Sea Moss Nutrition Facts (+5 Health benefits)

Description

From weight loss to cough reduction, sea moss is linked with multiple health benefits. 

This edible seaweed, also known as Irish moss, could be the most nutritious of all plant-based sea foods.

Sea Moss Nutrition Facts

Sea Moss is a highly nutritious food, containing 90% of the minerals found in your body including calcium, zinc, and magnesium. This low-calorie food is also a natural source of iodine, which is crucial for thyroid function.

Most people don’t know much about sea moss and its nutritional value, which is the exact purpose of this article.

Let’s get started and review what makes this incredible sea plant so nutritious and provide some reasons why so many people supplement their diet with sea moss.

What Are the Minerals Found in Sea Moss?

One of the leading reasons people sprinkle sea moss on their yogurt or add sea moss to their favorite recipes is because sea moss is chock-full of important minerals that your body needs for proper function. 

Sea moss contains 92 of the 102 minerals found in the human body including minerals such as iron, potassium, selenium, and silicon – all necessary minerals for bone, hair, and skin health, in addition to circulation, sugar control, diabetes management, and even arthritis protection.

As an example, and according to the U.S Department of Agriculture (1), two tablespoons of sea moss (10 grams) contains these eight popular minerals in these amounts:

• Phosphorous: 15.7 milligrams (mg)
• Magnesium: 14.4mg
• Calcium: 7.2mg
• Potassium: 6.3mg
• Zinc: 0.2mg
• Iron: 0.9mg
• Manganese: 0.04
• Copper: 0.02mg

For a complete list of all the minerals found in sea moss, produced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, you can visit Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases.

The macronutrient composition of the same amount of sea moss (10 grams) also contains:

• Calories: 4.9 
• Protein: 0.15 grams
• Carbohydrates: 1.23 grams
• Fiber: 0.13 grams
• Sugar: 0.06 grams

In addition, you will also gain these key vitamins:

• Vitamin C: 0.3 milligrams
• Vitamin B-6: 0.007 milligrams
• Vitamin E: 0.087 milligrams
• Vitamin K: 0.5 micrograms 

Let’s now look at some of the possible health benefits of taking sea moss. 

5 Nutritional Benefits of Sea Moss

Sea moss, which is also called red seaweed, has multiple nutritional benefits. 

First, sea moss is often harvested for an ingredient called carrageenan. 

This natural additive helps preserve, emulsify, and thicken foods and drinks like yogurt and ice cream [2]. While not always in healthy, natural foods, you can also find carrageenan in raw form or as a supplement, such as pills, gummies, powder, and cream.

So, what potential health benefits can you get after consuming sea moss? While there are quite a lot of research studies on sea moss which are referenced throughout this article, here are some of the more common reasons why people may supplement with sea moss:

1. Sea moss may support a healthy weight

Two important minerals found in sea moss, zinc, and magnesium, are critical to support a healthy insulin response, which is an important part of maintaining a healthy weight. Research shows that zinc supports healthy blood sugar levels and magnesium supports healthy insulin sensitivity. 

Additionally, research shows that red seaweed contains a component called fucoxanthin. Scientists found that this component may help increase fat metabolism. Additionally, fucoxanthin may have anti-obesity properties that might help with some weight-related problems. (3)

2. Sea moss may boost immunity

Japanese researchers with the Oxford University Press have found that compounds in sea moss may protect against some diseases by boosting the immune system. These researchers believe that soluble fibers, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamins D3 and B12, may exert antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiviral effects. (6)

Coincidentally, scientists with Frontiers in Physiology have discovered that some animals who ate sea moss had better immunity than those that didn’t and suggest the possibility of having similar results in humans. (4)

3. Sea moss may improve gut health

The human digestive system has lots of bacteria, some good and others are bad. Sea moss is a good source of bacteria that may help with food digestion. Sea moss is rich in dietary fiber and oligosaccharides, a prebiotic which is also found in medicinal mushrooms. Scientists with BMC Complementary Alternative Medicine suggest sea moss may have multiple prebiotic effects, such as supporting the improvement of gut health. (8)

4. Sea moss may enhance thyroid health

Sea moss has a high content of the mineral iodine. Iodine is important for proper thyroid function. This mineral helps to make thyroid hormones in the body. Notably, the thyroid helps our bodies in many ways, such as controlling metabolism and promoting brain and bone development in infants.

5. Sea moss may support heart health

Researchers with Marine Drugs consider sea moss a powerful nutraceutical product because of its positive effects on human health, supporting such things as autoimmune, ocular, and cardiovascular diseases. (9)  Additionally, since sea moss is an excellent plant-based source of omega-3 fatty acids, sea moss may support cardiovascular health. 

Additionally, sea moss is a natural source of electrolytes, including sodium and potassium. The body needs sodium for nerve impulses, to contract and relax muscles, and for the balance of water and minerals. These vital functions are core to healthy circulation and heart health.

These are some of the health benefits of sea moss. But the list is far from complete. Natural healers have also used sea moss for fertility, muscle recovery, skin and hair improvement, the fight against some diseases, and much more. Research on the effectiveness of sea moss on these issues is scarce and ongoing.

What Are the Side Effects of Sea Moss?

Considering sea moss occurs naturally, it doesn’t present many known side effects. However, the quality of the seaweed depends on the area where it grows. The mineral content may vary because of location. 

Some may have less iodine, while others may have too much iodine. Overconsumption of iodine can lead to thyroid problems, as well as experts suggest that overconsumption of sodium can lead to some negative outcomes. (10) 

You are invited to try our Organic Irish Moss Powder. Our fresh, all-natural, raw Irish Moss Powder is packaged in airtight stand-up, resealable foil pouches for optimum freshness. Go here for more information and order details: Organic Irish Moss Powder

References

1. The U.S Department of Agriculture. FoodData Central. Seaweed, Irish moss, raw. 4/1/2019.
2. Ohio Department of Agriculture. Sea Moss.
3. National Library of Medicine. Fucoxanthin from edible seaweed, Undaria pinnatifida, shows antiobesity effect through UCP1 expression in white adipose tissues. Published 2005 Jul 1.
4. National Library of Medicine. Immunomodulatory Effects of Dietary Seaweeds in LPS Challenged Atlantic Salmon Salmo salar as Determined by Deep RNA Sequencing of the Head Kidney Transcriptome. Published online 2018 Jun 1.
5. National Library of Medicine. Metals in Edible Seaweed. Published 2017 Jan 12.
6. Potential benefits of dietary seaweeds as protection against COVID-19: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7798825/
7. Seaweeds as nutraceuticals for health and nutrition: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00318884.2019.1640533
8. Prebiotic effects of diet supplemented with the cultivated red seaweed Chondrus crispus or with fructo-oligo-saccharide on host immunity, colonic microbiota and gut microbial metabolites: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4535385/
9. An Overview to the Health Benefits of Seaweeds Consumption: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8232781/
10. Salt and Sodium: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/salt-and-sodium/