The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Charley Ireland (Ireland ) on 02/17/2016:
Hi, just wondering if anyone can help me. I began using spirulina a week ago and already I feel energized and better able to cope with life..i haven't had a cold sore for years but yesterday had a outbreak..after some research I found spirulina has high arginine which causes herpes outbreaks yet some people swear by it as a prevention because it boosts the immune system..i really don't want to stop having it because I love the results but not the cold sores..could this be the cause?
I've been taking spirulina in capsules for couple of weeks... started from one a day now I am up to 3... First week I did not feel anything different...but last 4-5 days I have very bad headaches and have no energy... not sure if I have to just keep going and it will go away...
But I do not want to take one pill .. and then take another to get rid of side effects of previous pill..
How long you supposed to feel side effects till your body adjust to it? I know everyone is different but I am close to giving it up!!
I just started taking spirulina (Now brand, certified GMO free) about a week ago, recommended dose on label is 6 tablets, on the 4th day of taking it I got flu like symptoms including vomiting for 3 days, I stopped the supplement during that time, not sure if this was from the spirulina or not, now I am afraid to take it again. This was the worst sickness I have had ever, whether it was the flu or reaction to the spirulina. It gave me a strange, uncomfortable feeling in my stomach and as a result I could not sleep.
I consume Elken Spirulina few days ago. I took 7tablets daily. I noticed that I got a sore throat after taking the pills. I think it is the side effect. Should I reduce the amount of the pills?
Add me to the list of those negatively affected by Spirulina. Here's how we 'accidentally' figured it out.
A while back I tired of doing spirulina powder. I just couldn't do it anymore. So I tried Pacifica pills. The first time I took the pills I felt uneasy after an hour or so and proceeded to vomit more violently than I have in my life (39 yrs old). A firehose out the other end and I was miserable for a day. I vowed off spirulina.
My wife made me a smoothie this morning and I went to work as normal. An hour later I clearly remembered the same feeling happening. I was deja vu back in the bathroom at work violently vomiting and having diarrhea . I texted my wife to ask what she put in the smoothie and sure enough she put in a green powder mix that had spirulina as an ingredient. So if anyone wants to play a bad joke on me, they can slip me my smoothie with spirulina. It's just strange that it happened after I switched from the full powder.
I've had a bad relation to spirulina as well. I took it in powder form (1/8 teaspoon) and have had severe headache, vomiting and diarrhea for hours after. This has happened again after a break of not taking it so I am sure spirulina is the cause.
I also had a bad reaction to spirulina pacifica. I took the pure Hawaiian powder type from a natural health food store.
I vomited 2 hours after putting 1 tsp in my green juice drink. I vomited for a whole hour along with diarrhea. I know its the spirulina because the same thing happened a week ago. I didn't think it was the spirulina because my husband had the same drink and he was fine. I must be allergic to it if that is possible. I will never take that stuff again.
WARNING!! To all those who have had vomitting, etc after ingesting chlorophyll based supplements. This is an allergic reaction! Don't kid yourself into thinking this is detox like I did or let anyone else tell you otherwise. Vomiting, cramps and diarreha are the reactions of the mast cells in the digestive tract. After being rushed to Emergency two nights ago after I again ingested a form of chlorophyll, the medical team warned me that the next time may kill me. Thank god my sister is a physician and insisted my husband to take me after he called her. I thought a food allergy was when you have a anaphalactic reaction but they explained how it all works. See WebMD's page on allergies for a brief but good summary.
Chris (West Mildands, England - United Kingdom) on 01/28/2011:
Hi, I'm glad I saw a post about spirulina side effects. Me and my gym mate came with that research too - and worse still, that it can relate to brain damage over prolonged usage, and kidney defunctability. Also, chlorella I've read can cause uric acid - which can lead to heart problems apparently. I'm no health expert, but I believe that it is best to see both sides of the story on here to get the whole picture and what is actually right and what isn't.
I have had flu and weak muscles since I've been taking spirulina myself and I've been taking it a couple of weeks now and the symptoms haven't really lessened so I am coming off it too, appears that according to some sites, spirulina can be nearly on par with aspartame, which I hope isn't true, one hand they're promoting it being good to alleviate cancer then on the other they're apparently causing symptoms to end up causing heart problems. It's hard to know what to believe.
I heard a lot of good things about spirulina and decided to take 3 grams a day- as it was recommended on the bottle. I stopped taking it after 5 days because i think Ive had a bad reaction towards it. Ive had headaches, brain fog, a feeling of pressure in my head, hot flashes, a depressed mood and an ear infection. I think its either symptoms of my body detoxing or i might be allergic to it or coincidentally i caught a virus with some flu like symptoms. It has been 5 days since i stopped taking spirulina and my symptoms have lessened but are still there. I personally feel it is my body detoxing and was thinking that i should start taking it again but at a lower dose but i want to feel better first. Any advice, comments, and hopefully remedies are much appreciated.
Thanks so much
p.s. The brand i bought has a quality assured GMP stamp on the label
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