Dietary Seaweed in Preventive Health

An important, 18 page scientific review was published in the international peer-reviewed journal Phycologia in November, 2015.[1] The authors, two Canadians and a Danish scientist, are widely published in marine biology, phycology (seaweed botany) and molecular biophysics. The Dane, Professor Ole Mouritsen, is the author ofSeaweeds: Edible, Available & Sustainable, one of the best books on seaweed ever published (2013). Their review covers many years of nutrition research, on no less than 35 seaweed species from at least 8 countries around the world. Based on the research findings, the authors conclude that many kinds of macro algae (large seaweed species), if incorporated into our daily diet, could ameliorate risk factors which lead to cardiovascular disease and in doing so, address many other pathologies for example, of obesity, diabetes and hypertension. Cardiovascular disease is still the main cause of death in Europe with a £3 billion cost to the British NHS alone. On current trends by 2035 75% of the UK population could be overweight and 41% of adults obese, leading to millions of new cases of diabetes and heart disease and getting on for a million additional cancers. The authors point to endothelial dysfunction (such as damage to the lining of the digestive tract, lymphatic and blood vessels, and the heart), cellular inflammation, and disproportionate cellular free radical production, as specific conditions which seaweeds could help prevent and alleviate.