Wakame seaweed: nutritional properties
Wakame seaweed is an ingredient of macrobiotic cuisine, but lately it has also spread to different and more widespread diets in the West. In particular the ethnic and vegetarian and vegan cuisine use it to a large extent, the latter mainly thanks to its nutritional principles.
Rich in minerals, wakame is used both as a food and as a food supplement: iodine is the most present mineral, followed by calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, vitamin C and B vitamins .
Wakame algae also contain fucoxtina, a substance capable of controlling body weight.
To benefit from its qualities it is good to consume the whole seaweed, and not as a food supplement: in this way it is possible to make all the nutrients in an ideal synergy for absorption and use by our body.
Supplementing wakame algae in the diet is simple : you can use crumbled dried vegetables in soups, salads, or found in water. The volume increases when they are rehydrated.
An immediate and tasty way to use wakame seaweed is to prepare miso soup : it is a real cure-all and in macrobiotic cooking it is a natural remedy that can also rebalance the functioning of the intestine and make important minerals. The taste of wakame seaweed is relatively strong, from the sea, but is easily covered with other foods.
To avoid taking too much iodine, it is advisable to avoid the use of salt (both natural and iodine) in large quantities and / or in addition to recipes containing wakame seaweed.
Wakame and thyroid algae
Wakame seaweed is a brown saltwater alga, and therefore its iodine content is relatively high, especially compared to other foods.
For the known effects that iodine has on the functioning of the thyroid and on the stimulation of thyroid functions, wakame seaweed can be a useful aid for those suffering from disorders related to hypotoridism, and therefore to a "lazy" or slowed operation of the toroid.
The symptoms of slowed thyroid function are :
> Fatigue and weakness, asthenia;
> depression ;
> weight gain without a justified correlation with a change in quantity and quality of food;
> swelling ;
> constipation ;
> dry and thinning skin ;
> hair loss.
These symptoms can also be transient, and attributable to the change of season, especially between autumn and winter. At this time of year it is possible that this gland gets a little "at rest" and that it slows down its functioning without there being any real diseases.
To diagnose more complex pathologies, on the other hand, it is necessary to carry out in-depth examinations and ask a consultation with your doctor or specialists.
In particular, care must be taken if drugs that affect the functioning of the thyroid are taken: the wakame seaweed, due to its high iodine content, could interact with any medical treatment, like other foods with similar properties.
The major wakame seaweed producers are Japan, China and Korea, but they are also sourced from the northern coast of France.
It is useful to buy products of known origin and from certified crops or offshore crops that are as clean and unpolluted as possible, to avoid any arsenic contamination.
The wakame seaweed, in fact, grows mainly in depth, where it is more likely to have water contaminated with heavy metals harmful to health.