Health Benefits of Seaweed Plus Risk and Tips

Seaweed is a versatile and tasty vegetable that can be used in a broad spectrum of ways. There are more than 2,500 varieties of seaweed, which include everything from the algae that forms on ponds to kelp and other marine plants. Seaweed is usually classified according to its color—brown, red, green, and blue-green.

QUICK TIP:
Swap seafood for seaweed
Protein-rich sea vegetables make a terrific replacement for fish and shellfish for vegetarians.
In Japan, seaweed is also used to enhance flavors in a variety of dishes, due to its high natural MSG content. Kombu, a type of kelp (a brown plant that is one of the most common seaweeds), is used to flavor soup stocks. Wakame, another type of kelp, is used in Japan in soups and stir-fries. Nori, the algae used to make sushi rolls, is known as laver by the Irish and Welsh.

Health Benefits

Boosts thyroid health.
Most seaweeds are a rich source of iodine, which the thyroid gland needs to produce the hormones that regulate body metabolism.

Helps build muscles.
A ½-cup (113-g)serving of raw nori has a mere 40 calories yet provides about 6 g of protein, with no fat or cholesterol.

Boosts the immune system.
Beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A, boosts the body’s resistance to disease while aiding vision, bone growth, and cell function. A ½-cup serving of raw nori provides 5,200 IU of vitamin A as beta-carotene.

Prevents folate deficiency.
A ½-cup serving of kelp contains almost 200 mcg (micrograms) of folate (50% of the adult Recommended Dietary Allowance) which the body uses as folic acid to build DNA and red blood cells. Because folate is not stored in the body in large amounts, you must eat it regularly to maintain levels of it in the blood.

Health Risk

High in sodium.
A ½-cup portion of raw wakame contains approximately 900 mg of sodium; an equivalent amount of dried spirulina yields more than 1,100 mg. (A recommended daily sodium intake for a healthy person should not exceed 2,300 mg.) The same amounts of kelp and nori are lower in sodium, containing 250 mg and 60 mg, respectively. Anyone on a low-salt diet should avoid foods containing seaweed.

Eating Tips
• Stir crumbled nori into tuna salad.
• Add arame or dulse seaweed to miso soup.
• Stir-fry soaked dried hijiki seaweed with kale, garlic, ginger, and sesame oil.

Buying Tips
• Sold in Asian groceries, natural food stores, and specialty grocers, nori are dried, and sometimes toasted sheets of seaweed used to season salads, soups, and noodles.
• Nori can be soaked to use as wrappers for rice cakes and sushi.
• Fresh or bagged salted seaweeds are available in Asian markets.
• Arame has a particularly high calcium content and can be bought already shredded in a dark-green tangle. A small amount makes an exciting addition to mushroom or seafood risottos as well as Asian rice dishes. It needs a 5-minute soak and then 30 minutes of cooking.
• Kombu seaweed can be cooked with dried beans. It speeds up their cooking time and contributes flavor.
• Dulse seaweed, available fresh and dried, is good in soups and in vegetable or grain dishes. You can eat it deep-fried or, after a brief soak to soften it, shred it into salads or their dressings.

Storing Tip
• Dried seaweed can be stored, well-wrapped in a cool cupboard for up to a year. 25% of dishes in Japan are made with some type of seaweed.