To be considered a superfood there are certain criteria that must be met:

All these requirements are met by the spirulina algae, which is one of the first organisms to appear on the planet millions of years ago and which was used to be consumed by the Aztecs, thus becoming a uniquely Mexican superfood.

Although it was found in the wild in our country in Lake Texcoco, it was due to certain environmental problems that it stopped growing until, driven by his passion for finding a natural and organic food, Francisco Portilla or Paco tal managed to find the strain necessary for its subsequent cultivation.

Starting with just one liter and moving up to almost 80,000 liters of spirulina culture, Paco has brought this powerful ancestral food to San Miguel de Allende and founded, together with the help of Paola Alcántara, the project now known as Algánica.

The fusion is born from Paco's artisanal production combined with Paola's knowledge of nutrition and neurorehabilitation, who saw the need to make known the magnificent properties of spirulina algae to her patients and anyone who really wants to improve their health and lifestyle.

Well, the properties of spirulina algae are actually almost magical thanks to its high levels of vitamins such as A, B and especially the B12 complex, vitamin K and vitamin E, as well as iron, potassium, antioxidants and proteins.

And in addition to having these enormous properties, it also helps with health problems such as high blood pressure, anemia, high sugar, and has even become popular thanks to its anti-aging process given all the properties it has that have been scientifically proven.

This fascinating microorganism is a being that, although it has been the most scientifically studied food, never ceases to surprise us, which has not saved it from being popularized and mass-produced simply for commercial purposes, something that Algánica is firmly opposed to, since its creators enjoy cultivating it in an artisanal way on a beautiful farm on the outskirts of San Miguel de Allende.

The process for growing Spirulina goes more or less like this: In a spiral shape (that's where it gets its name) this fascinating microorganism elongates and breaks into 2 and these into 4 and so on exponentially. 

Water with nutrients is added to the microorganisms so that they multiply and the vats are filled from where the 10% is removed with a fairly fine pore network to allow the water to filter and subsequently add minerals such as iron, potassium and magnesium.

Once harvested, the spirulina algae takes on a yogurt-like texture which is pressed and flattened into bags which reach the final consumer in the form of squares that are recommended to be added to drinks such as smoothies in order to obtain the benefits of the meticulous process of Algae. 

And as it could not be otherwise, thanks to nutritional studies, there are many special recipes and formulas focused on helping different objectives. For example, there is the “Defense” recipe, which has anti-inflammatory properties and contains ingredients such as orange juice, lemon juice, ginger, turmeric, cayenne pepper and, of course, 5 grams of spirulina. 

The children's favorite consists of a sweet chocolate milk sweetened with coconut, mint and cocoa, as well as Shot Iron C, which complements the only vitamin that spirulina does not have, thus providing the perfect vitamin.

There is also the fun “Espirupica” which is a mix of chili peppers without coloring or additives simply flavored with Himalayan salt and 20% pure spirulina powder that can be used to season and flavor any type of food and why not even to frost a refreshing michelada.

One of Paola's favorite recipes for its nutritious and detoxifying properties is simply to prepare guacamole by adding live seaweed and, of course, her favorites are Algánica tortillas because "there is no more Mexican product."

Having this organic cultivation of live algae in San Miguel is a gift for which we should be grateful as a community and which is gradually gaining strength in what will become the superfood of the century.