I am delighted to reconnect with Dr. Catharine Arnston today. She is the founder, CEO, and Chief Scientific Officer of ENERGYbits. She last joined me on Episode 226 of the podcast.
In our conversation, we dive into the importance of an alkaline lifestyle, looking at how our modern-day lifestyles expose us to toxins while contributing to soil depletion and poor-quality food. We discuss the benefits of spirulina, the effects of mitochondrial dysfunction in perimenopause and menopause, the role of free radicals and antioxidants, and the research currently being done on Me Screen, spirulina, and chlorella. We cover the differences between chlorella and spirulina, explaining how chlorella impacts the immune system and gut microbiome and how it is beneficial for cleansing, toning, healing, and overcoming hangovers. We explain how algae can help us reverse our biological or chronologic age, Catharine shares some tips for aging gracefully, and we also create a mini-course on algae.
I know you will love and appreciate today’s invaluable conversation with Dr. Catharine Arnston.
IN THIS EPISODE YOU WILL LEARN:
The health benefits of an alkaline lifestyle and how algae helps in maintaining blood PH levels
How soil degradation and over-processing impact the quality of our food
Why algae farming is sustainable and beneficial for the environment
The nutritional benefits of spirulina and chlorella compared to those of collagen.
How the non-stimulant effects of spirulina assist in ATP generation
Why mitochondrial health is crucial
How aging impacts ATP production
How chlorella aids the detoxification process
How combining spirulina with chlorella leads to optimum health
Catharine shares lifestyle hacks for aging gracefully
“Because spirulina and chlorella are so alkaline, they restore the negative charge that brings your blood back to a healthy state.”
-Catharine Arnstron
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Connect with Dr. Catharine Arnston
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Transcript:
[00:00:16] Today, I had the honor of reconnecting with Catharine Arnston. She's the founder, CEO, and Chief Scientific Officer of ENERGYbits. We last connected on Episode 226, and today we created a mini course on algae. We spoke about the importance of living an alkaline lifestyle, why algae is having a moment, and how our modern day lifestyles are contributing to soil depletion, poor quality food, and exposure to toxins. Why spirulina is better than collagen peptides, differentiators between spirulina in terms of its brain benefits, energy benefits, and more. The impact of mitochondrial dysfunction in both perimenopause and menopause, how our brains are the most mitochondrial dense organs in our bodies, the role of free radicals and antioxidants, current research being done on Mescreen, and the utilization of spirulina and chlorella, what differentiates chlorella from spirulina and how it can be used for cleansing, tonifying, and healing, its impact on the immune system and the gut microbiome, how algae impacts both the vagal tone and the enteric second brain, as well as deep sleep and peristalsis. The role of chlorella in aiding in hangovers, and how algae can help us to reverse our biologic or chronologic age, as well as Catharine's top tips for aging gracefully. This is an invaluable and interesting conversation that I know you will enjoy.
[00:01:52] Catharine, so good to have you back on the podcast. Welcome back.
Catharine Arnston: [00:01:55] Thank you. So, great to be here. [laughs]
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:01:57] Yes. And so, what is new and pressing in the algae-spirulina-chlorella movement, as I think it's so interesting to me that living an alkaline lifestyle has such enormous benefits for our health.
Catharine Arnston: [00:02:14] Yeah, well, sorry, that's how I got into this, became an algae expert. The whole point started with my younger sister having breast cancer. She's fine now. She completely healed. But this was 16 years ago and her oncologist, which was a woman, advised her to adopt an alkaline diet because it would help with her healing. And my sister didn't know what that was, and so I jumped in to help her, and which led me to plant-based nutrition, which is alkaline because of the chlorophyll and phytonutrients, which led me to algae, which is the most nutrient dense food in the world, and healing properties that people in Asia know about but outside of Asia, nobody is aware of. So, this whole alkaline diet concept is very powerful.
[00:02:58] And I can explain a little bit if you want me to about what an alkaline diet is and how algae help facilitate that because a lot of people aren't familiar with it. There's a range of 0 to 14 that identifies the alkalinity of your cells. Zero being very acidic, 14 being very alkaline. And all foods, all activities, sports, emotions have an impact that affect the alkalinities, which is measured by something called pH. One of the reasons why I believe my sister's oncologist wanted her to have an alkaline diet was she was preparing for her chemotherapy, is because of a finding that was discovered back in the 40s by a German scientist by the name of Otto Warburg, who discovered that cancer cannot exist in cells that are alkaline.
[00:03:51] And so 7.1 is where your cells change, because seven is the middle of 0 to 14, so you want to keep your cells slightly alkaline. And when they are slightly alkaline, that indicates that the cell is healthy, that there is oxygen in the cell, that your mitochondria are functioning properly, and when the cell becomes more acidic, there's less oxygen, it's not functioning, it's not communicating, and that allows cancer to settle in. And then once cancer gets into the cell, it generates energy through a process called glycolysis, which is different from your healthy cell, which predominantly generates energy through the healthy process called ATP, which is when we're going to talk a little bit about that. So that's number one about the alkalinity issue. Interestingly, your blood needs to be even more alkaline. It needs to be 7.34.
[00:04:43] If your body is so intelligent that when you eat acidic foods or you have motions that are acidic or too much exercise, you would die if your blood became too acidic. So, your body automatically withdraws minerals, calcium, magnesium, potassium, from your bones, from your cells, from your organs, and deposits it into your bloodstream to bring back the acidity to that 7.34. Now, the problem with that is, and this is why I think, again, my sister's oncologists want her to have an alkaline diet. When that happens over and over again over again, it reduces your immune system, it challenges your immune system, it pulls out minerals from your bones, which leads to osteoporosis. Women, by the way, represent over 80% of osteoporosis candidates. Our bones are smaller to start with. And we are often stressed more so than men, I think.
