Seaweed Product Name：Dried seaweed 100

Dried seaweedis processed from fresh seaweed. It's in black color. It is often used to make seaweed soup, roasted to produce roasted seaweed for sushi and used as condiment for rice cracker.

As they grow under the sea, dried seaweeds contain extraordinary amounts of minerals, which are found in the sea. In some species the mineral content is so high that it's 36% of its dry mass. Some of the most common minerals include cobalt, nickel, boron, manganese, fluoride, molybdenum, selenium, copper, zinc, iron, iodine, phosphorous, sulfur, chlorine, potassium, magnesium, calcium and sodium.

Dried seaweeds have such high quantities of iodine as compared to the minimum required in our diets that it's primarily known for this particular nutrient. Brown algae contains the highest amount of iodine and its amount ranges from 1500-8000 parts per million in a dried kelp. It's only in green and red algae that the iodine content is slightly lower, but it's still higher compared to any other land plant. If you consume very small quantities of dried seaweed every day, your daily requirement of 150 g/day would suffice.

In several places people consume more than a gram of dry seaweed every day. Research on seaweeds and their effects on the human body shows that, our body can adapt easily even if the iodine intake is high. Iodine is essential for the production of thyroid hormone which in turn helps in the proper growth and development of the body. If the amounts of iodine in the body is less than required the body would show stunted growth. As the land plants produce very low levels of iodine it's recommended to have dried seaweeds to increase the iodine content in the body. However, make sure that you don't consume it in large quantities at a time or else it may be harmful. Many a times iodine is mixed with table salt so as to ensure enough levels are maintained.

Apart from iodine, dried seaweed is also rich in calcium, but compared to the iodine content the calcium content is not that high. Usually the calcium content is about 4 to 7% of dry mass. At around 7% a gram gives at least 70 mg of calcium. This is still higher compared to other food items rich in calcium, but of course lower than milk based food items.

Dried seaweeds also contain high amounts of protein, but it varies as per the species. In some species it is only 5 to 11% of dried mass while in others 30 to 40%. Vitamins constitute another essential part of seaweeds. They are a rich source of carotenes and many a times is used as a dietary supplement. Vitamin A content ranges from about 20 to 170 parts per million. Moreover it is also rich in vitamin C and its content ranges from 500 to 3000 parts per million. Some of the other vitamins include vitamin B12, a vitamin which is found in very less amounts in land plants.