ENERGYbits Product Review and Giveaway

Let's Talk About Algae.  When I was a kid, a distant cousin living in CA (so far from PA) started sending my grandmother and her two sisters some pills made of blue-green algae.  My grandmother and great aunts did not know what to do with these; I remember they dismissed them as some weird kind of hippie food.  That was my first impression of spirulina.

When I was living in China in 2009, a friend of mine had found some spirulina (aka blue-green algae) in a Chinese medicine shop and insisted on making us yogurt smoothies with it.  Although I was open-minded, I was still a bit hesitant about the idea of a 'supplement,' but I knew it would not hurt.  After all, seaweed and algae are popular in many Asian dishes.  I liked it when I took it, but I never really understood what I was taking and what health impacts it had.

I have been doing a little more research lately on spirulina and blue-green algae because it is considered such a Superfood.  A Superfood is high in protein, nutrients, and anti-oxidants.  Spirulina (blue-green algae) is one of the most nutritionally dense foods in the world.  Nutritional experts agree that algae is a very good source of nutrients.  Many athletes take it, as do people who want to improve their overall health and wellness.

Recently, people from ENERGYbits contacted me via Twitter.  ENERGYbits are parts of Bits of Health, a fairly new Boston-based company, looking to expand and reach a national audience this summer.  They offered me a sample of energybits to review.  I accepted on the condition that if I liked it, they would do a sample giveaway to one of my readers.  So I invite you to read the review, decide if you want to try it, and then enter to win!

What are ENERGYbits?

They are tablets that are made completely free of anything but organic Spirulina algae.  If there was anything aside from algae in them, I would be skeptical.  I love that they are clean, tiny, and completely packed with goods things that our bodies need and want.  They are tablets made entirely of a good, soild Superfood.  Each small tablet is 64% protein, one calorie, and packed with 40 nutrients.

Because they are in tablet form, you can simply swallow them and bypass the flavor of the algae if you do not like the taste.  You can also chew them, but they recommend beginners first swallowing them directly.  Take them just before exercising and they claim to give you a burst of sustained energy.  They also claim to balance blood sugar and curb hunger (but do NOT use them as a meal replacement!).

Do ENERGYbits work for me?**  

Like many supplements, it is difficult to directly link your performance to a certain nutritional product.  I took these before I left home for my race last weekend and I was certainly full of energy at the start of that race.  I also took them before each of my other runs this week and I felt great during each of those runs.  

They definitely did not hurt me, and I do believe that integrating more Superfoods like spirulina into your system is a good thing.  Whether or not it is necessary is up for you to decide.  I am definitely convinced that spirulina blue-green algae is not a hippy food from California anymore :)  

The directions indicate to take 30-40 tablets at a time, but I took less (@20 at a time) because I really did not want to upset my stomach with something new (especially before the race), because that really is a lot of swallowing, and to be able to test more.  

Would you like to try ENERGYbits?

Here are the ways you can enter (4 chances!) to win a free sample from ENERGYbits:  

(Sorry overseas folks; this is limited to the US or Canada. Enter by midnight of next Friday, March 22.)

1.  Leave a comment here. (1 chance)

2.  Follow me on Twitter.   (1 chance, leave a comment here that you follow me)

3.  Follow ENERGYbits on Twitter.   (1 chance, leave a comment here that you follow them)

4.  Tweet about the giveaway mentioning me and ENERGYbits.  (1 chance)

**All opinions represent my own.