Phytoplankton has only
recently made an impact as a food source for human
consumption
by Tiffany Haarsma,
Marine Life Sciences
In 2005,
WILD natural blends of Marine Phytoplankton became available for
the first time in history through Mr. Tom
Harper's remarkable technology. Since then,
consumers and retailers have seen more and more
Phytoplankton products making their way into the
market. However, not all phytoplankton are
grown and harvested equally or naturally.
As the popularity of
whole food nutrients such as high quality open cell
phytoplankton make their way into many homes, many
questions have risen.
Companies unwilling to answer
questions fully, or that skirt around issues usually
do so because they have simply "jumped on
board" hoping to gain a place in the market with
little or no research of their own. It is a
common practice within many market places.
As educated consumers it is
important to research the origin and safety of foods and products we
consume. Sometimes though, we do not always know the questions
to ask. I hope the following information creates an empowering
understanding from which to base your decision.
OPEN Cell vs. CLOSED
Cell Plankton... what's the difference?
1) NOT ALL PHYTOPLANKTON
PRODUCTS ARE CREATED EQUAL!!!
Alpha 3 CMP is OPEN cell
Phytoplankton. Most other brands of Phytoplankton
are CLOSED Cell. The Human body does not
have the digestive enzymes to break down silica which
forms the "shell" of the microscopic
plankton plants, therefore, if the cell wall is still
in tact, very little, if any nutrients will be
absorbed. No matter how potent the other
companies claim their plankton is, unless it is open,
it makes no difference. Our plankton cells are opened
without using and heat, freezing, or chemicals. Many
companies have to mix their closed cell plankton with
other forms of seaweed and greens to yield
nutritional potential for humans.
2) Alpha 3 CMP
is a blend of up to 200 species of WILD Marine
Phytoplankton and Natural sea salt. Other
products contain single species grown in a denatured
laboratory environment called a bio-reactor. Tom Harper's Unique
Sea Farm is the only company in
the world with the Patent pending technology to grow
and harvest WILD marine Phytoplankton in a
controlled, safe environment. Natural Sea
salt has 84 essential minerals the body requires for
OPTIMAL cellular function. There are trace
amounts of this vital sea salt in every serving of
Alpha 3 CMP. With that said, it is only .05% of
your recommended daily serving of sodium; this being
considered sodium free according to RDI of the
American Heart Association.
3) Alpha 3 CMP
is the only Phytoplankton with full double-blind
scientific studies that can prove an increase of
CD3 cells (immune booster cells). As of yet,
none of the other companies have provided any
scientific research on their particular plankton
species as beneficial for human consumption.
4) It is also
now scientifically proven that a daily serving of
75mg of Alpha 3 AMP offers enough potency to increase
the CD3 cells (immune cells). Other brands
may provide more plankton per serving, but again, if
they have closed cell plankton in their product, more
will not make a difference. Also, the other
brands have no actual research to confirm how much is
needed of their brand. Often times consumers assume
"more is more", and this is what
manufacturers count on at points of purchase.
5) The Sea Farm
is a CARBON NEUTRAL research and manufacturing
facility. Unbelievably, it only requires
about 10Hp to operate our facility. You have probably
heard about the carbon fixation of trees and the
increasing interest in planting trees to offset our
carbon emissions. The fact is that a mature tree
probably fixes 4-5 t of CO2 over its lifespan of
40-100 years. In terms of removal rate, forests fix
at least 1.2 t C per acre per year11 (or 4.4 t
C02/acre/year). In contrast, our facility running 8
tanks will fix approximately 1 ton of CO2 every
day! Clearly, micro-algae are more efficient agents
for CO2 removal than trees. Our only bi-product is
OXYGEN!
6) The
first step of our technology to "Bloom" the
Phytoplankton in the tanks requires that we fill them
up with Seawater which contains naturally occurring
wild species of phytoplankton that are thoroughly
tested each and every batch to ensure they completely
safe for human consumption. As phytoplankton
make up the basis of the food chain in the ocean, it
is imperative NOT to disrupt or take away this
natural foundation. In essence, we
"borrow" the Plankton for only 5 to 12 days
until the tanks are in full "bloom" and
ready to be harvested. Approximately 5% of the
wild nutrient rich phytoplankton bloom remain in the
tanks after harvesting, therefore, when we empty the
tanks the remaining three to five percent of
Phytoplankton nutrients returns back out to the
ocean, maintaining the strength of the oceans food
chain.
7) Alpha 3
CMP is tested after each harvest for yeast, mold,
bacteria, e-coli, staphylococcus, salmonella, heavy
metals, and arsenic at a licensed third party
laboratory that has been granted their Site License
Number issued through Health Canada. Each and
every batch has met the strict guidelines set forth
by Health Canada (Equivalent to the US FDA) since
it's launch in April 2005.
Marine Life Science
has contracted with the Department of Health
Promotion and Education at the University of Utah to
conduct clinical studies to determine the impact of
Alpha 3 AMP concentrated marine phytoplankton on
human health indicators of apparently healthy
individuals
Progress Report from
the Director of Research Life Enrichment Research
Foundation (PDF file)