What Counts as Sea Vegetables?
Sea vegetables consist of edible plants and algae that grow in or near the ocean. Types of sea vegetables include items like sea beans and sea purslane (types of flowering succulents) and different types of seaweeds including red seaweed (e.g., nori aka laver, dulse, and Irish moss), green seaweed (e.g., sea lettuce), and brown seaweed (e.g., kelp aka kombu, arame, alaria, hijiki).
What Nutrients Do Sea Vegetables Contain?
Seaweeds have some special components that aren’t found in any land-based vegetables, and which may be responsible for some of their unique health benefits including unique fiber types (like fucoidans, laminarins, alginates), carotenoids (like fucoxanthin, astaxanthin) and ultra-trace minerals (like vanadium).
Health Benefits Associated With Sea Vegetables
Studies show that eating seaweed almost every day reduces risk of cardiovascular disease, compared to never eating seaweed and that eating more sea vegetables per day reduces risk of all-cause mortality. In addition seaweed and components of seaweed have been shown to help with cancer prevention and treatment, and fight inflammation, in addition to having antiviral properties and being great for gut health.
How Do I Eat Sea Vegetables?
If you’re open to adding edible seaweeds into your diet but don’t know to incorporate them, here are some ideas: make a seaweed salad or add rehydrated dried seaweed to “regular” salads; incorporate sea veggies into smoothies, soups (miso soup), stir-fries, and stews; try seaweed snacks or sushi rolls; use dulse flakes as a flavorful seasoning or add them to a salad dressing; and/or switch to a salt enriched with sea vegetables. There are numerous ways to incorporate this Asian delicacy into all types of foods!
What if I Don’t Like Sea Vegetables?
Wondering how to reap the health benefits associated with sea veggies if you aren’t a fan of them or can’t eat them due to an allergy, I’ve got you covered!
Seaweed like kelp, arame, wakame, and nori is particularly beneficial to our health due to three main nutrients: carotenoids, alginate, and iodine.
Seaweed contains a collection of unique carotenoids not found in land plants. For example fucoxanthin, which is found in brown seaweeds, and is particularly beneficial for reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes, cancer, and inflammation. While you can’t get fucoxanthin from land plants, you can get other carotenoids from red, orange, and yellow fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, watermelon, citrus fruits, carrots, and sweet potatoes. They’re not the same but if you’re allergic to seaweed or don’t like the taste of sea veggies, it’s the closest you’re going to get. If you have access to them, an alternative source of fucoxanthin is sea creatures that mainly eat seaweed, like sea cucumbers and starfish.
Sea vegetables also contain a special type of fiber called alginate, which is sometimes used as a thickening agent or emulsifier. This type of fiber is extremely beneficial for the gut microbiome and is in the mucilage class of fiber. Similar fibers can be found in high mucilage foods like chia seeds, flax seeds, cassava root, taro root, and aloe. These foods are easy to pick out as they often have a slimy texture.
The last nutrient in sea vegetables that makes them special is iodine, which is essential for thyroid function. You can get iodine from iodized table salt, eggs, dairy products, seafood like fish and shellfish, and some legumes like lima beans.
In addition there are some honorable mention nutrients in sea vegetables!
Sea vegetables contain long-chain omega-3 fatty acids. Fish and shellfish are better sources, but if you can’t eat them, you can get them from sea vegetables or an algal oil supplement.
Sea vegetables are also abundant in numerous trace minerals that we need in very small quantities (e.g., vanadium). You can get trace minerals from unrefined sea salts like French sel gris or Celtic sea salt, seafood (especially shellfish), and plant foods grown in mineral-rich soil.
Consuming these alternative foods should help you maintain a balanced intake of the nutrients typically found in seaweed.
As always, it’s important to remember that you don’t have to eat sea vegetables if you don’t want to. Focus on all of the nutrient-dense foods you enjoy, have access to, and can afford and prepare them in a way that you love! There is no one perfect Nutrivore diet—there is a ton of flexibility of food choice that aligns with Nutrivore principles. And, Nutrivore celebrates every small step you take towards consuming a more nutrient-replete diet. Don’t forget that the diet you follow or don’t follow now does not impact your long-term health, what does is your lifelong eating patterns!
If you’re interested in my thoughts on nutritional swaps for sea vegetables, check out my video below and if you want to learn more about sea veggies check out my detailed article here. Looking for other foods rich in the important nutrients found in sea vegetables, including carotenoids, fiber, and iodine? I’ve got you covered! Check out my Top 25 Foods for Every Nutrient E-Book, which highlights top foods for 42 important nutrients.
Food Swaps
If you’re looking for swaps for other foods check out these posts!
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