[00:05:41] So, getting this alkaline diet to preserve the alkalinity of your blood is also very important. And algae is the most alkaline food in the universe. I think it sits slightly over 7. There is no food more alkaline than spirulina and chlorella algae. And also, when your blood is healthy, your hemoglobin, which is what carries oxygen in your blood, if it's proper alkalinity, the hemoglobin, they have a negative charge on them, so they repel one another like a magnet. But when you are too acidic, that negative charge is removed. And so now the blood clumps, which makes it difficult for your blood to carry oxygen and to get oxygen to your cells, because it can't fit into the tiny capillaries.
[00:06:30] So, spirulina and chlorella, because they're so alkaline, they restore that negative charge that brings your blood back to a healthy state. So, this whole alkaline thing, it's very, very important. And we've talked about spirulina and chlorella, and I'll send you some of these charts later on, but I want to show people the chemical composition of chlorophyll is virtually identical to the chemical composition of your hemoglobin. And algae has the most chlorophyll in the world. Chlorella in particular is called chlorella because of the chlorophyll in it. It has 500 times more than arugula. So, anyways, that's the alkalinity story. That's how I got involved with algae and the reason I like algae so much, and we'll talk about this later, is because it is effortless. We sell it in tiny tablets that you can swallow or chew.
[00:07:20] We're going to talk about the difference between spirulina and chlorella in a minute. Spirulina is a blue-green algae. You can see how much darker it is, then chlorella is a green alga. Spirulina has two pigments in it. The blue one, called phycocyanin, which we'll talk about in a minute, phycocyanin and chlorella just has the green chlorophyll. But all you need to do is swallow these, chew them. Each one of these tablets has the same nutrition as an entire plate of vegetables. So, moms, listen up. Your kids aren't eating vegetables. This is your answer. I just had a plate of vegetables while I was talking to you. [Cynthia laughs] How easy is that. So, teenagers, men are notorious for not wanting to eat vegetables. So, it's not just the chlorophyll, it's the 40 vitamins and minerals, the chlorella has fiber.
[00:08:05] So, this makes it effortless to get the nutrition you, your family, your kids, your pets need without any prep, without any shopping, without any hard work, without any cleanup, and also no waste. Lots of people don't eat vegetables because they go bad before they can cook them or when people don't eat them, they throw them out. We have a three-year expiry date on the algae. So, what vegetable will last three years, right? [laughs]
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:08:31] I can't think of any. And it's interesting to me that when my kids were younger, it was very easy to get them to consume quite a bit of vegetables. As they've gotten older and they're on the go. Sometimes, I'll say, can you just put something green on your plate? as we're arguing about dinner, what is it about our modern-day lifestyles that's contributing to why it's even more important that we're being conscientious about consuming an alkaline diet?
Catharine Arnston: [00:08:58] I know it is a minefield out there in our world. So, there are two main issues and I'm referencing nutritionists and papers and books and experts. So, I'm not making any of this up. There are two main things going on in our world right now. Our soils are so damaged that the plants, even if you eat organic, simply do not have the nutrition that they did 50 years ago that your grandparents had when they were eating vegetables. It's combination of the soil. The ozone layer is damaged. So, now plants have more sugar, less protein, less chlorophyll, less nutrients. And layered on top of the fact that our soils provide no nutrition for our vegetables anymore. Our food is so over processed. If it's in a bag, a can, a package, there's so much that's been extracted nutritionally. And then artificial ingredients have put back in there.
[00:09:50] So, we're nutritionally deprived. And people know that they have to charge their cell phone every night or their phone won't work. They know they have to put gas in their car or it won't work. Your body is the same way. And if you don't give your body the nutrients it needs, it simply cannot function optimally. It's that simple. So that's number one, nutritionally deprived. And we'll talk about spirulina and chlorella in a minute. But you'll find spirulina has all the missing nutrients, all of them, fills every nutritional gap. You could live on this forever. So, I call spirulina your nutritional insurance. So that's, number one, nutritional deficiencies that are filled by spirulina.
[00:10:33] Number two, we are surrounded by toxins. Our immune systems were not built to sustain the toxic load that we are now experiencing. I've read some research that says the average adult in North America now has 700 toxins in their bodies. That's pesticides, glyphosate, heavy metals, aluminum, lead, in our oxygen, in our clothes, in our cosmetics. It's everywhere. And we can't live in a bubble. So, we have to pull those toxins out, because when they are in there, they sit inside your cell receptors. And, so even if you are eating nutritionally dense food, you still are not absorbing the nutrients because the toxins act as a shield that's preventing the nutrients to get in, and it's also preventing the toxins from getting out. And as you're going to find out, chlorella, which we call RECOVERYbits, I call it your health insurance, because it pulls out all heavy metals, glyphosate, pesticides, anything that should not be in your body. Alcohol, lactic acid, it's unbelievable.
[00:11:39] So, it's a chelator. Spirulina is nutritionally dense and cleansing. But chlorella has been used by the United Nations after Chernobyl. It's been documented. We have biological dentists that use it to pull out mercury after people, they take filling. I didn't mention this earlier, but there's almost 100,000 studies documenting all of these medicinal benefits of spirulina and chlorella. Spirulina is your nutritional insurance. Chlorella is your health insurance. These two types of algae should be taken every single day by every single person in the world. And by the way, in Asia, they are. It's a multi-billion-dollar agricultural crop, by the way two big points there, billions.
