234: Algae

Algae

Algae is considered a superfood because it is not processed and is packed with minerals, vitamins, and amino acids.  It also has antioxidants which are why my guest today, Catharine Arnston is such a strong advocate for educating people about the benefits of algae.

Discovering Algae

Catharine Arnston is Canadian but currently lives in the United States. She discovered the benefits of algae when her younger sister was diagnosed with breast cancer ten years ago.

Upon the advice of her sister's oncologist, Catharine Arnston's sister had to change to an alkaline diet to help her healing. So her diet was primarily green tea, green vegetables and had to eliminate acidic foods.

Fast forward a decade later, Catharine Arnston's sister celebrated ten years free of cancer this year. This whole experience made Catharine Arnston decide to give up her corporate career of 25 years to help people.

Making A Difference

Catharine Arnston eventually pursued further studies at the Institute For Integrative Nutrition. After graduation, she put up a nutrition counseling company wherein she offered a curriculum teaching people how to eat healthy greens. Catharine Arnston also gave free workshops for corporations and hospitals for almost a year, trying to convince people to eat more greens.

Catharine Arnston primary goal was to find a hassle-free way for people to digest more greens. During her research in 2010, she suddenly thought of algae tablets. Surveys showed that her friends were willing to take algae tablets, so the venture looked very promising.

Origin Of Algae

According to Catharine Arnston, algae has been used for hundreds of years. Documented for approximately the past 50 years, it is the most studied food in the world and has been known to improve health aspects of mental acuity and athletic performance.

“Algae is the very first plant life on earth three and a half billion years ago and they have fossils to prove it. It has been around three or four years longer than we have,” said Catharine Arnston. “So there's got to be something special about something on earth that has existed four times longer than we have. That's why I feel blessed to be to one to explain to people the importance of algae.”

Quality Of Products

The algae that Catharine Arnston uses for her products is grown in Taiwan. Taiwan is world-renowned to have the highest quality algae and the highest quality controls in place because it is such a significant crop. All the other algae are grown in Japan, China, India, and a small amount in Hawaii.

Apparently, algae have different attributes, flavors, and components like wine. Catharine Arnston says that the water they use for their products comes from a mountain. She also assures that their water is very clean since it is triple-filtered.

“The company that is growing algae for us has been growing algae for 50 years. They have a GMP certification, an ISO 9000 certification, and is certified organic,” said Catharine Arnston. “The company has an Asian certification. Getting U.S. certification is complicated because it is not in America. We also have a 3rd party FDA lab here in the United States, where we test every batch.”

Catharine Arnston proudly adds that they are by far, the only algae in America that are endorsed by doctors. Laboratory tests that show there is no metal and pesticides in Catharine Arnston's ENERGYbits products. They are also the only company wherein the Chlorella products contain no lead.

Competitive Industry

Catharine Arnston attests that algae products are a multi-billion dollar industry in Asia. She says it is almost as big as the beef industry in the United States. But in making algae products mainstream, people have misconceptions about what algae are.

“Nobody knows about it because it is food. It's no different than broccoli. Biotech and pharma companies were interested in promoting algae because there's no patent. You can't patent broccoli or algae because it is just a vegetable,” said Catharine Arnston.

Catharine Arnston further reveals that the companies selling algae in the United States tend to be just the same as the companies selling algae in Asia. Apparently, only the packaging is different.

“Most of the product comes from China, and there's insufficient quality control. So nobody knew for sure what they're putting in their bodies. And to think they're supposed to be taking this to improve their health,” Catharine Arnston said.

She adds,”Most chlorella products contain lead but not ours. There's great uncertainty on who to trust. I had to be sure ours is the highest quality. So I started this journey after helping my sister.”

Catharine Arnston also shares that the statistics of cancer and heart disease show that 98% of chronic illnesses are lifestyle and diet-related. That is why she is trying to help people understand how to be healthy, using the gifts from Mother Nature. Catharine Arnston's goal is also to teach people how to differentiate the different kinds of algae, which ones are good for us and which algae to use for different purposes.

Spirulina Algae

There are about 15 strains of algae, and it is part of the seaweed family. But seaweed is grown in the ocean and does not have the same nutrients. In a category called algae, the only two that are produced as crops are spirulina and chlorella.

Spirulina is known as the earth's very first plant life. It is a blue-green algae wherein the blue color comes from a pigment called phycocyanin.

