Seaweed: Eating seaweed may help with weight loss and prevent diabetes
Countryfile: Ellie Harrison takes a bath in SEAWEED
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Edible seaweed varieties include: nori, kelp, wakame, kombu, dulse, spirulina and chlorella. Rich in macronutrients and micronutrients, seaweed may provide various health benefits, including weight loss and preventing diabetes. The fibre-rich food source enables a person to feel fuller for longer, which can come in handy when trying to reduce calorie intake. Research published in the scientific journal Marine Drugs noted how dietary fibre delays stomach emptying.
This means the stomach is less likely to send hunger signals to the brain, which may help prevent overeating.
Weight loss can be achieved by using up more calories than you consume in a day.
By eating fibre-rich foods, such as seaweed, you’re more likely to feel satisfied after eating.
Consuming less calories means you’re also less likely to be overweight – a risk factor for type 2 diabetes.
Scientists from Bushehr University of Medical Sciences in Iran investigated the anti-diabetic effects of seaweed.
The animal study divided rats into four groups:
- Normal control
- Positive control
- Diabetic control
- Test groups
The rats in the test group were given up to 300kg of seaweed to eat within 30 days.
After the experiment, the blood glucose, insulin, insulin resistance and histopathology of pancreatic tissue were evaluated.
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The data revealed that the rats who ate seaweed had a “significant decrease in fasting blood glucose”.
This means these rats had a low amount of blood sugar before eating anything that day.
Meanwhile, there were no significant impact on insulin, but there was evidence that the pancreas had started to regenerate itself in those rats who ate seaweed.
The researchers concluded that seaweed “has a healing effect on diabetes, which can be considered as a new research prospect for the natural therapy of diabetes”.
Medical News Today added that the compounds in seaweed may also reduce inflammation, high fat levels and insulin sensitivity.
Furthermore, seaweed is abundant in iodine – especially kombu, followed by wakame and nori – that may help address an underactive thyroid.
Known as hypothyroidism, an underactive thyroid is linked to an iodine deficiency.
Symptoms of hypothyroidism, pointed out by the NHS, include:
- Tiredness
- Being sensitive to cold
- Weight gain
- Constipation
- Depression
- Slow movements and thoughts
- Muscle aches and weakness
- Muscle cramps
- Dry and scaly skin
- Brittle hair and nails
- Loss of libido (sex drive)
- Pain, numbness and a tingling sensation in the hand and fingers (carpal tunnel syndrome)
- Irregular periods or heavy periods
“Elderly people with an underactive thyroid may develop memory problems and depression,” added the NHS.
Later signs of an underactive thyroid include:
- A low-pitched and hoarse voice
- A puffy-looking face
- Thinned or partly missing eyebrows
- A slow heart rate
- Hearing loss
- Anaemia
They thyroid needs iodine to function correctly, which involves energy production, growth, and cellular repair.
Address an underactive thyroid by trying seaweed, which may also help you lose weight and can ward of type 2 diabetes.
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