[00:12:25] So, it's almost as big as the beef industry is here, but nobody knows about it in America, because we just don't grow it here like they do in Asia. Number two, you'll be stunned to know algae is a food. It is not a supplement. Yes, algae are in the oceans, in the lakes, and the soil, but spirulina and chlorella are harvested as food crops. Here's a spirulina farm and here is a chlorella farm. So, I work very hard to help people understand that when they take our spirulina and chlorella, they aren't taking a supplement. Even the FDA regulates spirulina and chlorella as food because it's an ingredient in other foods. You can eat it, you can swallow it, you can blend it to in your smoothies.
[00:13:10] And all we do is we grow it, we air dry it without high heat, which is very important, because there's some nutrients in spirulina and chlorella that are deactivated by high heat. And almost everybody else dries their algae with high heat, and then we press them into these little tablets that we affectionately call bits, because they're bits of food. Nothing added, nothing subtracted, 100% nutrition, at least ours. I can't speak for anybody else's brand, but we're so careful about the way we grow it and dry it. It's safe for newborns, children, pets, teenagers, busy adults, athletes, grandparents. And we know our grandparents, if they're in nursing homes or assisted living homes, the amount of nutrition that they're getting is probably all weak less than what you'll get in one of these tablets. I think I'll have another one.
[laughter]
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:14:04] It's so interesting because I think there's so much misinformation around spirulina, chlorella, talking about algae. One of the questions that came in proactively ahead of time, when I mentioned in my community that we were speaking was, how the spirulina? how is it different than collagen peptides? Collagen peptides are another thing that are having a moment right now. How is spirulina different from collagen peptides? Because collagen peptides, although not a complete protein, it's one of these things that people identify taking it for hair, skin and nails benefits, seems to be like one of those [unintelligible 00:14:41], and it is a true supplement. Talk to us about the differences.
Catharine Arnston: [00:14:43] Well, there's actually quite a few differences, so thank you for inviting me to respond to that. Number one, people didn't know about collagen until about 10 or 15 years ago, when Vital Proteins put it on the map. So, I'm very grateful that they brought this to the attention of North Americans. And also, bone broth is very similar in that effect. And both of them, collagen and bone broth, have been used for centuries in other countries, but it took somebody here in America to bring the attention, the science and the product to market. I'm doing the same thing for algae because it has been used for centuries. Aztecs, Egyptians, and most recently in Asia for 60 years, they take it daily.
[00:15:26] So number one, the difference is people know about its collagen, they don't know about algae yet, but they will because I'm 15 years into it and I think in another five-- We're actually at the transitional point now, which makes me very happy. Okay, so that's the core thing. Number two, collagen is not a sustainable crop. That is used by melting down bones and hides and tendons of animals, fish. And the way they melt it down is with chemicals. So, it's not exactly as healthy as is alluded to and it's not good for the environment. Spirulina and chlorella are both the most sustainable crops in the world. Zero negative carbon footprint, zero. This is one of the reasons why it's endorsed by the United Nations as being the answer to world hunger.
[00:16:13] A, because it has the highest protein in the world, 64% protein for ours, and it's a sustainable crop. Collagen is not, which leads me to the best part of it all. Animal protein, as people may or may not know, are bound up in what's called amino acids. A piece of steak, it can take 16 hours just to get the first digestive process down. It can very often take three days for you to actually absorb the aminos. And if you don't have all the proper, what's called factors and cofactors, you may eat 50 g of protein, but you only absorb 10%, which is 5 g of aminos. Collagen peptides are absorbed much faster because they are in smaller clusters of aminos, so they do get absorbed much quicker than animal protein.
[00:17:01] However, algae protein is individual aminos, so in terms of efficacy and absorption rate, it is far faster. There is nothing in the world that will be absorbed as fast as the aminos in algae, particularly spirulina, which is the one we call ENERGYbits. Now, the reason why it's so efficacious with spirulina is because spirulina isn't even a plant, it is a bacteria. There is no cellulose wall for your body to break down to get access to all those aminos. By the way, as you pointed out, collagen is not a complete protein, algae is. Both spirulina and chlorella are complete proteins. They have 18 of the 20 aminos including the nine your body can't make. Now, spirulina is absorbed instantly if you chewed it like I do. Most people, I will say swallow them because it's a very acquired taste and most people do swallow it.
[00:17:57] Chlorella does take a good hour and a half because it does have fiber. And we'll talk about the benefits of that fiber. But spirulina, immediate absorption, which allows all the nutrients, including the collagen, to get into your body. And while we're talking about collagen, I did the analysis on every single amino that's found in your average collagen powder and compared it to the aminos that are in our spirulina. And we have up to 400% of some of the aminos. So, A, the difference is it's a sustainable crop. Collagen is not. B, it's absorbed much faster almost immediately, whereas collagen is fast, but not nearly as fast as spirulina and chlorella aminos. Three, collagen is not a complete protein and spirulina is and so is chlorella.
[00:18:47] So, by the way, back to the fact that it's not a sustainable crop, collagen is not vegan. So, if you're vegan, you're out of luck. [laughs] You can't be taking collagen powder, but you can, spirulina chlorella are both vegan, paleo, carnivore. They fit into every single dietary lifestyle. And most importantly, in addition to being a complete protein and collagen is not, it has higher amounts of all of the aminos, all of them, up to 400% of some of them. By the way also, collagen does not have critical nutrients, like, I think it's vitamin A and zinc. They have to add it. If you look on your package, you'll see that it's been added and it's naturally in the spirulina and chlorella.
[00:19:28] And you need these nutrients in order for your body to be able to absorb and use the collagen. So, it's already in the spirulina and chlorella. And so, when you compare collagen or any individual supplement, that's the other thing, collagen is a supplement. Spirulina and chlorella are food. But when you compare any individual amino supplement, I don't care if it's collagen powder, fish oil, doesn't matter what it is. I make the analogy. It's like listening to a soloist, maybe not even a very good one. When you take algae, which probably has over 100. We haven't documented all of them, but there's over 40 vitamins, minerals, macronutrients, micronutrients, pigments, all sort enzymes, everything that your body. It's like listening to an orchestra.
