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March/April 2008

Good Weed

Seaweeds are packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, making these ocean-grown vegetables just as good for you as their earth-farmed counterparts.

By Kelly Bastone

Seaweeds are lusciously silky greens that soak up ocean-borne nutrients as they dance in the currents. Asian cultures adore them—in fact, seaweed constitutes 10 to 20 percent of the average Japanese diet, which features it in sushi rolls, miso soup, and salads. And in Celtic regions such as Ireland, Wales, and Canada’s Maritime provinces, dried seaweed, or dulse, is a popular pub snack, something to munch on between sips of beer. So why do most Americans wrinkle their noses at the thought of eating aquatic veggies?

“Most people think of seaweed only as the slimy, stinky stuff that gets washed up on the beach,” says Diane Bernard, founder of Outer Coast Seaweeds, a Canadian company that harvests 12 seaweed varieties off the coast of British Columbia. “That stuff on the sand is just the compost pile. The garden, where seaweeds actually grow, is in the water.”

The ocean fortifies seaweeds in much the same way that the earth nourishes spinach, broccoli, and other powerfoods. Seaweeds don’t have a root system: they absorb nutrients through their leaves. And like earth-grown greens, ocean-fed veggies shore up impressive amounts of vitamins and minerals: a half cup of Eden Foods’ wakame delivers 14 percent of your daily value of potassium, along with significant amounts of vitamins A and B12, plus minerals such as calcium, iodine, manganese, and magnesium.

“Seaweeds certainly have a lot to offer nutritionally,” says Susan Moores, a registered dietitian and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. She says that the mineral content makes seaweeds uniquely nutritious. “They contain more, by and large, than any other plant source, sea or land.” Calcium’s role as a bone-booster is well known, but other minerals, such as iodine and magnesium, also promote thyroid function and help the body absorb other nutrients.

Susan hasn’t seen any evidence to suggest that seaweeds also drink in sea-borne contaminants, and many reputable suppliers (such as Outer Coast Seaweeds) are careful to harvest only from unpolluted waters. But some scientific studies, including one conducted in 2005 by scientists from the College of Engineering at Oregon State University and the Marine Science Center at Northeastern University, indicate that seaweeds are natural detoxifiers, neutralizing ocean-borne pollutants rather than absorbing them. More research is needed to know whether people enjoy that detoxifying benefit by eating seaweeds, but the living plants may help oceans heal.

Diane echoes that assessment. “Our oceans are in a lot of trouble,” she admits, “but they still have tremendous life-sustaining properties.”

Diane says that for centuries, people across the globe have come to the ocean to cure everything from rheumatism to rashes and that ancient cultures have long relied on seaweeds’ health benefits. Celtic folk remedies use seaweeds as an antibiotic and a treatment for burns; Asian cultures believe that they fortify the blood.

Now scientific research is beginning to confirm seaweed’s curative value. It has been found to contain pheophytin, an anti-inflammatory, as well as a spectrum of antioxidants. It also contains cancer-fighting lignans. Several lab experiments conducted in Japan and the United States revealed that seaweed extracts were capable of killing tumor cells. That evidence suggests that Japan’s conspicuously low rate of breast cancer may be the result of a diet high in seaweed.

For cookbook author Jill Gusman, however, seaweed’s attraction isn’t just about health benefits—it’s flavor. Jill wrote Vegetables from the Sea: Everyday Cooking with Sea Greens (William Morrow Cookbooks, 2003) to turn readers on to seaweed’s fun textures and tastes; she also teaches seaweed-cooking classes at New York’s Natural Gourmet Cooking School. “Seaweeds add unique flavor, color, and texture to dishes,” Jill says. Some are a dazzling shade of emerald green, while others are a deep, glossy black. Not only are they visually beautiful, they can be very quick and easy to prepare. “Not all varieties have to be cooked,” she explains. “Some you just rinse, soak, and drain—simple and delicious.”

Jill likes to serve sheets of nori alongside a meal instead of bread. Or she’ll toast some dulse until it’s crispy and toss it with oil and garlic to make a pasta sauce. But even if you just sprinkle a teaspoon of wakame in your soup, you still benefit from seaweed’s nutritional value. In fact, because seaweed is so nutrient-dense, a little goes a long way. “There’s always a benefit to any healthful food you bring into your diet,” says Susan, “even if it’s in tiny amounts.”

Just don’t be surprised if your tentative first attempts with seaweed turn you into a regular devotee.