On Healthy Spiritual Living and the Benefits of Klamath Lake Algae
An Interview With Gabriel Cousens, M.D., M.D. (H)

Dr. Gabriel Cousens is one of the world's foremost authorities on living food nutrition, holistic lifestyle and complementary medicine. He graduated from Columbia Medical School in 1969 with a specialty in biochemistry. He is a holistic physician, psychiatrist, homeopath and family therapist. Not only has Dr. Cousens made major contributions in the field of natural health, he is also a shining example of health himself.

Dr. Cousens is the author of Conscious Eating; Depression-Free For Life; Spiritual Nutrition and the Rainbow Diet and several other books. Dr. Cousens is also the founder of the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center, LLC - located in Patagonia, AZ. The 166-acre high desert facility is an innovative Eco-retreat center committed to the integration of all healing life forces for complete body, mind and spiritual renewal. The Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center offers the art of physical rejuvenation, combined with psychological and spiritual development. It inspires participants to fully experience the natural joy of sacred living...

EJR (Eliot Jay Rosen - Interviewer)- Before we talk about AFA Algae, please tell us a little about this beautiful sanctuary in southern Arizona?
GC (Dr. Gabriel Cousens)- The purpose of the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center is to support the experience of complete rejuvenation, to offer people a "menu of awakened living," and to become fully liberated from all limitations. Hence they can live their lives fully and experience their birthright of the sacred joy of living. We focus on helping people absorb more of the vital forces of nature through living food, sunlight, fresh air, clean water, meditation, yoga and other practices. We encourage people, whatever their orientation, to go inside and get in touch with the part of their eternal self, so they can regenerate from that point of enhanced awareness. That's our function and that's our focus here.

EJR- You mentioned the term, "living foods". Could you give a brief definition of what living foods are?
GC- Living foods are foods that have not been altered by any particular process that negatively changes its biochemical structure and energetic charge in any way. Living foods are not subjected to heat they are uncooked and nothing essential is removed from the food by way of processing. Living foods are truly whole foods in that they still have their life-force intact. The best living foods are organically grown because the full complement of nutrients in the soil is essential to our health. As our health depends to a great degree on the quality of the foods we eat, eating as much living foods as feels right to the body, is the direction we want to go.

EJR- As far as I know, you've been eating and recommending Aphanizomenon flos-aquae (AFA), the species of blue-green algae that grows in Klamath Lake, longer than any other medical doctor in the world, almost 20 years, which in my book, makes you an expert.
GC- That's true. I'd been eating algae from Klamath Lake since 1982. However, I want to make clear from the very outset that throughout that time, my commitment has been, and still is, only to the highest quality algae. In this way, I can have the cleanest, most scientific approach. I would not compromise my integrity when it comes to recommending what is best for my clients. I've shared AFA algae with thousands of my clients throughout the years...

EJR- In the most general way, why is nutrition so important to our health?
GC- Nutrition is so vital to health because eating is our main way of getting energy, besides breathing and increasing our spiritual connection, which fills us with life-force. When we put nutrients in our body, we are taking in a gift from God. We’re taking in a gift from the living planet. The sad thing is that most of the members of our society don't eat naturally, and we have a consequent degeneration physically, mentally, morally, AND spiritually. People are mistaken if they think that you can pop a vitamin or eat junk food and that's enough to keep healthy AND ALIVE. When you take natural, live, organic, whole foods into the body, foods that do not have pesticides and herbicides, it makes a huge, huge difference in the quality of life, in the quality of energy, in the quality of health.
Eating a poor diet is like taking a car and putting diluted or impure gasoline into it and thinking that the car is going run the same as if you put in premium grade. And when the car breaks down because it's not getting the right fuel, some people, even traditional medical doctors, still don't get the connection. Superior nutrition specifically enhances our ability to excel as human beings physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Poor nutrition contributes to what I call a "biologically altered brain" in which we function at an inferior level. The result is increased drug addiction, alcoholism, increased hyperactivity, increased attention deficit disorders, and depression.
Do you know that there are 40 million people in the U.S. who are clinically depressed? The above conditions are all as a result of the biologically altered brain which comes as result of poor nutrition and which is amplified by poor genetics. AFA is specific for our nervous system, brain function and the quality of our consciousness. AFA is specific food for drug addiction, alcoholism, increased hyperactivity, increased attention deficit disorders, and depression. More than any other food, it enables us to make a paradigm shift and enjoy a sense of well-being. There's a quality of joy that's really subtle that many people experience with AFA.

EJR- Perhaps when some people hear the words "algae" and "food" in the same sentence, it may be a new concept for them to think that certain algae are edible.
GC- Not only are certain algae edible, but they are truly super foods. Algae have been eaten by indigenous people for thousands of years. I don't know if they are still working on the project, but the U.S. space program, NASA, was at one time developing food growing systems in space that used algae as a staple protein source. Today more than ever, algae are thought of as a wholesome food in wider and wider circles. It's not thought to be so unusual anymore.

