Myers sells it through a network marketing system not unlike that used by such better known direct marketers such as Amway and Avon. A month's supply of basic capsules (taken one tablet at a time, twice a day) costs $30. It can be a hard sell.

"It may take as many as 10 or 12 contacts for people to move from 'never heard of it' to 'I've heard about that from several sources' to seeing some merit in it," says Myers, a community activist who heads up the Random Acts of Kindness program in Moorestown. "But it's just such a good thing."

SPREADING THE WORD- "I've learned to be low-key about this, to let people come to their own conclusions," she adds.

If there is any conflict in trying to be both missionary and saleswoman, Myers does not see it.

" It's a win-win, situation," she says, describing the satisfaction she gets from promoting a product she believes in even as she is building her own business.

When she talks to people about the algae, she tries to interest them in becoming distributors, as well as consumers, of the product. Her sub-distributors and their sub-distributors all become part of a network that funnels a portion of profits back up the chain.

This kind of marketing sometimes meets resistance, too, Myers acknowledges, but, for her, it represents an opportunity that the everyday, working world does not afford.

"It's a chance to escape the rat race and create a destiny of your own- and to help other people do the same thing," she says.

RICH IN NUTRIENTS- But what about this algae?

Algae is one of the oldest and most primitive forms of plant life on the planet, dating back billions of years. The blue-green variety is rich in the basic building blocks of life, including proteins, amino acids, vitamins and minerals. It is upon these ingredients that its claims-from more energy to healthier skin and greater resistance to everything from cancer to the common cold are based.

The blue green algae harvested from Upper Klamath Lake in Oregon is particularly rich in nutrients, its adherents say, because of the purity of the late and its location near a volcano that erupted about 7,000 years ago, inundating it with ash rich in a variety of minerals.

It's an extraordinary match," Myers says," a coming together in a natural synergy of all these things that our bodies need."

All told, according to Karl Abrams, a chemistry professor in California and author of Algae To The Rescue!, blue green algae from Upper Klamath Lake contains about 70 micronutrients, substances ranging from the fatty acids said to combat heart disease to the beta carotene that has been shown to reduce the risk of certain cancers.

" It's not a cure-all," Myers says, noting that a well balanced diet and exercise also are vital to good health. "But it is an important piece of the puzzle.''

WHAT ABOUT SCIENCE?-

Abrams cites about 200 studies that have been done, but few are of the rigorous, clinical variety used by the federal Food and Drug Administration to assess drugs.

The FDA does not subject what it classifies as food supplements, which include herbal "remedies" as well as algae, to much scrutiny. Manufacturers must attest that the substances are safe and have some useful function, but need only minimal support from the scientific community to back those claims. Testimony from a single credible scientist is sufficient, as opposed to the consensus required for drugs.

"Congress was under pressure to make dietary supplements more accessible without a lot of intervention from Washington," says Judith Foulkes, a spokeswoman for the FDA, explaining how the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 loosened regulations on food supplements.

The National Institutes of Health, meanwhile, has begun to conduct studies of some vitamins and herbs and other natural substances for which health benefits are claimed, but funding is limited.

Dr. Paul Lachance, Rutgers University professor of nutrition and food science, has for the last two years been compiling information on food supplements under a grant provided by the General Nutrition Corporation, a chain of health food stores.

Based on the amount and quality of research they can assemble on any given product, Lachance and his colleagues attach a color code to each, ranging from green, for products with well-documented claims- such as vitamin C, to red, for virtually no data available.

These results can be found in an electronic encyclopedia available in many GNC stores.

The blue-green algae sold by Myers did not show up in Lachance's encyclopedia. A related blue-green algae called spirulina was rated orange, signifying sophisticated research is just beginning.

Abrams says it is not surprising that more clinical studies of blue-green algae have not been done.

" There are so many micronutrients in it that it's difficult to do a clinical study. What do you isolate? The fatty acids? The chlorophyll? The carotene? I hope that clinical studies are done, but it may be some time before they are," he says.

Lachance suggests there are already proven diet supplements "winners" on the market.

There are countless studies, he says, showing the benefits of eating five servings of fruits and vegetables every day, yet only about 20 percent of Americans follow that advice.

"If people would just eat their spinach, they'd be better off," he argues.