«God created seaweed… The seaweed made the world.»
John B. Keane
There are so many fantastic properties that can be attributed to seaweed that we will not be able to mention them all here. On this page you will discover the main ones.
As we all know, life began in the sea. Sea water is very mineral-rich, and therefore algae absorb plenty of mineral elements, vitamins and trace elements. The mineral content of some seaweeds account for up to 80% of their dry matter. But it gets better: some brown seaweed like Ascophyllum nodosum (also called Knotted Wrack) or Fucus vesiculosus (commonly called Bladder Wrack) contain every single mineral there is on the planet!
The vitamins, minerals and all other good natural chemicals that are part of seaweed have numerous health benefits for us humans – and none of the huge side effects that pharmaceutical medicine can have.
The oils in seaweed have long been known to recuperate from illness by detoxifying the body and helping the renewal of damaged skin cells.
Seaweed contains algal carotenoids and polyphenols which have been proven to be powerful antioxidants. Antioxidants help the body fight against oxygen-free radicals which damage cells and are the cause of aging and disease.
The iodine prevalent in seaweed is essential for the thyroid gland to regulate the body’s metabolism.
The benefits for the skin comprise an improvement of the suppleness and the elasticity of the skin. Seaweed acts as an anti-ageing and anti-cellulite agent. It detoxifies, tones and cleanses the skin. It can stimulate the renewal of damaged skin cells. It moisturises and smoothes the skin.
Seaweed has been used as an effective external treatment for conditions like psoriasis, eczema, dermatitis and acne.
In short we can say that algae is very health-beneficial. It can be taken for internal and external treatments of the body. The good thing is that it is pure goodness without the nasty bits, and that no animals suffer in lab tests.
Seaweed has many uses: you can eat it dried (in salads and hot dishes), or take it as a health supplement in the shape of capsules, or use it in cosmetics like creams, shampoos, conditioners, soaps, massage oils…
We sprinkle on our Burren Cold Smoked Irish Organic Salmon with Seaweed a mixture of the good stuff that the Talty family – Wild Irish Seaweed – in County Clare gather for us.
If you want inspiration for healthy and delicious meals, turn to Prannie Rhatigan’s website and fabulous cookbook which contains a lot of information on, and recipes with, seaweed.