What is sea moss?

There is a new trend in healthy eating

There is a new trend in healthy eating and that is incorporating sea moss into your diet. Celebrities tweet about it and especially if you are vegetarian or vegan you may have even had a wellness practitioner recommend it to you, but what is it exactly? Believe it or not sea moss on its own is actually a species of seaweed specific to the North Atlantic Ocean and is sometimes called Irish moss. Even though seaweed isn’t exactly a staple of most modern western diets it has been eaten by coastal peoples for millennia. In some places it’s even considered a delicacy including a seaweed called dulse where I live . You have probably already been eating foods derived of sea moss without even knowing it. Sea moss is most commonly harvested and processed to thicken dairy products most notably ice cream. In the unprocessed form sea moss is rich in many vitamins and minerals most notably iodine and vitamin b12. You don’t even need to eat very much sea moss to reap all of the health benefits. So it’s not exactly a super-food and not really a supplement either but rather part of an emerging group of ‘foods’ called nutraceuticals.

You might have heard the term nutraceutical come up in the health and wellness world over the past few years, but do you know what it means? Is it a super food or a supplement and do you need to have nutraceuticals in your diet? The answer is that nutraceuticals are not superfoods exactly but they aren’t supplements in the traditional sense either. Superfoods like blueberries and kale pack more of a nutritional punch than do most other foods. Adding a few servings of superfoods to your diet can dramatically increase your vitamin and antioxidant intake. A supplement on the other hand is a little different still It can contain one ingredient or several targeted to help you with a specific dietary deficiency or target a particular health concern. Supplements are usually an alternative to eating these ingredients in your diet.

Nutraceuticals are an emerging healthcare trend that is somewhere between superfoods and supplementation. Typically a nutraceutical is something you add to food or drinks you would otherwise eat to increase the amount of vitamins or minerals you would get. Sort of like adding protein powder to your smoothie. Nutraceuticals can be a great option for taking in more of what your body needs from sources you might not necessarily want to eat a whole serving of on their own.

What is a nutraceutical?

You might have heard the term nutraceutical come up in the health and wellness world over the past few years, but do you know what it means? Is it a super food or a supplement and do you need to have nutraceuticals in your diet? The answer is that nutraceuticals are not superfoods exactly but they aren’t supplements in the traditional sense either. Superfoods like blueberries and kale pack more of a nutritional punch than do most other foods. Adding a few servings of superfoods to your diet can dramatically increase your vitamin and antioxidant intake. A supplement on the other hand is a little different still It can contain one ingredient or several targeted to help you with a specific dietary deficiency or target a particular health concern. Supplements are usually an alternative to eating these ingredients in your diet.

Nutraceuticals are an emerging healthcare trend that is somewhere between superfoods and supplementation. Typically a nutraceutical is something you add to food or drinks you would otherwise eat to increase the amount of vitamins or minerals you would get. Sort of like adding protein powder to your smoothie. Nutraceuticals can be a great option for taking in more of what your body needs from sources you might not necessarily want to eat a whole serving of on their own.

You might have heard the term nutraceutical come up in the health and wellness world over the past few years, but do you know what it means? Is it a super food or a supplement and do you need to have nutraceuticals in your diet? The answer is that nutraceuticals are not superfoods exactly but they aren’t supplements in the traditional sense either. Superfoods like blueberries and kale pack more of a nutritional punch than do most other foods. Adding a few servings of superfoods to your diet can dramatically increase your vitamin and antioxidant intake. A supplement on the other hand is a little different still It can contain one ingredient or several targeted to help you with a specific dietary deficiency or target a particular health concern. Supplements are usually an alternative to eating these ingredients in your diet.

Nutraceuticals are an emerging healthcare trend that is somewhere between superfoods and supplementation. Typically a nutraceutical is something you add to food or drinks you would otherwise eat to increase the amount of vitamins or minerals you would get. Sort of like adding protein powder to your smoothie. Nutraceuticals can be a great option for taking in more of what your body needs from sources you might not necessarily want to eat a whole serving of on their own.

Personally, I’m not the biggest fan of eating seaweeds the same way I would eat an apple. Let’s just say they are an acquired taste and leave it at that. But adding super healthy ingredients to your diet in small amounts has a lot of positives and sea moss is a perfect example. Sea moss is very rich in iodine which our bodies need for healthy thyroids and is usually taken in the form of table salt which has been fortified. If you don’t use table salt it is important to make sure you are getting the iodine your body needs somewhere else. Sea moss is also a great source of vitamin B12 which vegetarians and especially vegans can struggle to get enough of without taking a supplement or even getting an injection. It’s also a significant source of iron, magnesium, phosphorous and zinc. As little as 20g of sea moss is also a great source of antioxidants which destroy free radicals in our cells. In simple terms free radicles are charged particles that form in cells and cause damage ranging from wrinkles in skin cells to cancer when they interact with our DNA. Antioxidants combat free radicles in our cells and diets high in antioxidants have proven to have all sorts of health benefits.

