Nutrition Guide 101: Why Eating Seaweeds Might Just Be The Best Decision You’ll Ever Make

Seaweeds are one of the most flavorful, nutritious, and sustainable foods that are not only great for your health but are also a wonderful treat for your taste buds. Prominent in Japanese cuisine for ages, it is now taking American restaurants and packaged foods by storms. Find out more about seaweeds and their amazing benefits below!

Notes On Nutritional Value

Seaweed is packed with minerals and full of vitamins A, B, and E. It is also full of nutrients, including magnesium, copper, potassium, and iodine. Just like fish oil, it has Omega-3s and other nutrients that provide protein and fiber as well. Finally, seaweed is one of the richest sources of antioxidants. Because of all this, a lot of people consider seaweeds as vegetables of the sea.

Most Common Seaweeds

There are many kinds of edible seaweed enjoyed all over the world. Here are some of the most common ones:

Nori: A kind of an entrance seaweed, which can often be seen in sushi rolls and in other forms as sheets.

Kelp: A big part of East Asian cuisine, which acts as a dominant ingredient in dashi that is prepared to make a Japanse soup. The powder of this seaweed can be added to kelp noodles and smoothies.

Wakame: Present in most salads, which mainly comprise of seaweed. Miso soup is also made from Wakame.

Dulse: The best seaweed out there, as it is sold dried often flaked or in a powdered form. Some people have the idea that it has the taste of bacon.

Chlorella: A green, edible freshwater algae usually marketed as a powdered supplement.

Agar and Carrageenan: These two jelly-like substances acquired from algae are utilized as plant-based binders and thickening agents in different kinds of commercially marketed food products.

More of Its Benefits

Eating seaweed regularly has a lot of great benefits, and one of them is to help folks get rid of excess weight by providing a gratifying alternative to other calorie-rich snack selections. Since it’s rich in fiber, it also great for gut health. However, very high consumption of seaweeds may increase the risk of thyroid cancer, so be wary of that.

Compounds in seaweed can protect from skin damage caused by UVB rays from the sun, preventing wrinkles, sunspots, and premature skin aging as well. On top of that, it’s antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects can reduce the risk of having rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis.

How to buy seaweed and from where?

The only kind of seaweed that is easily accessible in the market is Nori sheets. One can always look for online shopping websites, at Asian marts, or at stores that sell original items. Almost every easily accessible seaweed is sold in dried form and can be consumed by adding it to warm water first. Kelp is the only seaweed that is sold in frozen form, which means that it doesn’t have to be added in warm water.