Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Do you have a question about our products? Do you want to learn more about spirulina and chlorella algae? We have answers to many frequently asked questions (FAQs). Please let us know if you have additional questions.

Ordering & Shipping

We offer three ways to purchase our Bits! You can purchase bags online from our website, single servings from wellness practitioners and specialty retailers, and bags, boxes, and single servings from Amazon.

We ship to Canada every day! There are also a few wellness practitioners/retailers who sell our products in Canada but not many (yet!). We ship internationally to almost every country. Some countries have very strict customs regulations for food products, so, unfortunately, we do not ship everywhere. The list of countries we ship to is always changing, so if you can check out, we can ship to you!

Sign up for our email newsletter to receive 20% off your order. Simply enter your email in the field at the bottom of this page, click "subscribe," and check your inbox to confirm your email address. You can also check out our promotions page to view some of our latest offers!

Yes. Free shipping is available in the United States for orders containing four or more bags of Bits®. When checking out, make sure you select the "free shipping" option. Free shipping is also available in the United States through our subscription program.

Product Information

One ingredient: algae. That’s it. Nothing else. No sugar, no caffeine, no gluten, no soy, no additives, no GMOs, no preservatives, no binders, nothing artificial, nothing added, nothing subtracted. Just 100% algae. 100% green, 100% healthy, and 100% pure.

Yes.

ENERGYbits® spirulina helps give you physical and mental energy and is a healthy, high protein snack.

RECOVERYbits® chlorella helps support your immune system, detox, recovery from sports & digestion.

All of our Bits have the highest concentration of protein found in the world (over 60%); the highest concentration of iron, chlorophyll and antioxidants in the world, over 40 vitamins including most B-vitamins; and electrolytes like magnesium, potassium and much more. All for just one calorie per bit!

There is NO difference at all between ENERGYbits® and BEAUTYbits®. They are exactly the same – it’s just a branding/packaging difference. The reason why we have two spirulina algae brands is because our founder started this company because of her younger sister developing breast cancer. As a result, women’s health is very important to the company.

But for the first couple of years of business, women simply weren’t purchasing our algae – it was all men. Our founder asked other females why they weren’t customers and their honest reply was that they didn’t like the name ENERGYbits® and they didn’t like the fact that the packaging was blue. So, our founder decided to create a second brand of spirulina, packaged in pink with a fun, girly name: SKINNYbits® (now BEAUTYbits®). Just these two small changes are all that was needed to help women feel more comfortable buying our algae and now we sell to as many women as we do men.

Yes. In fact, they are some of the most eco-friendly, sustainable crops in the world. Algae uses 20% less water as traditional crops, it generates over 100 times more protein per acre than cattle ranching and captures carbon dioxide while it’s growing. Algae also releases so much oxygen to the air that it provides over 80% of oxygen on earth. Our growing system produces no environmental harming by-products.

The chlorella we grow is chlorella pyrenoidosa which is the higher quality, higher protein chlorella. Chlorella is a green algae. The spirulina we grow is spirulina platensis which is the higher quality, higher protein spirulina. Spirulina is a blue-green algae.

Our algae is grown in Taiwan. Taiwan is known as setting the “gold standard” for algae and is recognized for having the best algae in the world. The company that grows our algae has been growing algae for almost 50 years and has all the top certifications including GMP (Good Manufacturing Procedures) and ISO9000 certification.

Yes. They are grown outdoors in Taiwan in freshwater tanks that are tested daily for purity.

Yes, we grow our algae naturally without the use of pesticides or any genetic modification.

Sound vibration is used to crack the cell wall. This method guarantees there will not be any lead contamination in the chlorella. This is the only method that preserves all the nutrition of the chlorella since high heat is not used.

Taking Algae

Everyone! Our algae tablets contain plenty of nutrition – anyone of any age will benefit enormously from them. Athletes, fitness enthusiasts, children, working professionals, bio-hackers, moms, students, grandparents and everyone in between. Even pets!

Algae tastes “green" and a bit like nuts. We’re not actually sure if “green” is a flavor, but if you chew your Bits, then you will find that’s the first thing to come to mind! If you swallow them, there is no taste and there is also no after-taste. ENERGYbits® and BEAUTYbits® are “chewier" than RECOVERYbits® and they may stick to your teeth for a few minutes. RECOVERYbits® do not stick to your teeth as much.

The list of benefits is almost endless! In short:

ENERGYbits® Spirulina will satisfy hunger and deliver a steady stream of energy to naturally improve your vitality and performance.

