bickford at the center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair at the University of South Florida have demonstrated through a series of four rodent studies the effectiveness of blue-green algae (Spirulina) in supporting a variety of neurological function. Blue-green algae were effective in assisting to: - Reducing brain damage from experimentally induced strokes by up to 70% (Yasuhara et al.: 2008).
- Reducing the loss of spatial memory function typical of aging brains (Acosta; 2010).
- Enhancing the dopamine neuronal recovery and may be protective against Parkinson's disease (Stromberg, 2005; Gemma et al., 2002; Wang et al., 2005)
- Promoting neurogenesis, enhanced brain stem cell production (Bachstetter et al, 2010; Acosta, 2010).
- Providing neuroprotection to brain cells from oxidative stress (Pabon et al., 2012; Yasuhara, 2008). (Page 109)
- Microalgae offer a number of neurologically active substances. (Page 138)
Blue-green algae offer an especially rich source of amino acids and essential co-factors which in turn supports the production of major neurotransmitters. Amino acids like tryptophan, threonine + glycine, and phenylalanine + tyrosine are essential building blocks for major neurotransmitters. B-vitamins, vitamin C, trace minerals (e.g., zinc and magnesium) and essential fatty acids are all involved in facilitating healthy neurotransmitter functions.
- Can AFA improve neurological and psychiatric conditions? (Page 149-150)
Even earlier published research by a psychiatrist, Gabriel Cousens (1985) documented the clinical effectiveness of AFA blue-green algae to improve Alzheimer's disease symptoms in two patients. Dr. Cousens reported some significant return of function such as decreased hand tremors, better balance, and improved short term memory, attention span, judgement, and reasoning in one patient.
We now have clinical research showing AFA balances EEG readings and improves central nervous system functioning...
"Perhaps the greatest value of AFA is not in its nutrient concentration or even its high concentration of neuropeptide precursors, but in its amazing positive effect on the nervous system in general, and specifically on the pituitary, pineal, and hypothalamic structures. AFA is an elixir for the brain-mind complex". - Mild traumatic brain injury is one of the most common of all neurological disorders (Page 156)
Andrew Valencia and colleagues at the Neurolab Clinic associated with the University of New Mexico demonstrated that patients suffering from mild brain injury who ate AFA showed a 25% improvement in about half the time as patients who did not receive algae.
Valencias research team hypothesized that AFA algae promotes reparative neuroplasticity--or, in lay terms, rewiring of the circuitry of the brain.
Valencia also conducted electrophysiological studies of brain waves and found that the ingestion of AFA algae was linked with pronounced improvements in brain function, notably in the ability to focus and discriminate between various auditory signals.