NOW Supplements, Organic Spirulina Powder with Beta-Carotene (Vitamin A) and B-12, 4-Pound

After finished my first 4-lb Now Foods spirulina powder, recently I ordered my second jar and boy, they are different; the second jar comes with a rotten/sewage smell and it tasts just as bad. The after taste stays in my mouth for a long time too. I force myself to drink this stuff down while holding my breath. when I called their customer service, I was told that they recently changed the supplier from Hawaii to someplace in India. In my mind the first jar tastes the same as the one from Nutrex Hawaiian Spirulina, so that confirms the difference in tastes between the two places. I have not gotten sick yet, I plan to finish this jar and order from Nutrex next time.

Good stuff..but the gas it gives and the smells it causes. Let’s just say you could potentially be single if you are partnered. But I heard this is a detox effect.

Before rating this review at the bottom, please read the entire story!I have been using this product for over a year now. I was turned onto it when I decided to try out vegetarianism, and was looking for protein sources. When I first got this Spirulina, I used it only periodically, and did not notice much difference in how I felt when I took it. I knew it was good for me as it was a super food, so I took it probably once or twice per week. I was traveling a lot at the time, and so when I would go away, I would pack a little bag of this stuff with me.A few months ago, I got a new job at a health food store. I have always been into nutrition, and I figured it was a good opportunity to learn more, and get to try out a bunch of new products. I had been using this Spirulina for almost a year, and was taking it every morning. Oddly enough, I had a lot of pride in the Spirulina. Everyone who I knew who was "healthy" took it. I read all kinds of stories about how it could help certain diseases, how it was helping malnutrition in poor countries, and bettering life wherever it was introduced. In my mind, Spirulina truly was the superfood of all superfoods.Then I decided to start taking more of it. At the time I was taking about a table spoon every morning (7 grams or so). I decided that I would take a tablespoon every meal, or about 21 grams a day. I had searched the internet for any concerns that would arise by taking 20 or more grams, and found very little. I was not having any stomach problems with it, so I decided to give it a go. I started taking the tablespoon with every meal, and my god, it was amazing!I had all this energy! I was NEVER tired. I felt like I was moving much quicker. At work, I was moving so fast and people commented on how energetic I seemed. However I had some growing concerns. My throat was starting to hurt, and my nose was constantly dripping. When I woke up in the morning, I would cough and cough to get all this phlegm out of my esophagus. I had given up caffeine a few years back, but I started to feel like I was on it. I checked my supplements to see if I was taking anything with a stimulant in it, but I could not find anything.Then I had a revelation. What if the Spirulina was acting like a stimulant? I decided to do an experiment and stop taking it after my morning dose. That afternoon, it dawned on me, and I crashed HARD. I was irritable and emotional for no apparent reason, I was exhausted as if I had been on a caffeine binge for days. I was shocked!I started thinking back to all the times I had used Spirulina out of town, on fasts, or in the morning before work. All those times I had felt great for a few hours, and then I would get this unexplained tiredness. I always chalked up the tiredness to simply working hard, or what my body's energy levels were. I never in a million years considered Spirulina as a stimulant. But it all started making sense. These dots started getting connected: how hard certain times of the day were to get through (Spirulina crash). Or why my energy levels were so erratic at times. I had my girl friend and mother try it, and they experienced similar reactions.I did not want to accept that my miracle food was a fraud, but I stopped taking Spirulina completely and the change was miraculous. Remember, I had been on Spirulina everyday for 6-9 months...every morning. I feel completely new now. My energy levels are more even. I do not suddenly get tired out of no where. If I do get tired, it is gradual, like a slowly letting out of energy instead of a crash. I sleep better. My appetite, which I never realized left me, has suddenly returned.Don't get me wrong, the stats on Spirulina do not lie. It is nutrient rich and has some great stuff in it. But for me, it acts like a stimulant. I am seriously so much more relaxed now then I was. I did not realize how edgy I was, or how much of a struggle certain things were.I am sending back this Spirulina. I just bought a new four pound tub after my last had run out, and I do not want to be stimulated any more. By all means, do not believe me, try this for yourself: taking a couple tablespoons of Spirulina and see how you feel for the next six hours. If you really want to experiment, do that for a few days.Maybe Spirulina isn't all bad, but just the 'Now' brand. Or maybe it is just Spirulina from Hawaii, I don't know. I would love to hear from other people because in all my searching I only found one person who had a similar reaction. I would love to hear from people who have tried this experiment with other brands and not felt like they crashed. Does it apply to Chlorella too? I just do not know.I wrote this review because I did not see anyone else with this kind of reaction, so hopefully people will start seeing how they feel on this stuff, and we can all learn from each other. Best of Luck!Edit: Let me clarify what I consider a stimulant. A stimulant is not something that gives energy. Food gives energy. A stimulant causes some kind of reaction within the body that pushes your body to feel more energetic for some amount of time, after which is crashes.

I use a lot of spirulina in mixes and shakes for the nutritional value. Any tablets are hugely expensive compared to the powder. Question with all of it is how clean is it, where grown, etc. "Organic" can be technically true but still from a polluted environment, like so much Chinese product unfortunately. I'm not a lab -- can't tell by chemical testing, but talking with people at NOW this comes from India from a company that at least has a good reputation. For spirulina, it's always smelled fresh and tasted fine. I keep it in the refridgerator once it's opened, though I don't think that's required. 4 pounds is a huge amount, but it's quite cost effective. Now has the same thing in 1lb version.

I was blown away and a little suspicious of the price when I first found this product. I wanted to be cautious of purchasing spirulina that was being produced in China so I did some investigative work. After a few phone calls and some leg work, I found that this particular product was 100% made in Hawaii (just what I was hoping for)!! I make 3 quarts of green smoothies every day... and when I say green, I mean green!! This spirulina really darkens up your smoothies... and packs a huge nutritional punch to what I was previously doing. I add 2 Tblsp of spirulina to my daily regimin of fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds and I am blown away at how amazing I feel. I would recommend this product to anyone.

I have been taking this product for about 6 months now. I have noticed that I do not get sleepy in the afternoon, like I used to. I have done a bit of research comparing this to wheatgrass etc. The spirulina is a more complete food. My morning shake consists of grapefruit juice, 2 tablespoons of spirulina and a high quality whey protein in a shaker with a whisk. (I say high quality because some of the cheaper whey does not mix well and is clumpy (gross). And 1 banana (I eat this). This does me great till lunch. I feel healthy and look healthy. Great product.

I've been taking spirulina capsules for over a year now, but this is the first time I've tasted spirulina powder. It was much darker than I thought it was going to be. It's such a dark green color, that it looks black. Also, the texture is so fine, that it makes a mess every time you open the lid. I added less than half a scoop the a fruit/yogurt smoothie, and the entire thing turned DARK green. I don't understand how 1 serving size is a full scoop- that seems like too much.This spirulina has a sulfaric-acid/egg taste. It made my smoothie seem really acidic and unpleasant. I had to dilute my drink down with juice, in order to finish it. I will continue using this powder, because I'm sure it's very healthy for me. But I wish I'd known how unpleasant it was going to be.

The quality of this product is the highest whereas the price is the lowest. If you take this long term and/or in large quantities, you can't go wrong here. A short aside re the taste - I know a lot of people complain about the unpleasant taste of spirulina in general, but I find that this particular product is more appetizing than most. No hint of fishiness at all, just a mild hint of fresh mowed grass. Some would call that refreshing, myself included.