Overview of Seaweeds
It is quite difficult to imagine yourself eating weed. However, seaweed is an exception. Studies have shown that eating seaweeds and adding them to your daily diet is one of the best stuff you can do for your body. This is because they are rich sources of essential nutrients.
What Are Seaweeds?
Seaweeds grow on the sea. However, they are most appropriately referred to as algae. According to research, there are different classes of algae, ranging from black algae to green algae, brown algae, and red algae, all nutritious and unique.
Under each class of sea algae, there are about 145 types like spirulina, wakame, kombu, dulse, sea lettuce, kelp, nori, chlorella, and arame, among others. They are commonly used as food in Japan, China, and Korea.
However, more people outside these regions and countries have discovered the benefits of these weeds to their health. They thus have started adding them to their different cuisines.
Seaweeds can be eaten alone as a vegetable. Seaweeds can also be added to stews, soups, smoothies, noodles, and salads. The health benefits seaweeds offer are the factors that make them popular in different parts of the world.
Nutritional Profile of Seaweeds
- Fiber 3 g
- Protein 1.5 g
- Fat 0.1 g
- Iodine 73.5 mcg
- Omega 3 fatty acids
- Calcium 22 mg
- Zinc 0.32 mg
- Vitamin B12 1.4 mcg
Health Benefits Seaweeds
Improves Thyroid Function
Since seaweeds are packed with iodine, a mineral that preserves thyroid health and improves thyroid function. This invariably means that consuming seaweeds can help boost thyroid function.
The role of the thyroid gland or thyroid hormone in the body is important, as it helps boost growth, reproduction, energy, and the prevention of cell death.
The thyroid gland requires sufficient iodine to secrete sufficient hormones to perform this function. When the body is iodine deficient, some symptoms like fatigue, swollen thyroid gland, and loss of weight may begin to surface.
Improves Gut Health
Seaweeds are packed with healthy fiber and prebiotics that are healthy in preserving gut health. The fiber contained in seaweeds is indigestible and thus helps to cleanse the gut wall and improve bowel movement.
In addition, the prebiotics in seaweeds helps keep the good bacteria in the gut alive and healthy by feeding them. Eating seaweeds or adding them to your diet plate can help eliminate your chances of experiencing gut health conditions like indigestion, bloating, constipation, and flatulence, among others.
In addition, severe health conditions associated with the bowel, like irritable bowel diseases, can be effectively prevented, treated, or managed by just eating enough seaweeds.
Seaweeds are easy to incorporate into diets. You can cook and eat them as vegetables. You can blend them and add them to your smoothies or slice them up and add them to your fruit or vegetable salads.
Prevents Diabetes
Studies have revealed that the regular consumption of fiber can help in the effective management of diabetes. This is because fiber is a perfect blood sugar and insulin regulator.
This is why most diabetes patients are placed on high-fiber diets. In other words, seaweeds are great sources of fiber and are thus effective in managing diabetes.
Apart from managing diabetes, consuming seaweeds in foods daily can help prevent diabetes by eliminating factors that can expose you to the condition. Some diabetes risk factors include inflammation, insulin sensitivity, and high-fat levels.
These factors become history when you place yourself on a regular diet that is prepared with seaweeds. What is more, seaweeds are packed with compounds that help in the regulation of blood sugar, thus beating down your chances of developing diabetes.
Improves Heart Health
The heart is one of the most vital organs in the body. Damage to the heart can be life-threatening. Heart conditions are part of the top 3 leading causes of death in the world. This is why it is important to protect and guard your heart as much as you can.
Protecting the heart involves eating right and engaging in healthy lifestyles and habits. Speaking about eating right, adding foods that have heart-benefitting properties to your diet can go a long way in giving your heart all the protection it needs against every form of the disease. Studies carried out by nutritional experts showed that seaweeds have compounds that are capable of regulating blood pressure.
Some of the heart-helping properties in seaweed are fiber and omega-3 fatty acids. As much as seaweeds help in the prevention of heart-related health conditions, they can also be consumed as a means of managing heart health conditions in people who are already suffering from heart conditions.
Protects Bone Health
Weak or aching bones can be an issue. It can reduce the quality of your life drastically and confine you to repeated episodes of pain and discomfort. One of the most commonly reported bone conditions is osteoporosis which is caused by free radicals. Thus, when bone cells are broken down by free radicals, osteoporosis sets in.
According to research, antioxidants are compounds that are present in foods or supplements and are effective at eliminating free radicals from the body. Seaweeds are packed with high amounts of antioxidants that help prevent the bone cells from breaking down or dying as a result of oxidation caused by free radicals.
In addition, seaweeds are rich sources of calcium, a nutrient that is effective in boosting bone health while keeping the bones healthy and strong. Studies carried out on aged people between the ages 65 and above showed that 87% of those who consumed foods prepared with seaweeds experienced better bone health compared to those who did not.
Helps in Weight Management
Obesity and overweight are risk factors for many health conditions, including diabetes. This is why it is important to maintain a healthy weight. Apart from engaging in healthy physical exercises, watching what you eat, how you eat, and when you eat are also important in maintaining a healthy weight. Fiber is one of the most effective food compounds that helps in weight management.
This is because it makes you feel full and prevents you from feeling hungry for a long time, thus helping you avoid overeating. As discussed above, seaweeds have a wealth of fiber contents. Therefore, they are effective weight management foods. You should add seaweed to your weight loss diet plate if you desire to lose weight fast.
However, do not rely only on fiber-rich foods for weight loss. Rather, combine the weight loss diet with a healthy physical exercise routine, as both of them work hand in hand to speed up your weight loss journey.
May Prevent Cancer
Although research is still ongoing as to how seaweeds can help prevent cancer or reduce cancer risks, however, it has been discovered that seaweeds are capable of regulating the estrogen hormone, thus making it effective in reducing breast cancer cases.
In addition, due to their antioxidant compounds, seaweeds eliminate oxidative damage caused by free radicals that lead to cell death. When body cells die and are not gotten rid of, they accumulate and can become cancerous if care is not taken. However, with seaweeds and their antioxidant contents, cancer will be kept at arm’s length.
Supports the Immune System
The function of the immune system in the body cannot be over-emphasized. If you have a low immune system, you should be ready to welcome different health conditions ranging from mild to severe.
Thus, as much as premium importance is placed on caring for vital organs in the body, more importance should be placed on boosting the immune system and keeping it strong enough to fight off infections and health conditions. This is because whichever infection or illness it is that wants to affect your body will have to contend with your immune system first.
If the immune system is not strong enough to combat these infections or illnesses and win them, you will fall ill. Studies have proven that seaweeds have effective compounds that can boost and support the immune system. They are also natural means of boosting the immune system. You should try them out.
Conclusion
Seaweeds have proven to be more than just weeds. They are nutritious, edible, and medicinal. They are packed with properties that prevent, treat, and manage several health conditions. Seaweeds are also effective in weight management. You really should try this nature’s gift out.