[00:20:13] Do you want to listen to a soloist and not a very good one, or do you want to listen to the orchestra? Because when you have an orchestra, there are harmonies and synergies that just can't be created individually. So, you can take all of the simple, individual supplements, you will still never achieve the harmony and the efficacy and the absorption rate and quality that you get from algae. So, it's night and day.
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:20:38] It's really exciting, especially because I feel like women in particular, really struggle with protein intake. And by that, I mean adequate protein intake. And we know as we age, we need more protein, not less. And so, understanding that this could be supplementary to what you're already doing to make sure that you're getting to the point where you're getting a minimum 30 to 50 g of protein with each meal, which we know we need more protein for muscle protein synthesis as we get older. Now, I know that when we're thinking about spirulina, I tend to think about it as energy concentration, some of the byproducts of consuming spirulina. Let's talk about the physiology around how this works. I know we had talked about the mitochondrial health, why that's so important. What is spirulina actually helping to facilitate at the cellular level?
Catharine Arnston: [00:21:34] Oh, great question. First, I want to set the stage. The reason we call our Spirulina ENERGYbits is because it is very energizing to the brain and to the body and to the mitochondria, which I'll get to in a second. But I do want to help people understand it's not a stimulant. A stimulant is caffeine, chemicals, sugar that speeds up molecules. And so, you get a rush, but you also get a crash. And the analogy I make is that it's like putting paper on a fire. You get a burst and then you get nothing. Spirulina is completely different. It is not a stimulant. This is why you could take it before bed. You'll actually probably have a better sleep. Although we do recommend the chlorella before bed, because it has healing properties that aren't found in the spirulina.
[00:22:16] So, taking spirulina, it's not like putting paper on a fire. It's like putting a log on the fire. And why is that? It's because the energy you get from spirulina is not a stimulant. It generates what's called cellular energy, which is known as ATP. It's the most efficient form of cellular energy. So, when you take spirulina, if you take it before a workout, you'll have more energy, more strength for your workout. If you take it before you're writing an exam or driving a car, where you need a lot of focus, you will have much more focus than you would from otherwise. If you take it and you just sit on your sofa, you may not even notice much because you're not deploying the energy for something specific.
[00:23:02] But what you will notice is that you just aren't hungry anymore, that you do have a little bit more pep in your step, and you're a little bit more alert. So, the way that I help people understand what cellular energy is, it's like money. When you have more money, you can do more things and you have more choices. When you have more cellular energy, you could do more things and you have more choices, because cellular energy is effectively the electricity that keeps your body working. And I came up with an analogy to help people understand this even further. Compare your body to a big office tower. Now, when in the office tower, you have offices where all the work is done. And in your body, you have cells. That's where the work is done.
[00:23:43] Now, in the building, you can't do your work if you don't have lights. And so that's what the light bulbs are for. Well, in your cells, you can't do any work unless you have lights. And those lights are called mitochondria. They generate, they provide all the necessary light activity for work to be done. But it gets even more complex because in the office tower, when the lights go out, you just call maintenance and they come and replace them. In your body, when the lights go out, which is your mitochondria, you don't have any maintenance people. And this is what we want to address for women in particular, as you get older, you have fewer mitochondria, so you have less electricity, you have less light.
[00:24:25] And the ones that are still there, they're dim, so they're not functioning properly, they're sending wrong signals. And when you have less ATP, cellular energy, it means your body doesn't have the cellular energy it needs to do anything properly. You can't think properly, your body digestion isn't proper. This is why you put on, weight gain. Your metabolic health isn't working. Nothing works properly because it's like having a dinner party and you have one cupcake to share with 100 guests. Nobody's happy because they're not getting any dessert. When your body doesn't have enough cellular energy, none of your body parts are happy because they're not getting what they need to live optimally. When you can improve the ATP at the cellular level, which spirulina does, and I can tell you how exactly it works, you have more cellular energy.
[00:25:16] And the good news is our bodies are constantly regenerating themselves. Every single day, 30 trillion cells die and 30 trillion grow back. So, when you have a health condition, whether it's diabetes, weight gain, brain fog, metabolic dysfunction, it's not a death sentence. We just need to get your mitochondria functioning again and you don't need fancy expensive drugs. And I'm going to tell you about something that we're just finishing a very exciting mitochondria health clinical trial. Spirulina is proven and I've got the data now to restore your mitochondria so it can generate more ATP, and it's just doing it from food, and it's doing it with nutrients, not found in any other food and that your body doesn't make for you after the age of 30. Up until 30, you're good. I'd like to help you understand what those nutrients are.
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:26:12] Yeah, it's so interesting and certainly after the age of 40, I know that's where we get-- [crosstalk]
Catharine Arnston: [00:26:17] At 40.
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:26:17] That's where most of the mitochondrial dysfunction starts. Almost every chronic disease state that we can think of is related to dysfunctional, unhealthy mitochondria. So, this is certainly very exciting. Are you able to talk about that research that you're alluding to?
Catharine Arnston: [00:26:33] Yeah, first, I want to help people understand what happens after the age of 40 and why this is so. [laughs] Almost beside myself, I'm so excited, because I thought I did know why this was happening, but now I have the science to prove it. So, I'm going to go a little geeky. But I want people to understand, because when you understand something, it becomes less frightening and it starts to make sense. And everything about algae, as you'll find, makes sense. There's no drama with algae. It's just pure science that no one's explained to you until now. So, here we go. So, in your cells you have your nucleus and you have these little peanut shaped things which are called mitochondria. These are the things that generate ATP, which is that cellular energy.
