Energy Bits Review

Update, January 2, 2015: I’ve made the decision to stop buying Energy Bits because I’m concerned about safety.  Spirulina itself is safe and an extremely beneficial superfood, but upon further reading I’m no longer comfortable with the risk of toxin contamination.  I believe EnergyBits as a company is one of the best, most cautious producers, and people making the decision to continue eating spirulina should heavily consider using EnergyBits as their source.  However, reading more about how dangerous contaminated spirulina can be, I’ve decided to avoid it and opt for chlorella (which doesn’t carry the same contamination risks) instead.  In addition, I’ve learned that the B-12 in spirulina isn’t effective at fixing a B-12 deficiency in humans, eliminating one of the fringe benefits I found appealing.

Dr. Michael Greger, M.D. addresses spirulina use in this article, with several additional videos about it linked at the bottom of the article.

I might occasionally purchase Recovery Bits from the same parent company, 100% chlorella tabs that are also certified non-GMO organic.  They have different benefits, but are also nutrient dense and have some detox benefits that any champagne lover can appreciate.  Dr. Greger addresses chlorella here: http://nutritionfacts.org/video/latest-on-blue-green-algae/

I’ve left my original review of Energy Bits below, and wish you the best as you make a decision about what’s right for your health and family!

I recently accepted a free sample of energy bits in exchange for posting a review.  I’d never done this before, but a lot of the runners I follow on twitter had started using energybits, and #poweredbybits kept popping up in my feed.

What ARE these “bits”, and why are so many runners I follow into them?  Curiosity won.

What they are:  ENERGYbits are 100% spirulina algae tabs.  They’re designed to be swallowed, so you don’t have to taste the GREEN.  Spirulina is a nutritional powerhouse, it’s a plant protein that has a high percentage of protein, vitamins and minerals.  They’re low in calories, just one calorie per tab, but pack a huge protein punch with 5 grams of protein in a 30 calorie serving.  Since it’s bio-available (easily used by your body) protein, that’s even more substantial than 5 grams of protein from a less usable source.  It’s also high in vitamin B, which is essential in rebuilding and repairing muscles for athletes.  Since spirulina is grown in water, it can be easily contaminated by microcystins and it can absorb heavy (toxic) metals.  I asked ENERGYbits’ community manager, Jonathan, about their growing practices and was really impressed by the level of thought and effort they’ve put in to keeping their algae safe.  It’s grown organically, it’s non-GMO certified, and it’s grown in Taiwan rather than Japan to avoid any issues with nuclear contamination (yikes).  The pages of information he sent me were too long to include here, but I’m convinced that if you’re going to buy algae, you should buy it from the safest possible source, and that’s NOT going to be the cheapest source.  I’d recommend ENERGYbits.

Other products: ENERGYbits is part of a line of algae products which also includes RECOVERYbits (100% chlorella), VITALITYbits (50% chlorella, 50% spirulina) and SKINNYbits (100% spirulina – actually the same product as ENERGYbits just marketed differently).  All products are available only online through the energybits.com website… and no, shipping isn’t free.  (Darn you, Amazon Prime for making me feel ripped off when I pay for shipping.)

The claim: ENERGYbits promotes itself as a product that will “eliminate fatigue and hunger instantly” and suggests that you “throw away your energy drinks, gels, bars and supplements”. (www.energybits.com, front page)

My verdict: I’m not so certain.

Enough calories for a long run? ENERGYbits are a great source of nutrition, but at 30 calories a serving, they’re not a great source of calories.  The protein and nutrients are great for an athlete, but we also need calories if we’re going to be doing a long run.  The Community Manager at ENERGYbits, Jonatahn Levitt of www.realfitsocial.com, recommended suplementing ENERGYbits with Pocketfuel or another source of calories for longer runs.

Helpful for weight loss? There’s no doubt that our bodies feel the best when we’re not nutrient deficient, but that doesn’t mean a dose of nutrient dense food will give us the energy boost or stave off hunger in the way that ENERGYbits advertises.  Their website claims that because ENERGYbits are such a good source of bio-available protein that it makes you feel full and reduces cravings.  I’ve had them several times while hungry to see if they’d be a good snack replacement.  An hour later?  Still hungry.  The thought of substituting them for a meal makes me shudder.

I’m disappointed that ENERGYbits are also marketed as SKINNYbits – it’s the same product, just a different website with one targeting athletes and the other targeting people seeking weight loss.  I feel a little bit manipulated, like if you walked into the grocery store and saw three bins of broccoli: “skinny” broccoli, “beauty enhancing” broccoli, and “cancer reducing” broccoli, only to discover they’re all the same product.

