Sea Vegetables
Why would anyone want to eat sea vegetables? That was a big question when I started in the mid-1980s to use these traditional Japanese ingredients in my cooking classes.
Seaweed and marine algae have more concentrated nutrition than vegetables grown on land and they have long been considered to possess powers to prolong life, prevent disease, and impart beauty and health.
TRADITIONAL FOOD
For thousands of years, this mineral-rich vegetable has been a staple in Asian diets. Vegetables from
the sea provides one of the broadest ranges of minerals of any food, containing nearly all the minerals found in the ocean and many of the same minerals found in human blood.
During times of famine in Ireland, “lrish Moss” (carrageen) was boiled with milk for extra nutrition. In parts of Alaska dried seaweed is oiled and used as a substitute for chewing tobacco.
Sea vegetables are recognised to play important part of the diet in China, Korea, South – East Asia, Polynesia Hawaii and particularly Japan.
Along the Pacific coast of USA, people eat ulva (seaweed), and the Japanese and Chinese there collect laver (another common type of seaweed). In south America, Ulva and kelp are known as “Goitre sticks” and used as a prevention against disease which is prevalent in some areas.
HEALTH BENEFITS
“One of seaweed’s most prominent health benefits is its ability to remove radioactive strontium and other heavy metals from our bodies. Whole brown seaweeds (not granulated) such as kelp contain alginic acid with binds with the toxins in the intestines rendering them indigestible and carries them out of our system” (The Celtic Diet: Let History Shape Your Future By Breanne Findlay)
They are said to have antibiotic qualities. to relieve constipation and intestinal and respiratory irritation. to aid mucous membranes. promote weight loss and relieve gout and rheumatism.
For centuries. Oriental medicine has recognised that sea vegetables contribute to general health. and especially to the health of the endocrine and nervous systems, resulting in thick healthy hair, soft skin, and a tolerance for stress. Studies have shown that sea vegetables are effective in reducing cholesterol and in helping to prevent atherosclerosis and hypertension.
Due to the enzyme and mineral content in sea vegetables they can assist the body in eliminating the effects of animal fats.
There are measurable amounts of minerals such as calcium, copper, iodine, iron, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, vanadium and zinc. They are also high in antioxidants and packed with vitamins A, C, E, B complex and B12. In addition, edible seaweeds provide protein, fibre and even some omega-3 fatty acids.
I store my sea vegetables in an airtight container in a cool place and, when opened, in my fridge. I use traditional Japanese arame in salads and stir-fries, wakame in soups and salads, yakinori for nori rolls and snacks, Furikake sea vegetable shake and dulse flakes as garnish, agar for desserts and, even though it is hard to buy in Australia, kombu used as a natural flavour enhancer in stocks and also can be added to cooking beans to help reduce the gas-producing properties as kombu helps with the digestibility of beans.
Please listen in to Sandra’s chat on radio about sea vegetables. Just click below.
