In 1976, Kollman and an associate became the first researchers in the U.S. to systematically grow and experiment with spirulina and chlorella. Today, a decade later, these two species of micro algae are marketed and widely used throughout the country. But Kollman wasn't satisfied, he didn't like the idea of having to grow the algae artificially in manmade ponds. Plus the cellulose cell wall of chlorella made it difficult to assimilate. The discovery of the Klamath Lake algae answered both problems at once: the Aphanizomenon's cell wall is composed of a substance nearly identical to glycogen, making the algae 97% assimilable. And, it grows wild in one of the world's richest natural "nutrient traps", completely free of artificial influence.
Just north of the quiet lumber town of Klamath Falls, Oregon, Daryl Kollman stood on the bank of Upper Klamath Lake and looked out in awe at the thick blanket of blue green algae covering the lake's surface. Entirely surrounded by the beautiful Cascade Mountains, with Mount Shasta in full view, and far from the polluting influences of cities, town sewage or agricultural activity, Lake Klamath represented one of the most nutrient-rich natural resources in the world.
It was a scene of breathtaking beauty; but Daryl Kollman was not on a sight-seeing trip. He was about to launch a revolution in health and nutrition. Driven by an unusual mix of humanitarian spirit, scientific ingenuity and social vision, Kollman sought a way to make this unique food resource widely available, without tampering with the delicate Klamath ecology. In a matter of years he would make that vision a reality.
What is Algae?
One of the Earth's most ancient organisms, algae resembles bacteria but has cell walls and a far greater capacity to photosynthesize, making it one of the most efficient chlorophyll producing organisms in existence. The Aphanizomenon's chlorophyll content, for example, is about three times that of alfalfa, a common source of dietary chlorophyll..
Algae are most well-known as a valuable food in the form of seaweed's. Giant algae "colonies" that resemble plants can grow to hundreds of feet in length. Even these large sea algae, though, are not true plants; they neither have nor need a plant's circulatory, root or other transport systems, as each individual cell is self-sufficient.
Seaweeds aside, various freshwater algae have played a vital part in a number of dietary traditions. The Kanembu natives of the Lake Chad region of Africa harvested and processed lake algae by a method similar to that used by the Aztecs to extract spirulina from Lake Taxcoco. These traditional methods generally employed sun-drying or cooking. The high heat probably greatly diminished the algae's heat-sensitive nutritional factors.
Much of the algae sold today is subjected to high temperatures...
Much of the algae sold and consumed today is also subjected to high temperatures (as much as 500 - 600 degrees F) in the spray drying process. Choosing quality over convenience, Kollman elected to use a more expensive procedure, employing freeze-drying and vacuum treating, thus preserving the algae's delicate proteins, vitamins, enzymes and other nutrients.
The Lake Klamath Ecology
Fed by a mix of hot springs, cold vocanic mountain streams, and two rivers, Upper Klamath Lake has acted as a natural trap for mineral rich volcanic soil, nitrogenous matter and oxygen for millennia. Probably since the retreat of the West Coast's ice cap. This remarkable ecology has produced as much as 200,000,000 pounds of Aphanizomenon flos-aquae for 10,000 years or more. Much of this algae has remained within the lake system, creating a nutrient rich layer of sediment covering the lake's floor that reaches 35 feet in depth. It has been calculated that even if the flow of new nutrients coming into the lake were completely shut off, the top one inch of existing sediment contains enough nutrients to support the massive annual algae bloom for 60 years. As a result, Aphanizomenon contains highly unusual nutritional properties, which have demonstrated some valuable effects on human health.
Minerals:
Owing to its being nourished by water from geothermal springs and volcanic mountain streams, the Klamath algae contains a wide range of chelated (organically bound) minerals including: boron, calcium, chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, phosphorus, selenium, sodium, sulphur, titanium, vanadium and zinc. On the average, the algae's mineral volume falls roughly between that of alfalfa and seaweeds.
Vitamins and Co-vitamins:
The algae's vitamin co-factor profile is unusually uniform and complete for any single food. It is particularly rich in the B vitamins, including B-12, and beta carotene (vitamin A precursor.)Protein:
Aphanizomenon contains as much as 60+% pure assimilable protein, perhaps its most significant nutritional feature. While eating 1 or 2 grams of algae per day obviously won't supply much volume of protein per se, it is the quality of the algae's protein that is the source of researchers' excitment. As the figures below illustrate, its amino acid profile (including the so called "essential amino acids" i.e. those that we apparently cannot synthesize for ourselves) is strikingly parallel to our own. Because of this, blue green algae has been found to enhance assimilation and utilization of other proteins consumed, particularly for those eating a vegetarian, raw foods or macrobiotic diet.
Perfect Amino Acid Profile Aphanizomenon Amino Acid Profile
Histidine 4.5 3.6
Lsoleucine 11.3 11.1
Leucine 18.7 19.1
Methionine
and Cystine 7.0 3.1
Phenylalanine
plus Tyrosine 19.6 22.1
Theonine 9.4 9.3
Tryptophan 3.0 5.7
Valine 12.9 13.0
* percentage of total. Determined by the Food & Nutritional Board,
National Research Council
by John David Mann
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