Mineral-rich seaweed promotes health, and most people need to eat seaweed often to overcome today’s widespread mineral deficiency that is undermining their health and causing much of the public ill health. Seaweed can improve the chances of living longer. During the 20th century, modern agriculture leached minerals out of the arable land, and still today this problem is just getting worse. As a result, crops now contain considerably fewer minerals such as magnesium, zinc and selenium. This weakens the body's ability to renew itself.
In addition, this mineral deficiency also weakens the body's immune system and nervous system. Overall, this adverse condition accelerates the aging process. Seaweed has a higher nutrient density and is more alkalizing than other foods. Seaweed provides the minerals that the body needs to repair and renew itself. The minerals in seaweed are ionic, that is they dissolve in water, and are a better source of minerals than most supplements, as the body is about 70% water. These nutrients come from real food and the body can absorb them well in this natural form, unlike the common synthetically produced tablets from the pharma industry.
The famous marine scientist Jacques Cousteau predicted that future generations would get their food from the sea. Seaweed certainly will become more important as food as time goes by. Cousteau emphasized the special relationship between man and the sea because of the similarity between seawater and human blood. The relationship between minerals such as calcium, sodium and potassium is indeed very similar in sea water and blood. Seaweed needs only sea water and sunlight to survive.
Apart from nori seaweed in sushi, seaweed is rare in today's Western food culture. Although seaweed may seem exotic and foreign, the Celts and Vikings ate seaweed as a basic food centuries ago. Dulse and laver (the Welsh name for nori) have been part of the food tradition in the coastal areas of England, Wales, Ireland, Brittany, Scandinavia and Iceland a long time as well. Laver bread was a traditional dish in Wales.
Nowadays most people eat seaweed without knowing it. The food industry uses seaweed extract as an additive in many industrially manufactured products for better consistency and stability. Seaweed is also included in the production of sweet pastries.