EJR- How does AFA compare to store bought vitamins and minerals?
GC- I don't see AFA as a collection of vitamins and minerals. In nature, there are certain energies that were given to us by God to use for our human development. For instance, the herb milk thistle has an affinity to the liver. Siberian ginseng is a specific for the adrenals, etc. In the same way, AFA has a unique energy that has an affinity to improving brain function. We now have clinical research showing AFA algae balance EEG readings and improve central nervous system functioning. So I don't like to equate AFA algae as just being a good source of certain vitamins and minerals. Sure, it has the most reliable and plentiful amounts of vitamin B-12 than any other non-animal food I know, but this in itself is just an added bonus to the gift that AFA really is in the grand scheme of Gods creation. But I think this algae is so much more than that. To compare it to man-made supplements is to minimize the value of AFA algae. Now AFA algae are available in their liquid, live form, and this for me is really the exciting part.

EJR- Will people still benefit from using AFA even though they may not want to improve their diet, even if they know there is a better diet?
GC- Yes, absolutely. AFA is going to help you whether or not you improve your diet. Obviously, to get the most positive changes, you’ll want improve your diet and lifestyle. Yet there are many people who just want something to make them feel better. That's OK too. And yes, these people will also benefit. I wouldn't want people to think that to take AFA one also has to adopt an unfamiliar lifestyle or have to do things that are not comfortable for them. Everybody has a choice as to what they want to do, or not do. However, what seems to happen is that when you begin using AFA, you begin to feel a greater sense of well-being, then you naturally start to get interested in making improvements simply because you feel better.

EJR- Tell us something about the nutritional aspects of AFA?
GC- The nutrients found in AFA are about 97% completely assimilated by the body. There are 64 nutrients we know about, that we have names for, but there are probably many more nutritional factors we haven't discovered yet that are actively beneficial in AFA algae. I’ll give sort of a run-down on what scientists do know about. First, AFA has sort of an endorphin-like effect in the sense that it can give us a wonderful sense of well-being, a sense of joy, a sense of expanded awareness. Another aspect is that the algae has an incredibly broad-based nutrient profile, and possesses a complete complement of all the essential amino acids, the building blocks of protein, in just the right pattern for optimal absorption. The AFA algae have the highest concentration of bio-assimilable chlorophyll than any other food. AFA has five times more chlorophyll than Wheat grass, and double the amount of chlorophyll in Spirulina algae, and slightly more chlorophyll than Chlorella algae. The benefits of chlorophyll are vast. Most people know that chlorophyll eliminates anemia but it does a lot more than that. Fifty percent of AFA's essential fatty acids are in the Omega-3 form, which many people are deficient in because it is hard to find in most foods. Every cell wall in the body needs some essential fatty acids to function properly. AFA algae is extremely rich in hard to find trace minerals, which many people are also deficient in. Without trace minerals, enzymatic reactions do not take place. AFA has all the B vitamins; most notably it is extremely high in B12, which solves a big issue of a reliable supply of this vitamin for Vegetarians, Vegans and Living Fooders. The average daily amount of algae that people will eat will more than satisfy their daily B-12 needs. That's great news! AFA algae are very good in balancing blood sugar levels, reducing the need for insulin in diabetics, supporting the immune system, and have many other generalized beneficial effects throughout the body. In my mind, the most important quality of all that singles out this algae as being unique is that it provides raw materials for the brain to manufacture serotonin-based neuro-transmitters, which in turn supports the glands of the entire endocrine system. When the master glands of the endocrine system are nutritionally supported, this creates an inner environment for us to feel happy. Just as some foods and herbs are for the liver, some foods and herbs are for the kidneys, this species of algae works specifically to help open expanded consciousness and a certain quality of creativity and enhanced awareness. My clients report an increased sense of enhanced well-being, clarity of mind, improved cognition, focus, and a certain hard to describe quality of "beingness," of expanded consciousness.

EJR- How can AFA function in the body in so many different ways?
GC- There's still a fascinating mystery of "how the algae really works" which isn't fully explained purely by the biochemical nutritional story of what's in it. There's clearly a synergistic effect going on of all the discovered and undiscovered nutrients in the algae, as well as the energetics of where it comes from, which I’d like to address. I've been involved with this species of algae for over 18 years, eating it myself and recommending it to clients, family and friends. It seems to me, that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. I would bet you anything that if somebody tried to substitute man-made quantities of what we know is in the algae in a synthetic test-tube setting, we would not be able to get the same results. I can tell you that there is something special about the forces of nature in the environment where the algae grows that contributes to the high energy it imparts to us when we eat it. Some of this cannot be proven scientifically, but I believe it is nevertheless taking place. For instance, there is something significant about the water in the lake and the pristine environment where the algae grow. There's a tremendous amount of beneficial minerals in the water that the algae feed upon, but it's more than that. There are sub-surface currents in the water, and a certain hard-to-pinpoint "volcanic energy" that's there that has a lot to do with the vitality in the algae. For me, AFA algae are nothing less than God's gift for us to help us enhance and support our overall evolution.