[00:27:17] Now, I just want to point out that different parts of your body have different amounts of mitochondria in their cells. The highest concentration of mitochondria are in your brain. There's 2 million mitochondria per cell in your brain. Next highest are women's eggs. There's 700,000. After that, it's your heart and then your muscles. So, imagine 2 million. The reason why there's 2 million per cell in your brain is because your mitochondria generate energy, and your brain needs a high amount of energy. So, this is why the highest amount of mitochondria are where your greatest energy needs are. Okay, so we know there's mitochondria inside those cells. Now, inside the mitochondria, that's where the ATP is produced. But here's the problem. This thing called ATP, which is the term for cellular energy, there's a byproduct, and the byproduct is free radicals.
[00:28:15] We probably know what free radicals are, but let me remind you, they're basically a molecule with an unpaired electron, and an unpaired electron is unbalanced. And so, what it will do is it will steal another electron from another molecule to balance itself out, which then causes tissue damage and inflammation. Then you have another unbalanced atom, which then steals an electron. So, this is what causes damage at your cellular level. So, you have these things called antioxidants that have extra electrons to give away, it’s like the kid at school who had extra lunches to give to all their friends. That's what antioxidants do. They give away extra electrons to neutralize the free radical. So, you have all these free radicals inside as a byproduct of the ATP production. But the problem is, virtually no antioxidants can get in there to neutralize the free radicals. Why? Because your mitochondria are the only cell in your body with two membranes.
[00:29:15] All your cells, including mitochondria, have what's called a lipid membrane. Antioxidants can get in there. Mitochondria have a second inner membrane that is impenetrable by most antioxidants. Vitamin C can't get in there, vitamin E. But there are a number that can, and they're all in the highest concentration in algae, chlorophyll, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione. The most important antioxidant to get in there to neutralize those free radicals is superoxide dismutase. Now, the good news is your body makes superoxide dismutase from the moment you're born, ta da, until the age of 40. And once you hit 40, just like a lot of your nutrients, other hormones, you have all these superoxide dismutase until 40, then it slows down and this is exactly when chronic disease hits. Because this is exactly when your body can't stop that free radical damage, because it doesn't have any superoxide dismutase anymore and you can't get it from any other food.
[00:30:24] And there's only a one supplement and they show that it gets damaged in the gut digestion. Spirulina has the highest concentration of superoxide dismutase in the world. And not only that, ours is the most effective. And why is that? Because this antioxidant, superoxide dismutase is also an enzyme, and enzymes are deactivated by high heat. And almost all the other algae companies, because they're lower priced and lower quality, they use high heat to dry their algae so they can get to market quickly.
[00:30:55] We've never used high heat, so our antioxidants are alive, including superoxide dismutase, so they can get to work and help your body start to put out the fire of free radicals. Because it's just a byproduct of ATP, you can't stop it, but you can reduce the impact and damage on the mitochondria. I've been researching algae and its impact on mitochondria health for almost 15 years. And I'm proud to say that just a couple of weeks ago, I got my PhD.
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:31:29] Oh, congratulations.
Catharine Arnston: [00:31:31] That's one of my big news. Because I thought, “Gosh, I'm learning so much, maybe now people will trust me.” And also, my other big news, which I told you just before we started, is we just got the very early parts of a clinical trial that we've been doing over the summertime. And the trial was with a company called Mescreen, and you can check them out, mescreen.com, and they have a simple blood test that any consumer or practitioner can do. It's a little drop of blood, you just put it on the thing and send it into them. Normally it's 599. We have a discount code at ENERGYbits, you can do it for 399. Anyways, this test measures your mitochondria health. So, what we did with this clinical trial and the PhDs that are overseeing all this, Dr. Hemal Patel is overseeing, he does all the research for Dr. Joe Dispenza. I mean, this is the brain trust of people doing all this research. I'm so thrilled to be working with them.
[00:32:31] So, we did this clinical trial and we did the Mescreen test before we started. Then we gave people spirulina every day for 30 days, and then we tested after seven days and we tested after 30 days. We currently just have the results from the seven-day test. But let me tell you, the mitochondria health data shows that the mitochondria is generating more ATP. There is less of the-- I have got all the results here, glycolysis. And Hemal, who is an extraordinary scientist, he has done similar kinds of studies. And the benefits from seven days, seven days of taking spirulina, the impact of the quality of life and the respiration quality and ATP production of mitochondria is equal to the results that they did in another study of intermittent fasting. It took the people in the clinical trial three months of intermittent fasting to get the same results that seven days of spirulina achieved.
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:33:39] [crosstalk]
Catharine Arnston: [00:33:39] Unbelievable. So, we're scrambling to try to get the results from the 30-day results and we're going to be writing a paper and blah, blah, blah. But he's given me lots of different metrics. The oxygen consumption rate went up, the amount of free radicals went down, the effectiveness of the spirulina, where they stressed it, went up. I mean, it's everything I dreamed of. It's like, “Oh, my God, now I have the science that proves it.” So, we're going to get the rest of the research, but think about it. And I've always said to people, the best results you're going to get for your health, which starts with your mitochondria, is either intermittent fasting or algae. And the reason is because there's virtually no free radicals generated by either one of them.
[00:34:24] Both of them improve apoptosis and autophagy, which is a cleansing of the cell and removal of the ones that are dysfunctional, also called senescent cells. Both algae and intermittent fasting does both of that for you. But it's difficult for a lot of people to do intermittent fasting. So, if you can't do intermittent fasting, you're going to get the same results and you'll get them literally a thousand times faster with the algae. Me, I do intermittent fasting every day and I take algae every day and I'm going to be doing some tests, because I did some tests a couple of years ago and my biological age, in fact, my birthday is tomorrow, and I turn 68 tomorrow. And the biological markers that I did with some other testing show that I have a biological age of 30 and I'm 68. And all I do to achieve that is take algae every day-
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:35:21] I think that's really incredible.
