How Eating Seaweed can Supercharge Your Health and Save Our Oceans

For centuries the world over, seaweed has been considered a\r\nhealthy and accessible food for people living near the ocean.

The Indigenous people of south-central Chile – the Mapuche –\r\nhave been using bull kelp (locally known as cochayuyo) as a food source for around 14,000 years.

In Japan, wakame (seaweed salad) and sushi are traditional\r\nstaples. Meanwhile, in Korea, seaweed is considered a cornerstone of local cuisine.\r\nIt’s often consumed as a snack after being salted and roasted in thin layers,\r\nadded to soups and sprinkled over bibimbap.

This year, it was recognised as an ‘on-trend’ food,\r\nwith more people recognising the health and sustainability benefits\r\nof the versatile sea vegetable. 

The list of ancient cultures that recognise seaweed as a\r\nvalued food source continues, ranging from New Zealand to Ireland, Greenland to Indigenous Australia and\r\nbeyond.

And yet, seaweed is only just coming of age in western popular culture. Earlier this year, it was noted as an\r\n‘on-trend’ food, with more people recognising the health and sustainability\r\nbenefits of the versatile sea vegetable. 

Why is seaweed a\r\nhealth food?

The reason that seaweed confers so many health benefits to\r\nthe person consuming it is simple: it grows in or near salty waters and as\r\nsuch, contains the many vitamins and minerals found in the sea and sea\r\nvegetables.

Seaweed in all its forms – no matter if it’s kelp, dulse,\r\nwakame, algae or nori – is a supercharged\r\nfood that’s rich in protein,\r\ncarbohydrates and polyunsaturated fats.

The sea vegetable is abundant in iodine, which is beneficial\r\nin preventing the development of hypothyroidism (an underactive thyroid\r\ngland). 

Seaweed contains omega-3 fatty\r\nacids, essential amino acids, antioxidants, iron and vitamins A, B,\r\nC and E.

As it’s also high in dietary fibre, seaweed is\r\ngood for gut health and\r\nthe regulation of blood sugar levels.

The sea vegetable is abundant in iodine, which is beneficial\r\nin preventing the\r\ndevelopment of hypothyroidism (an underactive thyroid gland).\r\nHowever, people with an overactive thyroid gland must be careful with the\r\namount of iodine they consume in foods like seaweed and should be aware of the\r\npossibility of medicinal interactions.

Seaweed: a\r\nsustainable food source?

Damon Gameau, the filmmaker behind the environmental\r\ndocumentary 2040,\r\nis a seaweed fan. He tells SBS that one of the biggest surprises that emerged\r\nwhen making the film was the importance of seaweed to the future survival of the planet.

“We know that a lot of the fish populations are on the verge\r\nof collapse,” says Gameau. “We are in a bit of a fish crisis in terms of how\r\nmuch overfishing has gone on. So if we grow more seaweed in the ocean, it will\r\nhelp fish to lay their eggs in the ecosystem [and regenerate fish populations\r\nin the ocean].

“Seaweeds also pulls out enormous amounts of carbon from the\r\natmosphere, which is what we want to happen to reduce greenhouse gas\r\nemissions.”

However, Gameau explains, the harsh truth is that some\r\nseaweeds in various locations throughout the world are dying off. For example,\r\nnearly all the kelp growing off the east coast of Tasmania has been wiped\r\nout due to the rising temperatures of the world’s oceans.

“The waters have become too warm due to global warming and\r\nthey need cold water [to survive].”

On a positive note, he adds, seaweed is one of the\r\nfastest-growing organisms on the planet. Gameau, therefore, supports\r\nregenerative practices to encourage seaweed growth.

Earlier this year, the team behind 2040 joined together\r\nwith The Climate\r\nFoundation, The Intrepid Foundation and the University of Tasmania to\r\nbuild Australia’s first seaweed platform, in Storm Bay near Hobart.

Gameau explains that the seaweed platform will be home to\r\nfloating kelp forests, which will provide food, fuel and fertiliser while\r\ndrawing down carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

“Seaweed can grow up to half a metre a day, making it a\r\nturbocharged carbon sequester with lots of cascading benefits,” Gameau says on\r\nthe 2040 Facebook page about the new initiative. “It is one of the\r\nmost exciting climate solutions we have.”

Gameau now encourages more people to eat seaweed to increase\r\ndemand for seaweed as a sustainable food source and, consequently, grow the\r\nglobal seaweed industry.

 “I think if people\r\nstart eating seaweed there will be more of a demand for people [and farmers] to\r\ngrow more of it.”

Foods that feature seaweed, which are currently available\r\nfrom some supermarkets and most health food stores include kelp or dulse\r\nflakes, nori seaweed for sushi rolls, kelp sea seasoning, roasted seaweed\r\nsnacks, seaweed salads and kelp noodles.

“Seaweed is quite an acquired taste and its not yet reached\r\nthat point in society where it’s an accepted food everywhere,” he says. “But a\r\nlot of kelp products are now available in alternative health food shops: it’s a\r\nright of passage for these foods to be sold there first before they hit the mainstream.

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“So I believe that over the next three-to-five years,\r\nseaweed will start to be used in a lot more products, which is a good thing\r\nbecause we want to see the [regenerative] seaweed industry kick started.”

Source : SBS