I think it’s skeevy to market specific foods to people seeking weight loss.  Any healthy, whole food is going to be a good weight loss option if you’re substituting it for a processed snack.  You don’t need algae tabs, you don’t need acai berries.  Carrots are a super weight loss food if you eat a couple of them instead of processed crackers.  Be real.

These are definitely a healthy snack option, and it’s possible that the protein in them helps reduce cravings.  I didn’t experience reduced hunger, but I can’t rule out the possibility.  But I think relying on them as a weight loss strategy is no substitute for eating healthier all the time, and exercising.

Here’s how I’d recommend approaching weight loss: A nutrient dense approach to weight loss.

NOT a substitute for a whole foods diet: This brings me to my next qualm.  ENERGYbits coined their name because they want consumers to think of them as “bits” of food.  This is fine, algae is food, and they’re selling raw, organic, high quality algae.  Yet they’re marketing them in a similar way that people would market supplements – encouraging people to take spirulina every morning and chlorella every night to experience the best health benefits.  

I don’t disagree that these are nutrient dense.

However, I ALSO think that kale, carrots, broccoli, onions, garlic, mushrooms, zucchinni, red peppers, bok choy, strawberries, and dozens of other whole food plants are also nutritionally dense, very healthy, and definitely less expensive and more locally available.

If ENERGYbits are food, I would suggest we treat them like food – eat them as part of a whole foods diet to ensure that we get the balance of nutrients we need to be healthy.  There are very few foods I eat every day.  No one quite understands how the symphony of nutrition works yet, and one thing I strongly believe in is variety.  Kale might have a higher ANDI score than spinach, but it doesn’t have the exact same profile, so if you eliminate spinach from your diet you’re missing out on some things.

Let’s be careful not to overly rely on superfoods for our nutrition and forget that it’s filling our plates with a variety of whole foods that will make us the healthiest.

That doesn’t mean I’m against swallowing a handful of ENERGYbits before you go on a run, or having some RECOVERYbits after a night where you maybe shouldn’t have had that second (third?) glass of wine in hopes that the chlorella will help you detox.  It does mean that at $3.50 a serving, I’m not going to recommend to anyone that they start taking algae tabs daily.  Even if they were free, I believe it’s better to get your nutrition from a variety of sources.  (But they’re SO not free.  Ask my husband who opened the refrigerator door and saw almost $200.00 worth of algae in there.  Chia seeds are such a gateway superfood.)

My experience: I used ENERGYbits for several runs, and those runs went fine. I’ve also used them a couple times during the day when I was feeling exhausted (chasing two kids around!) and felt a boost.

This makes sense.  They’re a fantastic source of nutrients, and a really easy and quick way to get some greens into my diet when I don’t feel like sitting down and eating a salad.

I got my free sample in exchange for offering to write this review (a tin and two small handfuls of energybits) and after an extensive amount of research into spirulina, chlorella, and the safety and quality of ENERGYbits, I decided to buy my own bags.  They list at $115.00 a bag, which is $3.50 a serving.  I used a discount code from www.forkstofeet.com in order to get 30% off that price – read his review and see if he still has a discount code if you’re interested in buying your own!

How I plan to use my bits: I plan to use my bits like I use other superfoods – as part of a healthy lifestyle, balanced by other whole foods.  I think they’ll be great to take on the go when I don’t have time to make a green smoothie in the morning or haven’t had a salad in a few days.  I definitely like the idea of taking them before my long runs to provide my muscles with the protein and vitamin B they need to recover.

What I love about ENERGYbits: These are a great idea.  They’re fast to take, they’re nutrient dense, and they’re super convenient.  Super, super, super, but just like any “superfood”, I think it’s dangerous to rely on them.  I love chia, goji berries, maca powder, camu powder, and all kinds of other “superfoods”, but because they’re so super, they actually provide more nutrition than we need if we eat all of them every day.

My advice? Watch Forks Over Knives to understand the importance of a whole foods, plant based diet, focus on eating whole foods every day, incorporate “superfoods” when you can, and don’t look for the one, best, healthiest food out there.  It doesn’t exist.

References:

http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/spirulina

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/923.html

http://www.med.nyu.edu/content?ChunkIID=21606

http://www.energybits.com

http://www.recoverybits.com

http://www.skinnybits.com