“The blue pigment has incredible healing properties. One of which is that it stops cancer. It stops the growth of blood vessels to tumors or cancers and is called anti-angiogenesis,” explains Catharine Arnston. “Angiogenesis is when blood vessels are grown to support a tumor or cancer.”

She adds,”There are certain foods and different things that have anti-angiogenesis properties that stop the growth of blood vessels. And the blue phycocyanin in spirulina is one of those things.”

Benefits Of Spirulina

Catharine Arnston says we 99.9% can get all the protein within 15 minutes and literally within seconds if we chew spirulina. This is because all the protein in Spirulina is already in an amino acid form. And because there is nothing left for our body to break it down, it is instantly absorbable because it is technically a bacteria.

“Spirulina is not a detoxifier. It is a cleanser. In Japan, when babies are born, they cannot digest mothers milk and would die otherwise. The only thing that keeps them alive is spirulina in water,” shares Catharine Arnston. “During my research, I looked at the nutrient profile and the amino acid profile of mother's milk colostrum. It has the same nutrient profile as spirulina.”

Chlorella

On the other hand, chlorella does not have the blue pigment. It is a plant that contains the highest chlorophyll in the world. Chlorophyll is good for cleansing and it is also very healing.

“Most pigments and antioxidants are water-based. Chlorophyll is one of the few fat-based pigments and antioxidants,” Catharine Arnston said. “Our cells need fat. That's what Omega 3 does. It helps heal the cell. So now, nutrients can easily flow into the cell, and toxins can easily flow out of the cell. That's one of the benefits of chlorophyll.”

She adds, “It aids the health of the cell. If the cell wall and cells are healthy, the immune system will be healthy, and the mitochondria will be healthy. Everything will work a lot better.”

Catharine Arnston also says only 10% chlorophyll gets absorbed in the stomach. The rest of the Chlorophyll stays in our gut and moves into our entire digestive tract, through the liver, and down our colon. It cleans up garbage in our body as it goes along and heals all the cell walls.

Importance of Vitamin K2

Most heart attacks and heart diseases are not caused by cholesterol. According to Catharine Arnston, it is caused by inflammation and hardening of the arteries because of too much calcium in arteries.

“The arteries become brittle and not flexible. In effect, blood can't flow and can cause high blood pressure. And the only thing that pulls this excess calcium out is vitamin K2,” said Catharine Arnston. “The only place you can get vitamin k2 is either grass-fed animal protein, fermented foods, and chlorella. If you take vitamin K2, your body will take out all that excess calcium that's hardening your arteries and moves into your bones or teeth.”

I can vouch for what Catharine Arnston said. I had Dr. Carolyn Dean on episode 227 of my show recently, and she said that our body does need vitamin K2 and magnesium. This is to help deposit calcium and other minerals into our bones.

Another excellent reference was Dr. Weston A. Price's discovery a long time ago. In his research, Dr. Weston A. Price discovered indigenous cultures had great teeth good healthy bacteria in their mouths because vitamin K2 was plentiful in their gut and diet.

For added reference on chlorella, I'm inviting my listeners to check out my interview with Dr. Dietrich Kinghardt on episode 218.

Energybits Products

Catharine Arnston has a fantastic line of products called ENERGYbits, RECOVERYbits, SKINNYbits, and VITALITYbits. All her products are 100% organically grown, non-GMO spirulina and chlorella algae tablets.

“These are complete food-based replacements for multivitamins. They are eco-friendly and a natural source of omega food,” assures Catharine Arnston.

To celebrate the second anniversary of the Learn True Health, we have a special treat for all the listeners to Learn True Health.  Upon ordering any of the products on Catharine Arnston's website, don't forget to enter the LTH coupon code to avail of the 20% discount upon checkout.

Bio

Catharine Arnston has a thirty-year career as an international Attache for the Canadian and British Governments, publisher of an international magazine and Founder of three startups. But in 2009 when her younger sister was diagnosed with breast cancer and advised by her oncologist to change her diet to an alkaline one because it would help her heal, Catharine Arnston put her career on hold to help her sister. 

In the process, she discovered algae, the most alkaline, nutrient-dense plant in the world that no one seemed to know about. Catharine Arnston knew algae would be a game changer for the world if she could just help Americans understand it. Because of that, ENERGYbits was born.

Get Connected With Catharine Arnston:

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Recommended Books By Catharine Arnston

Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis

Grain Brain by Dr. David Perlmutter

Recommended Links:

Learn True Health – Episode 218

Learn True Health – Episode 227

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