Sea Moss | What Is It?

Most people nowadays have heard of sea moss but many still have lots of questions about it and I'm here to shine some light on some of those questions.

First, A Little History

Sea moss is an alkaline seaweed and its been around 14,000+ years.  Certain varieties of sea moss have been used by the food industry for a long time as an emulsifier, thickener and to preserve - and irish moss (chondrus crispus) caught it's reputation as a life saver in Ireland during the potato famine of 1845-1849.

The common sea moss genuses sold for supplementation these days are Gracilaria, Eucheuma Spinosum and Chondrus Crispus.  Chondrus Crispus is a red seaweed with fan-shaped fronds and growing in the cooler waters of Ireland and along the Atlantic Ocean of Northamerica and Canada. Unfortunately many sea moss sellers mislabel their products as Chondrus Crispus which has led to a lot of confusion for the consumer. 

So, if you are looking at a sea moss product originating from warm ocean waters, it is not Chondrus Crispus, but most likely Eucheuma Spinosum or Gracilaria.  Gracilaria and Eucheuma Spinosa is the light colored sea moss, strand-like (looking similar to spaghetti) and growing in the warmth of carribbean waters like Jamaica, St.Lucia and many others.

Benefits

All the above varieties are amazing for your health and contain at least 92 minerals of 102 needed to optimally fuel your body's cells.  Sea moss is anti-inflammatory, boosts the immune system, cleanses your blood, supports your thyroids, reduces inflammation by expelling mucus from the body, gut health improvement and regeneration of damaged cells, raises your libido and fertility and promotes reproductive health. It also helps weight loss by keeping your cells fed with those minerals and curbs appetite/hunger.

It contains high amounts of magnesium, calcium, zinc, iodine, and more. And it's high content of Sulfur promotes a healthy environment for your skin! No wonder it's being beneficially used in soaps and cosmetics, as well as just raw as a mask on skin or hair to boost collagen and anti-ageing effects, such as getting rid of dark spots or acne, to name a few.

You can eat it raw, put into smoothies or any drink really, use it as an egg replacement when baking and as a thickener and emulsifier when cooking.
If using it as a face mask, apply a thin layer of sea moss gel and keep it on until it's dried.

Sea Moss Gel is now available in our shop!