Dietary fiber in seaweed helps to improve digestive health, reducing the risk of colorectal cancer,
suppressing gastrointestinal inflammation and encouraging the action of probiotics
Other nutrition-related health benefits of eating seaweed may include reduction of obesity by bringing
down the caloric value of the diet, reduction of lipid absorption, reduction of cardiovascular diseases
and good influence on glycemic control.

Yes. Edible seaweeds are seaweeds that can be eaten raw or cooked and can be used in the preparation
of food. They typically contain high amounts of fiber. Asian countries like China, Japan and Korea are
the world’s largest consumers of seaweed as food. Common edible seaweeds are nori, kombu,
wakame, kelp, dulse, hijiki and irish moss.

Seaweeds are used mainly as a source of food, specially on Asian countries like Japan, Korea and China.
It is also used widely as the main raw material for extraction of phycocolloids. Other uses of seaweeds
include animal feed, fertilizers, cosmetics (shampoos, creams, lotions, masks, toothpastes), biofuels and
waste water treatment.

Carrageenan is a natural food ingredient extracted from red seaweeds. It used as a thickener, emulsifier,
stabilizer or a gelling agent in processed foods like ice cream, dessert gels, cheese, candy bars, chocolate
milks, yogurt, ham, sausage, syrups, sauces and in many other foods we eat everyday.

Agar-Agar is a natural food ingredient extracted from red seaweeds. It is widely used as a gelling agent
in the food industry, to treat diabetes and constipation in medicine, as a culture media in microbiology
or just as a vegan culinary ingredient alternative to animal gelatin. It’s also known by its Japanese name,
Kanten.

Colloid, in chemistry, is a mixture of two substances, in which one substance in the form of small
droplets or minute particles is dispersed or suspended over another substance. A hydrocolloid is any
material that forms a colloid (especially a gel) when mixed with water. A phycocolloid is a hydrocolloid
derived from seaweeds, such as agar-agar, carrageenan and alginate.

Seaweeds are divided into three groups on the basis of thallus color: Brown Algae (Phaeophyta) Green
Algae (Chlorophyta) and Red Algae (Rhodophyta). Some seaweeds are edible such as nori sheets that
wrap sushi; kombu, a soup stock ingredient; and wakame that come in soups and salads on asian food.
Others, such as Gracilaria and Kappaphycus, are used for the extraction of phycocolloids.

Seaweed is the common name for marine macroalgae. Seaweeds are multi-cellular plant-like organisms
that generally live in marine environment, attached to rock or other hard substrata in coastal seawater
areas. All seaweeds are algae, but not all algae are seaweeds.

Algae are a diverse group of aquatic plant-like organisms that have the ability to conduct
photosynthesis. Certain algae are familiar to most people; for instance, seaweeds (such as kelp or
phytoplankton), pond scum or the algal blooms in lakes. Algae can range from small microscopic algae
(microalgae) to large macroscopic algae (macroalgae).