Everything You Need To Know About Sea Vegetables

In a time when taking care of your health and immune system is more important than ever, there's one superfood you may be neglecting: Sea veggies. Sure, you've eaten those bits of seaweed in your miso soup, or wrapped around your sushi roll. However, there is actually a wide variety of green, brown, and red seaweed or edible marine algae that fall into the sea vegetables category. And they are bursting with nutrients, some of which you just can't get from land vegetables.  

"Sea vegetables are a great addition to a healthy diet, right now and always," says registered dietitian Abby Cannon, J.D., R.D., CDN. But where do you start when it comes to this variety of veggies? Can you get them in your grocery store, or is there a sea vegetables supplement? Experts have all the information you need to know about sea vegetables, varieties, benefits, and how to eat them.

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In This Article

1

What are sea vegetables?

2

Types of sea vegetables

3

Benefits

4

How to eat sea vegetables

5

The importance of organic

6

How many servings should you eat?

What are sea vegetables?

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Sea vegetables and their various incarnations go way beyond the dehydrated seaweed snack packs you may find at the grocery store. The term refers to edible marine algae, which includes some of the most primitive life forms on Earth and can be unicellular (microscopic) or multicellular. Seaweed is a subset of this enormous category of thousands of species. 

Surprisingly, these organisms aren't plants, even though they resemble them. They have no root system because they're able to absorb nutrients and water directly into their tissues. 

Seaweed can be further classified as green, red, or brown. Non-seaweed veggies include single-cell algae like spirulina and chlorella.

While you may not see these as frequently as other veggies in your local grocery store, they do come in dehydrated and powdered versions, as found in mindbodygreen's organic veggies+. Or you may be able to find fresh varieties at your health food stores and Asian markets. Either way, you'll reap all the nutrients and benefits.

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Types of sea vegetables. 

There is considerable diversity in the edible seaweed family. The many available varieties come with different nutrition profiles and uses. The red algae—nori—might be the most familiar because it's typically used as sushi wrap or garnish. However, as seaweed becomes more mainstream, seaweed snacks, oils, seasonings, and even jerky are popping up in stores. 

You can find it raw, pickled, dried, powdered, and encapsulated. Chefs are becoming more adventurous by incorporating these veggies into everything from soup to ice cream. And if chomping on something that tastes like the sea just isn't for you, then you can forgo the taste and texture altogether by stirring the powdered form into smoothies or soups.

Kelp  

There are nearly 30 varieties of this large brown algae, known colloquially as "seaweed." This is the version of sea vegetable you are most likely to feel clinging to your legs while in the ocean. But you've probably also encountered kelp in your day-to-day while firmly on land; it's found in thousands of products. 

Algin, a versatile component in kelp, is an ingredient in toothpaste, shampoo, pharmaceuticals, and even ice cream. A rich source of nutrients like iodine, vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin B-12, iron, magnesium, and lots of calcium (more than kale), kelp comes in both powder and capsule supplements, as well as raw and dried. There's even kelp jerky!

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Nori

This briny seaweed is often sold in thin, dry sheets, either plain or toasted, and is what you usually find holding your sushi roll together. This is a great seaweed for the pantry because it lasts a very long time and can add instant umami (savoriness due to the amino acid, glutamate) to any dish. 

Get creative with it! Try your hand at making your own sushi, or crumble it up and use it in salad dressings, make nori-crusted steak, sprinkle it over popcorn, or use it in ramen. The list goes on and on.