Important: Advanced home ingredients for pets with well-trained owners. Please note this product is labelled for humans and we are unable to provide quantities or dosage for your pets. Please be aware of your pets nutritional requirements, speak to your vet for your pets specific dietary requirements if you are at all unsure how much to give them.
And of course, by all means, add these super-super healthy organic ingredients to your own meals and smoothies!
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What is it?
Our Wakame (Undaria pinnatifida) seaweed is sustainably harvested from the incredibly pristine, icy cold waters flowing around Tasmania.
It is an excellent source of vitamins and minerals and has among the very highest nutrient-to-calorie ratios (from a vegetarian source) of anti-inflammatory Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acid (EPA). The salty taste is a balanced, chelated combination of sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, iron and trace minerals.
Also known as bladder locks and winged kelp, wakame is a leathery, deep-green sea vegetable traditionally used in Japanese cuisine to flavour salads and miso soup. Due to its high absorbency, dried wakame can expand to over 10 times its size when placed in liquid.
Due to its low-calorie content, high nutrient density and savoury taste, wakame can be a nutritious component of nearly any diet, including weight loss plans. This seaweed can impart flavour to foods without adding excess fat or sugar, making it a calorie-saving alternative to richer ingredients. In addition, wakame contains a compound called fucoxanthin that can potentially stimulate fat burning, although its role in weight loss in humans requires further study.
Vitamins: Beta Carotene (A), Thiamin (B1), Riboflavin (B2), Niacin (B3), Pantothenic Acid (B5), Folic Acid (B9), Cobalamin (B12), Ascorbic Acid (C), Choline, Tocopherol (E), and K.
Minerals: Iodine (I), Iron (Fe), Magnesium (Mg), Phosphorous (P), Potassium (K), Selenium (Se), Sodium (Na), and Trace Minerals.
Essential Fatty Acids: Omega 3.
Wakame has among the very highest nutrient-to-calorie ratios (from a vegetarian source) of anti-inflammatory Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acid (EPA). The salty taste is not just salt but a balanced, chelated combination of sodium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorous, iron and trace minerals.
Nutrition
The tiny calorie content in wakame is due to its low levels of fat and carbohydrates. It's also rich in vitamins and minerals, folate and soluble/insoluble fibre.
Weight Control
Minerals and vitamins aren't the only things scientists have found in this brown seaweed. Physorg.com reports chemists in Japan have discovered that wakame contains a compound, fucoxanthin, that seems to reduce the accumulation of fat in animals. Fucoxanthin gives wakame its brownish appearance and aids in photosynthesis. This compound appears to stimulate fat oxidation and to stimulate the liver to produce more DHA, a type of omega-3 fatty acid that helps reduce the bad cholesterol associated with heart disease and obesity.
Anti-Cancer Properties
Wakame also seems to prevent cancer. A 2003 article in "Breast Cancer Research" reported that the sea vegetable is also rich in iodine, which in a previous Japanese study on breast cancer seemed to suppress, even kill, mammary tumours. It's speculated that the iodine in wakame and other seaweeds that are so prevalent in Japanese cuisine are responsible for the relatively low breast cancer rate in both human males and females in Japan. This hypothesis is based on the observed increase in breast cancer rates among Japanese women who turned to a Western-style diet with less seaweed intake.
