Botanical Name:
Fucus vesiculosus
Common Name:
bladder wrack, sea weed, black tang, sea oak, cut weed, red fucus, rock wrack
Discussion:
Kelp is found throughout the Atlantic Ocean, but especially in sheltered areas of ocean water near coasts.
Kelp is a large sea weed that forms dense forests under the water. Kelp is estimated to have existed for tens of millions of years.
Kelp grows quickly, but requires a water environment that is rich in nutrients. Some species can grow up to several feet a day, and reach up to 250 feet in length.
Nutritional Value:
Kelp provides the body with an excellent source of iodine. Iodine is an essential nutrient that helps the thyroid organ regulate the body’s metabolism.
Medicinal Value:
As kelp is an excellent source of iodine, it can be used to treat disorders that result from a lack of iodine in the body. For hundreds of years kelp has been used to treat goiter, which results from a lack of iodine in the diet.
Recently, investigators have discovered that a material in kelp called alginate helped prevent the uptake of fat. Alginate even performed better than many weight-loss supplements available to the public.
Alginate may be added to food to help the body prevent absorption of fat, and therefore help to limit weight gain. Kelp capsules
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Sources:
Healthline