ENERGYbits Founder, Catharine Arnston, discovered the power of algae when researching alkaline diets for her sister who was beginning chemo treatments for breast cancer. What she learned in her exhaustive research impacted her so deeply, she felt a responsibility to do something. Catharine altered her own trajectory and dedicated her energy and passion to helping people through making algae more readily available and getting the word out about its value for our bodies.
Algae is a group of many different organisms that produce oxygen through photosynthesis (turning the sun’s light energy into carbohydrates). It’s loaded with chlorophyll and phytonutrients that have many benefits, including building the immune system, reducing inflammation, helping with nutritional gaps, chronic illness and detoxification. Algae has 500 times more chlorophyll than arugula.
Some of the compelling qualities of algae that piqued our interest include the fact that it is one of the most studied foods in the world. Catharine has found more than 100,000 studies on spirulina and chlorella, the two types she focuses on. “Nothing in the world has been studied more,” she says.
Catharine was captivated, and so are we, by the facts she learned in her research: algae is the most alkaline food in world; it is the most nutrient-dense (she quotes, “NASA research show 1 gram of algae has as many nutrients as 1,000 grams of fruits and vegetables”); the UN endorsed algae as a food source; it has 3 times the amount of protein in steak, chicken and fish; it’s the original source of omega-3 (fish eat algae, so Catharine says skip the fish oil and go straight to the source); it is a plant-based, sustainable crop.
Algae is a food, not a supplement. It’s no different than kale or broccoli. The algae tablets Catharine offers through her company, ENERGYbits, are easily absorbed by the body, as it is 99% bioavailable with no interactions or stress for the body. She describes algae as the “orchestra” of nutrients, and supplements are like a grade 3 soloist.
Spirulina algae provides instant nutrition the body absorbs easily because it has no cell wall, allowing quick digestion of vitamins and protein.
Chlorella is the only algae with healing properties for detoxification because of its hard cell wall that binds to toxins and pulls them out of cells, organs and blood, and carries them safely out of the body. It can help with removing lactic acid, alcohol, and heavy metals. It was also used to help people detoxify after the Fukushima, Japan, disaster by the UN after Chernobyl, by dentists to pull out mercury, and to help with Lyme disease.
The natural, safe benefits of infrared pair well with the natural, safe benefit of algae – they are both gentle on the body. Chlorella is the type of algae with detox power; they’re found in RECOVERYbits. They can be eaten at your own pace, based on what is best for you. When stacking it with sauna, you can take before or after. Sauna gets the toxins moving in your body, and chlorella’s proven binding qualities work to help the body detox.