Catharine Arnston: [00:35:23] -and intermittent fasting.
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:35:24] First and foremost, congratulations on your PhD. I know that's a tremendous amount of work.
Catharine Arnston: [00:35:28] Okay.
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:35:29] I think the preliminary information that you're sharing about this Mescreen research is really exciting because for many people, just as many people as I think, come to intermittent fasting for different reasons, not everyone can intermittent fast. So, it's nice that there are options beyond that. Now, I love how you describe spirulina as room service. So, as we are talking about differentiators between spirulina as a bacteria and how important and impactful it can be for generating ATP, chlorella on the other side works a little bit differently.
Catharine Arnston: [00:36:06] Yes.
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:36:07] And I think that, you know, for everyone listening, trying to differentiate between both of these is very, very helpful. Let's talk a little bit about chlorella and how it works differently. Although I would say synergistically- [crosstalk]
Catharine Arnston: [00:36:21] Absolutely.
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:36:21] -to spirulina.
Catharine Arnston: [00:36:23] Right. And so, just to summarize, so spirulina is very energizing mentally, physically, and at the mitochondria level, it satisfies your hunger. So, if you are doing intermittent fasting and there's zero carbs, so even Dr. Mindy Peltz says it does not interfere with your fasting. So, you stay in a fasted state. So, zero carbs satisfies your hunger, gives you energy, improves your focus. We did another clinical trial where it showed it reduced inflammation in the brain within 30 days as well. And so, moms, if you are looking to fill nutritional gaps for your children or just for yourself, it has all the nutrients that you are missing. So, nourishing and energizing are the two monikers that I use to describe spirulina. And generally, you're tired and hungry and want energy during the day.
[00:37:09] So, we suggest you take spirulina in the morning or the afternoon, which is why I made the analogy. It's like room service, because when you're at a hotel and you get room service, you get everything you need for the day. And so that's what spirulina does. Ten tablets a day will be sufficient, also fills all your protein needs. And you can get rid of half of your supplements, get rid of your fish oil, your multivitamin your biotin, and a bunch of other stuff. Chlorella is quite different. Spirulina, as I mentioned, is a bacteria, the benefits for that is the rapid absorption. Chlorella does belong to the plant kingdom. Now, the good news is that's because it has a hard cellulose wall. That hard cellulose wall is very healing for a number of reasons.
[00:37:48] First of all, it attaches the toxins, heavy metals, lead, mercury, radiation, aluminum, and chelates them, so it pulls them out. That hard cell wall also has fiber, which we know is necessary to feed the gut biome. You have the healthy bacteria growth. So, the cell wall has multiple functions there. Chlorella also has, I mentioned earlier, the highest amount of chlorophyll in the world, 500 times more than arugula and 25 times more than even liquid chlorophyll. Chlorophyll not only builds your blood, as I mentioned earlier, it's a fat-based pigment, which means just like all the other healthy fats, omega-3, vitamin E. It heals your cell walls, because your cell walls are made of lipids aka fats. So, you get that from chlorophyll. And chlorophyll kills bacteria. This is why you may see algae blooms on your beach.
[00:38:45] The only reason they showed up is because there was bacteria and toxins in the water, which you could not see. You can see the algae, so it gets the bum rap. Everyone blames the algae, but it's just there. It's the cleanup crew. And part of it is, what it's absorbing is the bacteria and killing the toxins, does the same thing in your body. So, it's very much the cleanup crew. So, chlorella, again, hard cell wall, chelates heavy metals, glyphosate, pesticides, anything. The chlorophyll kills bacteria. The hard cell wall, also the fiber feeds your gut biome, and it also has the nutrients that your immune system needs to function on your behalf. I make the analogy that your immune system is like your fire department.
[00:39:31] When you have a fire, the fire truck pulls up, but if you don't have water attached to their hose, they can't very well put the fire out. If you get a virus or a cold or anything, your immune system will identify the invader, kill it, and remove it. But it has to have the nutrients to do that. It's like the fireman needs the water in the hose. Chlorella has all the nutrients that your immune system needs to defend you to remove the invader and to kill it. And your 80% of your immune system is in your gut. So, chlorella is very much wellness gut health detoxing algae, which is completely different from spirulina, which is an energizing, nourishing brain health algae. So, think of spirulina as brain food.
[00:40:16] And by the way, we all know that fatty fish are brain food, so think of spirulina as brain food. And chlorella, because it heals the gut, pulls out toxins, kills bacteria, it's gut food. So, the two of them work together, and of course the vagus nerve joins the two of them. So, as you heal the brain, you're going to start healing the gut and vice versa. But they do completely different things. This is why we suggest spirulina in the morning, because that's when you're tired and hungry. And we recommend chlorella. You can take it any time of day, but we generally recommend it at night. Why? Because when you are sleeping, your body goes through a detox repair cycle. So, if you have chlorella in your system while you're getting your beauty rest, you're going to have a much faster, better repair.
[00:41:01] By the way, chlorella also has the highest tryptophan in the world, which is a precursor to melatonin, so it will help you get into a deeper sleep. And the other amazing thing about chlorella is, and I know people don't like to talk about it, but I do, it stimulates peristalsis, which is also known as a bowel movement. You've got to get rid of what I call the junk in your trunk if you want to be healthy. You need to nourish your body and absorb nutrients, but you have to eliminate what's not wanted by your body. A lot of colon cancer is because people are not having daily bowel movements. And I can almost promise you, if you're on medication, eating dairy, eating processed foods, traveling, stressed, not sleeping, you are probably constipated. And lots of people eat fiber and vegetables to improve that.