EJR - To scientifically prove that a food, supplement or even a medicine is good for a particular medical condition takes a lot of money. In certain scientific circles, it takes a special type of test to be validly called a double-blind, crossover study. What studies have been done with AFA algae?
GC - There have been some excellent studies - some of them double blind cross-over studies and some of them not. However, I read in one of my medical journals that only 1% of all the medical research is really scientific, really rigorous, not to mention the overwhelmingly unscientifically proven procedures that are routinely done on patients themselves. So I think it is not really to our advantage to insist that we absolutely need double blind studies to know if something works or not.
What I am saying is that this so-called gold standard of experimental design may be an artificial scientific standard which slows up the acceptance of nature's gifts, foods that we could be using to help more and more people.
That having been said, an excellent double blind study WAS done in Nicaragua, South America, which showed increased cognition in school children. Though it did not state it in the study, it is my opinion that the algae helped undiagnosed attention deficit disorders in these children. In the study, the children's grades went from 64% to 85% over a period of two years.
I've personally treated clients with Alzheimer's disease using AFA algae, and published the findings in a medical journal. It was in a somewhat controlled setting in that AFA algae was the only supplement that was given. In one case, my client had lost her ability to talk, she couldn't walk, she didn't have enough focus to watch TV, and she couldn't dress herself. After using AFA algae, these symptoms reversed themselves. She was thereafter able to dress herself, able to talk, able to walk, able to focus enough to watch TV.
Another client also went downhill with the typical symptoms of Alzheimer’s. He responded miraculously quickly to the algae, and his symptoms improved significantly. However, at a certain point, his wife, who was his caretaker, ran out of AFA algae. She didn't completely understand that she needed AFA algae and not just any other species of algae. So she went out and purchased Spirulina algae from someone else, and his degenerative symptoms quickly returned. When I finally became aware of the situation and got him back on the AFA algae, his symptoms reversed again.
Now this isn't a double blind study, but it was enough evidence for me that something good was going on WITH AFA ALGAE! I also want to be clear that the Spirulina wasn't bad for him - it just didn't have the same properties that support the mental, cognitive functioning. AFA algae improve much more the brain functioning.

EJR - I've heard AFA works with children as well.
GC - I've had excellent results using the algae with children who've been autistic. One of the main characteristics of autism is the absence of verbal talking. These children only make grunting and other such noises. I remember one child case that began to talk in only one month after beginning using the algae. Unfortunately, if you can believe this, the mother really didn't want the child to talk. She started complaining the child was talking too much, and made some excuse to stop giving the algae to the child, which is very sad when you think about it.

EJR - As a psychiatrist, do you sometimes use more traditional treatments for depression such as Prozac?
GC - I've had people who've been depressed for years and years, and literally, within a few days after receiving AFA algae, their depression lifts. This is because the algae get to the roots of helping heal the addictive brain chemistry, which is behind a lot of depression. I discuss this at length in my new book, Depression Free For Life. People do not have a Prozac deficiency. This approach doesn't get to the root of the problem. My depression healing rate using natural foods, including AFA, nutritional supplements and basic lifestyle changes, without the necessity of using any pharmaceutical drugs, Prozac or anything like that, is over 90%. No drug can compete with that, period.

EJR - What about AFA and meditation? It would seem to me that if AFA is good for mental clarity it might actually help people improve their focus in meditation.
GC - In my first book, Spiritual Nutrition and the Rainbow Diet, I was very focused on what is the best diet for meditators. I found that an uncooked live food diet is best. Not that one cannot make spiritual progress without it - just the living food diet is extremely helpful. Along with this I found that AFA algae was a specific for meditation. So yes, I find that AFA is a specific food for enhancing one's ability to focus in meditation. AFA helps keeps the mind clear, light and joyful.

EJR - Could you compare the energetic and nutritional differences between AFA algae and say, Spirulina algae, or Chlorella algae.
GC - For those who know about edible algae’s, there's a tendency to want to compare algae in a competitive way. But this isn't the way I look at it. Each of these algae’s have their proper roles. Chlorella is very specific for getting mercury out of the system. Spirulina is very good for hepatitis. Although Chlorella or Spirulina may help mental functioning a little bit, it's nowhere near the effect that AFA algae have on mental functioning. So Spirulina works more on the physical body, and AFA's real gift to humanity is that it works more on the mental, emotional and spiritual levels, yet, still has tremendous effects physically, as I've been mentioning. But it's the mental functioning where people really feel the difference.