These properties are the likely basis of the health benefits sea moss on it’s own or in combination with other ingredients can have. It leads to a better functioning immune system, better joint function, improved gut health and improved thyroid function. Since it really is just a food most people will be able to incorporate it into their diet unless you have a specific allergy. It is important to stick to the suggested serving though as too much can put you over your daily iodine limit.

How to incorporate sea moss into your diet

Really the sky is the limit when it comes to adding some sea moss to your diet and it’s sold in a number of forms. You can buy dehydrated plant material and rehydrate it yourself at home. If you choose this route you should know that the rehydrated product will be somewhat gelatinous. It’s also available as a powder, capsule or or gummy. One of the most popular choices is to blend sea moss into your smoothies but you can also use it in baked goods, or sprinkle it onto your yogurt or cereal. Foods prepared with sea moss or the ingredient itself can be stored for three days in the fridge or frozen.

Most people would rather use a prepared form like a powder or capsule for the ease of use it offers. In this form it is more stable and convenient to take. Make sure to follow the manufacture’s instructions on storage and daily dose.

What makes for a good nutraceutical

It is important that you vet the manufacturer of any nutraceutical you plan to use. There’s less oversight in the industry then there really should be. You should make sure that the facility that manufactures the products you take has met some sort of safety certification, be cautious of sellers that don’t have this. It’s also a good idea to choose a company that at a minimum lists the amounts of any ingredients included in the formula. While companies are under no obligation to list the amounts of ingredients in their formulas if they do that information is required to be correct. 

If you opt to use the raw ingredient make sure to use the appropriate food safety precautions. Like any other food product make sure to use proper food handling procedures and storage temperatures. Like any other food sea moss can harbor food borne illnesses. So make sure to use cold water and to rehydrate in the fridge overnight.

Our best choices for sea moss

After careful research into many of the sea moss nutraceuticals available on the market these are the top 5 that we recommend. We considered effectiveness, safety, quality and innovation in picking out top products. We put together the pros, cons and the bottom line on each product to make sorting through the wealth of information a bit easier for you.

Medical Herald budged
Overall Rating (4.9)
Quality Rating: 9.7/10
Expert Rating: 9.8/10
Users Rating: 9.6/10

Ulti Moss: by Rgnhealth

THE BOTTOM LINE

The bottom line: This product nabbed the top spot for a few reasons. First and foremost safety, this product is manufactured in a facility and using a process certified by a third party. BioPerine also has years of experience in the nutraceutical field. We love the capsule form making it impossible to accidentally take too much.

Learn more

Overall Rating (4.5)
Quality Rating: 9.1/10
Expert Rating: 9.0/10
Users Rating: 8.9/10

Organic sea moss: by Bloom

THE BOTTOM LINE

Again this product ranks as high as it does because of safety in manufacturing and capsules. This is a solid second choice it doesn’t make the top spot simply because there is one less active ingredient.


Overall Rating (4.3)
Quality Rating: 8.7/10
Expert Rating: 8.6/10
Users Rating: 8.5/10

Irish Sea moss: by Nutriflair

THE BOTTOM LINE

Though nutriflair is committed to following safety guidelines they haven’t obtained any certifications. This formula is solid but we find the return policy to be disingenuous. You only have 10 days and the product must be unopened. For these reasons this sea moss capsule didn’t make the top spot.


Overall Rating (4.0)
Quality Rating: 8.1/10
Expert Rating: 8.0/10
Users Rating: 7.9/10

Organic sea moss powder: by Apex

THE BOTTOM LINE

Some shoppers will be looking for a one ingredient formula only and that is largely why this product made the list. This is the simplest product available while still being convenient for many. Make sure to always measure out the powder if you opt for this product as it is possible to take too much pretty easily


Overall Rating (3.8)
Quality Rating: 7.6/10
Expert Rating: 7.5/10
Users Rating: 7.7/10

Ultraviolet sea moss: by Serenity

THE BOTTOM LINE

We included this product on the list because some people will be looking for a whole food. Out of the options available we picked this one because of the UV treatment process. The inconvenience of rehydrating for use seems too inconvenient for us and we have concerns that it would be hard to measure the correct dose.

Top 5
jpcrtext3