[00:41:51] Well, this solves the problem for you. This is why this can be possibly a replacement for vegetables. Not only do you get the chlorophyll, but you also get the bowel movement, and it does it effortlessly. And that's why I refer to it as housekeeping, because when you are at a hotel, you come back to your room, it's spotless, it's clean, it got rid of all the junk you didn't want. That's what chlorella does. So, taking it before bed will get you the best results. It also stimulates the release of stem cells, and it has something called chlorella growth factor, which speeds up the growth of your cells, so you have a much better repair. We know as you get older, it takes you longer to recover from surgery or injury.
[00:42:35] We have science that proves that this improves that process. So, in terms of quantities, I know you didn't ask, but I'm going to help because I'm sure people are wondering. For maintenance amount, 10 spirulina in the morning will be sufficient and 10 chlorella before bed will be sufficient. However, if you are trying to correct an issue or prevent something, maybe you had cancer or you have cancer, or you have diabetes, or you don't want diabetes, whatever the issue is, a therapeutic amount would be 30 tablets a day of spirulina and 30 tablets of chlorella. And you need the 20 or 30 for detox of the chlorella. You'll get the wellness benefits from just 10, but for full detox, you really do need the 20 or 30, and I take way more than that.
[00:43:25] Just to put it in context, we fuel NHL teams, Olympic teams. The NHL players have 75 spirulina before every game because it gives them focus and energy on the ice. And they have 75 chlorella after a game because they want to pull out the lactic acid so their muscles aren't sore. I've been taking more than that every day for 15 years. So, there's no upper limit. Again, it's food. So, gauge what is appropriate for you. If you're not feeling a lift of energy or focus from 10, take more. Take them as often as you want. Or if you get what you need from five, that's your number. For children, give them half of their age, so if they're 10, give them five a day. If they're 8, give them 4 a day. They can have more, but that will help them get where you want them to be nutritionally, and same with the chlorella. So, yes, very nourishing, energizing, detox, healing. That's why we call this one RECOVERYbits and this one ENERGYbits.
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:44:27] It's also very interesting and it's new for me, hearing about the additive benefits of chlorella, specific to peristalsis,-
Catharine Arnston: [00:44:37] Yeah.
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:44:38] -stimulation of stem cells, that's all very new, helping with the glymphatic system. So, when you're sleeping, it's like your brain is taking out the garbage. One thing that I do see with a lot of middle-aged women is they struggle with the amount of deep sleep, whether they're taking hormone replacement therapy or not. And we know we want no less than 90 minutes of deep sleep, preferably more than that. And so, I would be curious to see if anyone's tracking Oura metrics or WHOOP bands to see a pre and a post, taking the chlorella for that. Now, I would imagine chlorella is helpful if someone has potentially been exposed to food poisoning.
[00:45:14] I'm also thinking about college age kids. Although I don't per se condone underage drinking, I do have a college freshman. I did send him to school with some chlorella and explained to him how that could be helpful. In terms of dosing, is it the same 30 tablets that you generally recommend if you suspect you've had food poisoning or you're trying to avoid developing a hangover?
Catharine Arnston: [00:45:35] Yeah, I will admit I don't know about food poisoning because that's a different situation but glyphosate pesticide-- The trouble is, as I mentioned, that 700 toxins that we have in our body, you can't detox once a year and think you're home free. You can't even detox quarterly or monthly. I tell people taking chlorella every day is like giving your body a shower from the inside, because every day, we are exposed to more toxins, and it layers on top of whatever's there. So, you need to bring down that toxicity to a manageable level. I don't think I now have to eat so clean because I am so cleaned out from eating both of these for so many years. And here's the other great thing and I'm going to send you a link of four testimonials.
[00:46:26] We get thousands of testimonies. We don't even ask for them. People just write us or email us telling us what happened. And on the sleep note, we had an 86-year-old woman who wrote us, who told us that she was incontinent. She couldn't sleep more than an hour at a time. She had no energy. So, she started taking both of them. And within a week, she said she had more energy than she could possibly imagine. She now was sleeping at least 5 hours at a time, no longer incontinent. And in her testimonial, she said, “Today I went to visit my grandson, play basketball at school. I visited a friend at nursing home. I went for a walk, a three-mile walk. I came home, cleaned up my garage, and started painting my kitchen. Oh, and then at 5 o’clock had dinner. Because the spirulina kept her nourished and energized all day, so she hadn't needed to eat.
[00:47:19] Two final things. She said, “I'm not making any of this up.” She said, “I just joined CrossFit, and my grocery bills have plummeted.” Because when you take this, this is food, your needs for vegetables, protein supplements will go down. We'll send you links how this replaces so many supplements and is so much better than any kind of greens powders. And then when you take this, you don't need as many vegetables either, because it's giving you that peristalsis. So many clinical trials I want to do, but we do have the testimonials that show people that this is helping them with getting into their deep sleep. Because I tell people the two most important things that you can do for yourself is get sleep and take algae. That's the two cornerstones. There's many more movement and sunlight. So, those are very, very critical as well. But sleep and algae, man, they're my go to power solutions for just about everything. And I take a lot of algae and I get 8, sometimes 9 hours of sleep. So, I'm on the train for getting and maintaining good health.
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:48:31] That's really incredible. And the fact that we get to celebrate your pre-birthday with you today and sing,-
Catharine Arnston: [00:48:35] Yeah, look at that.
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:48:35] -Happy early birthday wishes.