EJR - What about AFA and the immune system?
GC - A recent study showed that AFA algae activates up to 40% more of the immune system's beneficial natural killer cells. Natural killer cells hunt out viruses and bacteria, even seeking them out deep in the body's tissues. One of the nice things about AFA algae something I've intuitively known since 1982, is that it significantly enhances the immune system. If I feel any kind of viral imbalance coming on, I take AFA and it always takes it away. I also use AFA for my clients, not only to get rid of symptoms of disease, but also as a preventative measure. I actually know of two or three cases where people took the algae and healed their cancer. This is not to say that AFA algae is the primary immune stimulant to use above any other to fight cancer, but that this algae has some anti-cancer qualities. Scientists already know that AFA algae have some anti-HIV effects, but we need to do a lot more research in these areas.

EJR - Have you had any clients that have responded to using AFA for weight loss and appetite control?
GC - Yes, I have, but let me say that in my practice, I don't focus on these issues in particular. What I find is that when I help people improve their nutritional intake, especially in the direction of a living food diet, they naturally gravitate back to their natural, normal and healthiest weight. Appetite control becomes much less of an issue with most people because when people's bodies and brains are well-nourished, when they self-regulate and normalize, they no longer feel depressed and so they don't need to eat compulsively as a result of depression. As AFA balances blood sugar levels, they’re not eating to compensate for low blood sugar.

EJR - Have you used AFA successfully with alcohol and drug problems?
GC - Yes. AFA is an essential part of my treatment program. Almost everyone I see, I put on AFA because it helps with the underlying depression and helps heal the biologically altered, addictive brain aspects behind these destructive behaviors. I believe AFA is God's gift for people with a biologically altered brain because of poor diet and poor genetics. These people suffer a lot in this world. One way they cope with the suffering is alcoholism and drugs.
There are obviously better, less destructive ways to cope. In alcoholism and drug addiction, we find subtle and not so subtle changes in brain chemistry and brain waves. In many of these people, the pleasure centers of their brains, the dopamine receptors, are not working correctly. We find that by using AFA along with other dietary changes and specific amino acid supplementation, we can normalize the electroencephalogram (EEG) readings and balance the central nervous system at the root of the disorder.
For example, if someone's brain function is off, not dramatically in the sense they are having epileptic seizures, but "sub-clinically" and out of balance, their EEG isn't really quite right, and we can normalize it with AFA, proper nutrition and other supplements. AFA helps people eliminate the craving for alcohol and drugs in part because blood sugar levels are being normalized and the brain is also functioning better.
There's another hidden aspect in all this that very few people know about. The hypothalamus is a vitally important gland of the endocrine system. It is often not functioning properly in drug addiction and alcoholism. It's very hard to heal the endocrine system, which is almost always out of balance in drug and alcohol addicted individuals. It turns out that AFA is the only vegetarian source I know that brings hypothalamic function back to normal.

EJR - Because Live liquid AFA is perishable, it has to be frozen. Is there a difference between freezing vegetables and fruits and freezing algae in terms of its maintaining its nutritional and energetic properties?
GC - This species of algae is genetically prepared for extreme alterations in temperature. In winter, parts of Klamath Lake freeze over, including the live algae growing in the water. But when the weather warms up, the algae come out of the frozen dormancy phase and resume their active growth cycle. Its genetic structure protects it from the effects of the cold, which is unlike fruits and vegetables, which are destroyed in frost. This is because AFA algae are high in lipids and free fatty acids, which protect it from crystallizing in low temperature conditions. Bee pollen works the same way, you can freeze it and you don't damage the nutritional value. So the good news about is that the algae it is significantly protected against the effects of freezing.

EJR - The term "adaptogen," usually refers to an herb which has many different ways of working in the body. Could we apply this term to a food such as AFA, as it's been reported to be effective for many different health conditions?
GC - Yes, I think it is very appropriate to use the term "adaptogen" in connection with AFA. It's both a physical adaptogen as well as a mental adaptogen. In my own life, sometimes I’ll have to speak for an entire day at conferences. I take AFA as sort of a mental adaptogen for the stress of putting out so much energy. AFA algae are also a physical adaptogen in that it increases physical energy. There are world-class athletes who eat AFA algae because they feel it gives them a "competitive edge."

EJR- Dr. Cousens, you've been incredibly generous with your time. Do you have any last words for us today?
GC- The essence of my message is this: it doesn't matter what our chronological age is, we can be youthful at any age. But more important than staying youthful is to understand that one-sided physical health will never give us the lasting happiness and love we seek. We want to draw into our lives anything and anyone that nourishes supports and enhances our spiritual and overall growth. Life is a great blessing. Health is a great blessing. True gifts of God are a great blessing, and worthy of any effort or expense.