RECOVERYbits® Chlorella will remove toxins, build your immune system, prevent colds, slow aging, and speed recovery from workout or injury.

You can take them all day but we recommend them in the morning to help you wake up for your busy day. Also take them whenever are hungry or tired, before a meal if you want to eat less, or instead of a meal if you are doing intermittent fasting.

You can take them all day, but we recommend them in the evening since they can help you detox and repair your body while you are sleeping. Take RECOVERYbits® before drinking alcohol to help reduce the chance of a hangover. And, if you take them before a meal, they may help with digestion.

We suggest you swallow your Bits with a glass of water (you’ll need extra water anyway because your body needs water to process protein). However, if you like the clean green taste of algae, you can totally chew them. They are also great to add as a garnish on salads or as a snack with a spoonful of nut butter.

You may only need 2-3 tablets per serving. Take as many servings a day as you would like to help improve energy, wellness, beauty, or nutrition. Take larger quantities for better outcomes, sports, or to replace supplements, snacks, meals, or veggies. The most important thing to do is listen to your body.

No, not really because they are food. Just like you can’t overdose on a salad, you can’t really overdose on algae either. But like everything, it’s best to listen to your own body. Some people have stomach distress if they have too much algae at once. It’s best to start with a few bits a day then work your way up to a serving or two. Even for people who feel a bit nauseous at first, after a couple months of taking Bits, they can take as many as they want without any problems.

Safety

Yes. Our algae Bits are 100% safe for all ages, from babies to seniors. Algae has been safely used for over hundreds of years worldwide (including in the USA for over 50 years).

For children, we generally recommend you give them the same number of bits per day as their age (eg. for a 3-year-old, give them up to 3 bits, for a 4-year-old give them up to 4 bits per day, etc). Once they are teenagers or if they are very active in sports you can start giving them a full adult serving size of 30 tablets per day. Remember, Bits are food. They contain no sugar, caffeine, gluten or anything artificial. Just jaw-dropping amounts of protein and nutrition.

No. There are no negative side effects for regular consumers.

We do, however, want to be sure you know that RECOVERYbits® are 100% chlorella – a detoxing algae. So, if you have a lot of toxins in your body (mercury, alcohol, processed food, etc.) you may experience some detox side effects such as mild headaches, temporary acne, and short-term stomach distress. These side effects would occur from any detox method so if they happen to you, it’s important to know you are not allergic or reacting to the algae. You are simply having detox effects.

A very small number of people cannot tolerate chlorella at all (just like some people can’t tolerate dairy). If you are one of the few people who cannot tolerate chlorella, you will know within minutes because you will likely feel nauseous.

Since all our algae have very high amounts of nutrition, some people occasionally experience a slight discomfort like temporary flushing of their face (which is from the high amount niacin). If you experience this or any other mild discomfort please know it is rare, temporary, not dangerous, and merely your body adjusting to dense nutrition. Please always consult your medical physician if you have concerns.

Please consult with your doctor. Spirulina and chlorella both contain high levels of Vitamin K1, which acts as a blood coagulant. Warfarin is an anti-coagulant. Taking both products at the same time could have harmful medical consequences.

Yes. There have been over 100,000 scientific and nutritional studies done on algae, making it one of the most studied foods in the world. If you would like additional research we’ve gathered on algae, feel free to use our Contact Form to reach out and ask.

Yes all our algae are verified to be free of BMAA, heavy metals and radiation. All our algae is certified in Taiwan and we spend tens of thousands of dollars here in the USA to have it tested again by an FDA-approved lab. We provide these lab tests to doctors, nutritionists and other professionals who we work with so they can assure their patients of the purity, safety and nutritional profile of all our algae.

We're sorry but for confidential reasons, we do not provide these Certificates to the general public. However, we are happy to provide them to any doctors, nutritionists and other wellness practitioners who we work with and who recommend or retail our algae to their communities so they can be 100% confident of the safety, purity and nutritional density of our algae.

Wholesale, Partnerships, and Media

Yes, we do! Please visit our Wholesale Page for more information.

Yes, we do! Please visit our Affiliate Page for more information.

Please fill out our Contact Form to provide us with more details.

If you think Catharine would be a good fit for your podcast, please use our Contact Form to provide us with more details.

Sure! Just use our Assets library for any media you may need. Feel free to reach out through our Contact Form if you have any further questions.

Customer Service

If we have not been able to answer your question here, please feel free to use our Contact Form and we would be happy to provide you more details, send you research or help in any way we can.