Kailua-Kona, HI—More than three million Americans over the age of 65 are living with anemia, according to the National Anemia Action Council. A new study published in Cellular & Molecular Immunology offers data indicating that there may be a natural way to address the problem.

A research team from the University of California Davis and supplier Cyanotech, based here, gave 40 healthy volunteers (ages 50 and older) three grams of spirulina every day for 12 weeks. Their diets and immune function were analyzed with blood samples. Over the study period, the male participants’ mean corpuscular hemoglobin (used to determine anemia) and mean corpuscular volume (used to check iron levels) increased in men. Nearly all volunteers had increased white blood cells counts after six and 12 weeks of supplementations. Older women benefited the quickest from Spirulina, the researchers stated.

The results led the group to say, “Spirulina may ameliorate anemia and immunosenescence in older subjects.”

Published in WholeFoods Magazine April 2011 (online 2/24/11)