<p> Spirulina, believed to be a source of food for the ancient Mexicans, may hold the solution to India's problem of malnutrition, as candies made from the blue-green algae show promise in promoting overall growth of young children, according to a new study.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Spirulina is a microscopic fresh-water plant rich in nutrients, protein, and enzymes. It is low in calories and saturated fat and is one of the only non-mucous, non-acid forming high protein food, which NASA has also included as space diet for astronauts.<br /><br />The new research, involving about 2,000 children aged two to five years in the tribal regions of Nilgiris district in Tamil Nadu, found that those who took 'spirulina candies' had remarkable changes in overall health than those who were in a control group which was not given the supplement.<br /><br />"Comparison of changes in the anthropometric parameters -- such as growth of weight, height, head circumference etc -- revealed that children who were given spirulina candies were significantly taller and heavier than those in the placebo group," said Dola Mahapatra, National Director of Child Fund India, that sponsored the study.<br /><br />"The study thus underlines the necessity for large scale, long term and widespread intervention programmes, with special reference to spirulina, in order to enhance the nutritional status of tribal children," Mahapatra told PTI.<br /><br />Food supplements like spirulina are generally regarded as safe, and are low cost and may prove to be beneficial to children especially in tribal belts where they are deprived of the nutrition they require, said Ishi Khosla, clinical nutritionist and founder of 'theweightmonitor.com'.<br /><br />"However, the quality of spirulina and its processing needs to be taken care of," she added.<br /><br />The study was conducted by a team from Nilgiri Adivasi Welfare Association (NAWA) and the Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women, Coimbatore.<br /><br />The findings were discussed at a special session of a recent four-day event of Child Fund India here.</p>
<p> Spirulina, believed to be a source of food for the ancient Mexicans, may hold the solution to India's problem of malnutrition, as candies made from the blue-green algae show promise in promoting overall growth of young children, according to a new study.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Spirulina is a microscopic fresh-water plant rich in nutrients, protein, and enzymes. It is low in calories and saturated fat and is one of the only non-mucous, non-acid forming high protein food, which NASA has also included as space diet for astronauts.<br /><br />The new research, involving about 2,000 children aged two to five years in the tribal regions of Nilgiris district in Tamil Nadu, found that those who took 'spirulina candies' had remarkable changes in overall health than those who were in a control group which was not given the supplement.<br /><br />"Comparison of changes in the anthropometric parameters -- such as growth of weight, height, head circumference etc -- revealed that children who were given spirulina candies were significantly taller and heavier than those in the placebo group," said Dola Mahapatra, National Director of Child Fund India, that sponsored the study.<br /><br />"The study thus underlines the necessity for large scale, long term and widespread intervention programmes, with special reference to spirulina, in order to enhance the nutritional status of tribal children," Mahapatra told PTI.<br /><br />Food supplements like spirulina are generally regarded as safe, and are low cost and may prove to be beneficial to children especially in tribal belts where they are deprived of the nutrition they require, said Ishi Khosla, clinical nutritionist and founder of 'theweightmonitor.com'.<br /><br />"However, the quality of spirulina and its processing needs to be taken care of," she added.<br /><br />The study was conducted by a team from Nilgiri Adivasi Welfare Association (NAWA) and the Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women, Coimbatore.<br /><br />The findings were discussed at a special session of a recent four-day event of Child Fund India here.</p>