Useful properties of sea kale

Laminaria or, more common name, sea kale is a popular alga that grows in almost all oceans. Due to the high content of iodine,

has a special taste, and has found wide application in medicine.

Useful properties of sea kale, known since time immemorial and to this day, are used by physicians and pharmacists. Especially relevant was the use of sea cabbage after the Chernobyl tragedy, when cases of thyroid gland diseases increased tens of times, just because of a shortage of iodine. Therefore, the use of sea kale as a source of natural iodine in modern conditions, unexpectedly received a second wind.

The thyroid gland or thyroid gland took up the attention of early scientists. Their knowledge was enough to draw conclusions about the importance of its functioning on the smooth operation of the whole organism. Much later the scientists managed to establish that the thyroid gland produces a special hormone that gets into the blood. This particular hormone is needed for almost the whole organism, all its organs in certain quantities. To produce this hormone, thyroid gland needs iodine as air. In principle, no other body consumes iodine in such quantities as the thyroid gland. If the thyroid gland is enlarged, this means a shortage of iodine in the body. Because of what iron increases in size, "trying" in this way to make up the deficiency of hormones. As a consequence - a change in the shape of the neck.

Since this hormone has a beneficial effect on all body systems, its uninterrupted isolation in sufficient quantities is necessary. And, in turn, for this the body needs iodine. In the human body there are no other organs and systems that would consume iodine in such volumes as the thyroid gland. If iodine does not enter the body in sufficient quantities, the thyroid gland grows in size. That is, it tries to fill the deficiency of hormones not at the expense of intensive processing of iodine, but at the expense of its expansion. The enlargement of the thyroid gland leads to external changes, in the first place, the neck. Such diseases as hypothyroidism, as well as various types of goiter are caused by a shortage of iodine in the body. These diseases are characterized by drowsiness, general weakness, chills, depression. And the most terrible thing is that the lack of iodine and the lack of appropriate hormones in the proper amounts can lead to fetal pathology.

It is known that before to maintain the right amount of iodine in the body, it was advised to use iodized salt. Perhaps this gives some results, but the practice has shown a low effectiveness of iodized salt.

The fact is that even when iodized salt gets wet, the amount of iodine decreases, and when heated iodine evaporates completely. Thus, when cooking, its heating of iodine in salt is almost not left. After the results, everyone remembered about a natural organic product containing a huge amount of easily digestible iodine - sea kale.

What makes iodine in laminaria particularly valuable? Studies have shown that iodine in sea cabbage is not in pure form, but forms compounds that do not collapse due to various effects. This explains the avalanche-like use of sea kale in developed countries. Dishes with the addition of kelp became, at one time, a hit of cooking, they were even added to bread. Over time, the fashion for sea kale passed, but its useful properties remained in memory, and will not allow it to disappear from the shelves in the stores.

In addition to beneficial effects on the thyroid gland, laminaria is useful and the digestive tract. One of its features is the ability to remove from the body the compounds of heavy metals. The principle of action of sea kale, in something similar to activated charcoal. It connects harmful substances in the intestines and removes them. This property is explained by the presence in the laminaria of alginates and salts of alginic acid. These substances do not dissolve in the gastric juice, but slightly swell in the intestines and stomach. The latter allows them to bind and remove toxins.

A useful property of sea kale, with its regular use, is to help restore the intestinal peristalsis, without which the normal functioning of the digestive system is impossible. For these reasons, nutritionists strongly recommend sea kale to people who consume high-calorie food.

In addition, regular use of sea kale can lead to a lowering of the level of cholesterol in the blood, which, in turn, helps with atherosclerosis. The presence of cholesterol is vital, but here it is a question of its surplus. Surpluses of cholesterol settle on the walls of blood vessels, form plaques, and can clog the blood vessel. In the latter case, we are talking about the formation of a blood clot. A blood clot is already very dangerous. Closure of blood clots is the cause of strokes, ischemia, which often end up in a dysfunction.

At the same time, the kelp is made up of a sterol that has the ability to "knit" cholesterol and remove cholesterol. And, by the way, iodine compounds in some cases can dilute atherosclerotic plaques.

In addition to iodine, kelp contains a large amount of iron. The content of this element allows sea kale to participate in the hematopoietic processes of the body. Algae increases the amount of hemoglobin in the blood, increasing the level of healthy red blood cells in the blood.

Like other plants, sea kale, in the process of its vital activity absorbs substances from the environment. Since kelp is an alga that "dwells" in the seas, it also takes useful substances from sea water, which contains practically the whole of Mendeleyev's table. " Therefore, it is not surprising that such elements as iodine, magnesium, molybdenum, manganese, phosphorus, calcium, chlorine, silicon, potassium, vanadium, sodium, cobalt, nickel, iron, sulfur, zinc, titanium, aluminum, bromine, boron, and others.

And finally, as they say, a fly in the ointment. Since laminaria absorbs all the elements from the environment like a sponge, the important point is the place of gathering of sea kale. There can be no question of collecting it near industrial centers or shipping lines. Therefore, not the least important is where you buy seaweed, the availability of appropriate certificates and passing control.