Wakame is a type of seaweed that is widely consumed in Asia. It is scientifically known as Undaria pinnatifida, and is characterized by its high protein and low calorie content. It is a great weight loss option and can be easily incorporated into a healthy, balanced diet.
This seaweed can also provide health benefits like preventing premature aging, reducing the risk for cardiovascular disease, and improving thyroid function. It is rich in antioxidant compounds, fiber and iodine.
Wakame can be purchased in health food stores and can be eaten as a snack on its own or added to salads, soups, stews or seafood dishes.
Health benefits
The main health benefits of wakame are:
1. Promoting weight loss
Wakame helps to increase satiety and reduce food consumption, due to the amount of fiber it contains, forming a gel in the stomach and delaying gastric emptying, promoting weight loss. Furthermore, because it is low in calories and rich in protein, wakame is a food that can be incorporated into weight loss diets.
However, for wakame to help with weight loss, it is important that it is part of a healthy, balanced diet, along with regular physical activity. See ARTICLE NOT FOUND IN EN: how to follow a healthy diet to lose weight.
2. Preventing premature aging
Wakame is rich in antioxidants such as vitamin C, vitamin E and beta-carotene, nutrients and bioactive compounds that fight excess free radicals in the body, preventing damage to healthy cells in the body and thus preventing premature aging of the skin.
3. Maintaining brain health
Wakame is rich in antioxidant compounds and choline, a nutrient that is a precursor to acetylcholine, an important neurotransmitter that helps improve memory and facilitate learning, preventing cognitive problems and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
4. Helping to lower LDL cholesterol
Wakame has antioxidant properties that help reduce "bad" cholesterol, LDL, as well as reducing the absorption of cholesterol in the intestine due to the presence of fiber, preventing the development of cardiovascular diseases, such as atherosclerosis, heart attack and stroke.
5. Improving thyroid function
Wakame is rich in iodine, an important hormone for the production of thyroid hormones necessary for growth, metabolism, protein synthesis and cell repair, preventing problems such as weight gain, excessive fatigue, dry skin and hair loss.
Nutritional information
The following table outlines the nutritional information in 100 grams of wakame:
To obtain the health benefits that wakame has to offer, it should be incorporated into a healthy diet and active lifestyle.
How to eat
Wakame is safe for consumption when eaten in moderate amounts. Although there is no specific amount of wakame you can eat per day, one scientific study indicates that one should not ingest more than 10 to 20 grams of seaweed per day to avoid exceeding the recommended daily dose of iodine.
One way to reduce the iodine content in this seaweed is to consume wakame with foods that contain substances that reduce iodine absorption in the thyroid, like broccoli, cabbage, bok-choy and soybeans.
Contraindications
Due to its high iodine content, Wakame should not be consumed by anyone with a history of thyroid disease, especially hyperthyroidism, as it can impair the production of thyroid hormones and aggravate the disease.
Pregnant women and children should also limit their intake of wakame.
Wakame recipes
Check-out some healthy wakame recipes you can prepare at home:
1. Rice, wakame and cucumber salad
Ingredients:
- 100 g of dehydrated wakame
- 200 g of tuna
- 1.5 cups of white rice
- 1 sliced cucumber
- 1 diced avocado
- 1 tablespoon of white sesame seeds
- Soy sauce, as desired
Instructions:
Cook the rice and place it as a base on the plate. Hydrate the wakame and place it over top of the rice, and top with the remaining ingredients. Serve with soy sauce.
2. Salmon and wakame salad
Ingredients:
- 20 g of wakame
- 120 grams of smoked salmon
- 6 chopped walnuts
- 1 mango, dice
- 1 tablespoon of black sesame seeds
- Soy sauce, as desired
Instructions:
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and season with soy sauce as desired.
3. Wakame ramen
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup dried wakame
- 300 g of rice noodles
- 6 cups of vegetable broth
- 2 cups sliced mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds
- 3 cups of vegetables of your choice (spinach, chard and carrots, for example)
- 4 crushed garlic cloves
- 3 medium onions, choppe
- 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- Soy sauce, salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions:
Heat the sesame oil in a pot and add the garlic , cooking until golden. Add the vegetable stock and reduce the heat when it starts to boil. Add the wakame and soy sauce to the broth and set aside.
In a separate frying pan, heat the olive oil and add the mushrooms, stirring until cooked. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Cook the pasta in the a large pot of boiling water until al dente. Then drain and divide over 4 plates, portioning the broth, vegetables, onion and mushrooms in each plate. Sprinkle each portion with the sesame seeds.