Catharine Arnston: [00:48:37] Thank you.
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:48:37] And so to end the conversation today, obviously you're a proponent of algae helping to improve biologic, chronologic age. You mentioned sleep. Are there any other aspects that you think have contributed to your incredible, not only longevity? I've met you in person, so I can say this honestly. You don't look your age. And I think our perception of the aging process needs to shift because that doesn't have to be our destiny. I think many people assume after the age of 50, you know, you become very sedentary and you can't sleep anymore, and you have lots of aches and pains. And so obviously that's not the case. What are some of the other things that you do for yourself that you think have contributed to reverse aging?
Catharine Arnston: [00:49:22] Yeah. Well, the algae and the sleep are my number two for sure. And I will admit that when I got my Medicaid card in the mail when I turned 65, I was a little depressed for almost a year because I thought, “I'm not old, how can I have this card?” So, your state of mind and your passion for life is, I feel as reviving as any other hack that you can do, nutritional, movement, sleep, passion for living. And my passion, as anyone knows, is all about getting algae out to the world. And I am so grateful that I found my path because I had a nice career, but nothing compares to my joy of helping people understand this gift to us from mother nature and the healing properties.
[00:50:13] And I haven't even gone into the deep healing properties because that blue pigment in spirulina, which is called phycocyanin. Reason I want you to know about it because it's proven to kill cancer cells, but it has to be in raw spirulina. And so, the problem is everybody else, you can't just get all these benefits like the mitochondria from any algae. It has to be raw. So, you can either get raw or fresh, or you can get ours. And I can't speak for anybody else's, is if you buy the cheaper algae, it's like buying a car that doesn't have an engine in it. You're not going to get all the benefits, but back to the hack, so definitely the algae, definitely the sleep, definitely the passion for life. And then there's other mini hacks movement.
[00:51:01] And I will say I suffered a bit because 14 years working on building this company, I sacrificed my exercise routine and I paid for it. I had two hip replacements last year. [laughs] So, I'm up in my game again and I love working out. Ladies, particularly, we have to do weightbearing exercises. You don't need the aerobics as much, although that's really good for another reason, because it clears out your lymphatic system and get a rebounder. But weightbearing exercises, because there is no decline required with aging, zero. What declines is your mitochondria. And your mitochondria determine your health and your metabolic state. So, we can and we will and I've upped my game and I’ve come back in another year and check in with me.
[00:51:53] We need to keep our mitochondria healthy, and the way to do that is with algae and with weightbearing exercises, and we can level out and stay healthy into our 90s. We don't have to decline. Fragility is due to lack of nutrition and lack of strength-bearing activities. So that's another thing I really emphasize for myself. And I'm listening to myself now more, I don't want anyone else to fall into that situation. And then there's other ones, like getting natural sunlight, obviously having a community that you're belonging to. And I do little things like I sleep on a grounding mat and I drink water with lemon every morning to alkaline and cleanse out my liver. By the way, chlorella has the highest amount of glutathione in the world.
[00:52:39] And so if you are doing other hacks, like red light therapy, cryotherapy, please add algae before and after because they elevate and deepen and extend the benefits from all of those other hacks. And I have the science about that too. And I do have a red light therapy. I don't use devices. I have a couple of them. I don't use them regularly or consistently as I should. But the great news is the world is starting to realize prevention is the name of the game. And it's never too early to start. And it's never too late. I tell people it's never too late to feel great, never. So, I don't care if you're 20 or 80. These things that I use are effortless to deploy. If you can swallow water, you can take algae tablets.
[00:53:27] If you can just turn off the noise and go to bed early, you got your longevity covered. Get out there, do some squats in between. While you're waiting for your tea to boil, just do 20 or 30 squats. You don't even need weights. They say now that if you do a minute of squats, it's the benefit to your mitochondria and your metabolic health is equal to a 30-minute walk. Squats, ladies, let's get out there and do squats. And then have some spirulina before and chlorella after.
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:53:55] I love these conversations. Thank you so much for your time today. Please let listeners know how to connect with you. Obviously, we'll have links to your products and to your website.
Catharine Arnston: [00:54:05] Yes, well, our website is energybits.com. We have a 20% discount code CYNTHIATHURLOW. All one word, no space in between that work on all the products. Not subscriptions, but all the products. And even if you don't want to buy anything, just come to the website. We write a full blog every month with lots of science. Everything's science referenced. And the great thing is the big bags are the best value. There is 1000 tablets in a bag and using your discount code, it brings the price from 130 to 104. And just to put it in context, if you were to take 10 tablets a day, which is your maintenance amount, that works out to a dollar a day.
[00:54:49] A dollar a day to preserve, to protect, maintain your health at whatever age you are, your health, your beauty, your bones, your brain, you're worth it. Everyone's worth a dollar a day. And then take the chlorella as well. So, come to our website. If you have any doubt you don't want to make the purchase, go to Amazon, you can buy little pouches for $6. Try them out because there are some people do feel detoxed effects from chlorella, nothing from spirulina. So, if you wondered if you're one of those ones that will have detox, just go to Amazon, $6 figure it out and then come back and use the CYNTHIATHURLOW discount code for your 20% off. And we're very active on social, our Instagram handle, Facebook is @energybits. So, we have the opportunity to reverse age, protect what we've got.
[00:55:39] And the only reason you don't know about algae is because nobody's told you about it and no one's giving you a clean product. So that's what we're doing.
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:55:46] Well, thank you again for your time today. This has been a mini course on algae, and I know it'll be a benefit to listeners.
Catharine Arnston: [00:55:53] Thanks, Cynthia.
Cynthia Thurlow: [00:55:56] If you love this podcast episode, please leave a rating in review, subscribe and tell a friend.
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