Heard of bladderwrack? No? It’s alright, no one else has either. If you were to list the top 5 healthiest foods that very few people had heard of, you’d be hard pressed to find one that was as healthy as bladderwrack. Maybe you’ve heard of it via one of it’s many other names, such as black tang, rockweed, red fucus, and a ton more. Still not ringing a bell? Don’t worry. We’ll tell you everything you need to know…

So, what is bladderwrack, and why is it so healthy? Well, I’ll answer both of your questions in good time, but I’ll answer the first one right now. Bladderwrack is one of many edible seaweeds that grows along the coasts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans as well as extending over to the North and Baltic seas. Like so many other of these edible seaweeds such as kelp, nori, arame and kombu, it’s extremely healthy and loved in many other countries, one of it’s main health benefits is the fact that it contains an absolutely astounding amount of iodine, which prevents the negative effects of iodine deficiency. Which is surprisingly common all over the world, bladderwrack helps eliminate it.

List of Health Benefits You Can Gain When You Eat Bladderwrack

Rich in iodine – Little known fun fact, Europe’s original source of iodine, was bladderwrack and for good reason, only 50 grams of this seaweed accounts for more than enough of your Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) Seriously, iodine is super important for your body to have and bladderwrack is excellent at supplying, you should really look into getting some.  If you’d like to learn more about how important iodine and how it helps you and your thyroid to be healthier, as well as the negative effects that it prevents, then just click over HERE.

Protection from radioactive iodine – Trust me, you are NOT alone if you’ve never even heard of radiocactive iodine, basically what happens is bladderwrack protects the body from the cancer-causing radioactive iodine by not allowing the thyroid to absorb it, the way that radioactive iodine occurs is in the possible event of a nuclear disaster, such as the terrible occurrences that happened in Fukushima in 2011. It does this by taking the original, regular, natural, organic iodine and binding it directly to the thyroid gland’s receptors, thereby preventing radioactive iodine from doing the same. You should note though, excessive iodine consumption for an extended period of time can lead to thyroid dysfunction, which isn’t a fun time.

Fucoidan – I can read your mind. “What the heck is fucoidan?” Well, I’ll tell you… Fucoidan is a sulfated polysaccharide that bladderwrack contains a very large amount of. In fact, according to a particular May 2003 study that was done by researchers in Maruyama, Tamauchi, Hashimoto, and Nakano, it was actually found to inhibit tumor growth. Other studies have also shown that fucoidan possesses anti-viral properties. These benefits, coupled with the fact that fucoidan regulates the production of AP-I (which, in turn, regulates cell proliferation), make bladderwrack and other fucoidan-rich foods seem like they could be highly effective when it comes to fighting cancer.