Ever heard of sea vegetables? Most people have no idea that these even exist. But they do exist and tastes delicious too! These simple to cook veggies have been used since centuries in Asian, British Isles, Canada and the Caribbean cuisines. This exotic form of food is an acquired taste but food aficionados appreciate their subtle tang and flavour.
Sea vegetable is also used by food manufacturers as thickeners or stabilizers in many processed products including instant pudding and toothpaste. Sea veggies are a rich source of chlorophyll and dietary fiber. They add a salty flavour to foods that comes from potassium, calcium, phosphorus, sodium, magnesium, and iron found in the ocean.
Let us now explore the benefits of this wonderful gift of nature:
Sea vegetables contain good amount of iodine. This vital mineral helps the thyroid gland in the production of thyroid hormone. This hormone helps to maintain proper metabolism in the body. Goitre patients suffer from iodine deficiency that can be cured by consuming fresh sea vegetables. Sea vegetables help in maintaining thyroid health by optimizing your thyroid function.
Brown seaweed and other sea vegetables contain a biochemical called fucoidan. This biochemical has anti-inflammatory properties that help to treat many chronic diseases like cancer.
Sea vegetables contain alginate that can treat heavy metal and radiation exposure. Alginates can bind and flush the heavy metals and radionucleotides from the body. This helps prevent DNA damage. Kelp is the best choice when it comes to fighting heavy metal exposure.
Sea vegetables can lower the risk of breast cancer in women. These vegetables contain lignans that helps to bind and block estrogen in the body. This reduces estrogen’s ability to grow the breast tissue uncontrollably. Kelp contains fucoidan that is known to reduce cancer cells.
Sea vegetables are a very good source of potassium that plays a vital role in maintaining proper blood pressure in the body. Proper blood pressure levels reduce the stress on your heart. Consuming Sea vegetables like kelp, dulse etc. can bring down your blood pressure at an optimum level with regular use. Many doctors too recommend the consumption of these sea veggies to reduce heart ailments and hypertension.
Sea vegetables are filled with folic acid that is an important nutrient for the body, especially women’s body. In fact women are required to consume folic acid during pregnancy to prevent some birth defects like spina bifida. Folic acid also helps in the brain development of the growing foetus. Folic acid can also break down homocysteine. This intermediate dangerous chemical directly damages the blood vessel walls that increase the risk of many cardiovascular related diseases and strokes.
Seaweed contains magnesium, pantothenic acid and riboflavin that is vital for the production of energy in the body. Pantothenic acid is vital for healthy adrenal glands that support numerous body functions and provides relief from stress. Deficiency of vital nutrients like pantothenic acids can exhaust the adrenal glands and lead to chronic fatigue, bad immunity, infection, and anxiousness.
Sea vegetables, like their counterparts that grow on land, are filled with health and goodness. But unfortunately, we tend to run after everything glossy and outwardly pretty, even in the case of food. We pile on the pounds by consuming junk food that tastes great but adds nothing of value to our health.
Sea vegetables, on the other hand, have a subtle taste and may not appeal to everyone. But they are a storehouse of nutrients. So make them a part of your diet plan and feel fresh and healthy from the inside.