I’ll pass on the blue latte, thanks

If you’ve been taken in by the hype surrounding the algal food supplement spirulina or quaffing blue lattes made with algal powder and no coffee…

Stop now.

There’s mounting evidence that the neurotoxin BMAA, beta-methylamino-L-alanine (an amino acid that is not used to make proteins) can lead to Alzheimer’s disease (AD), motor neuron disease (MND) also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and related neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinsonism. There’s also evidence that BMAA can be passed from mother to suckling infant in breast milk too.

Thanks to DrRachie for the alert on this.

There’s a reason they spend millions cleaning up drinking water and trying to prevent algal blooms in reservoirs and why you don’t let your kids nor your pets swim where there’s a bloom. And, as someone else pointed out to me on Twitter, catering sticking plasters are blue because there are pretty much no good foods that are blue…