Seaweed and sexual health benefits

Friday, September 13, 2013 by: Lisa S. Lawless, Ph.D.
Tags: seaweed, sexual health, natural medicine

(NaturalNews) Seaweed has long been used to increase overall health; however, people often overlook the wonderful sexual health benefits it offers. In both men and women, seaweed has been linked to an increase in libido and energy levels. All four classes of seaweeds, green, blue green, red and brown, have shown these aphrodisiac properties due to the mineral manganese that they contain.

In addition, their B2 content provides assistance in hormone production. In fact, they are so influential in this area that a study using the seaweed bladderwrack has shown evidence that it may lengthen the menstrual cycle, which in turn would put off menopause. This is because seaweed exerts antiestrogenic effects in premenopausal women.

Men also benefit from seaweeds, as they are high in vitamin E, and this assists in producing healthy sperm. This is accomplished by the ability of vitamin E to conquer free radicals found within the sperm membrane which regulates the overall functioning of the sex glands.

Additional health benefits of seaweed

The health benefits of seaweed are impressive and contribute to one's overall well-being, which in turn also assists in healthy sexual functioning. Below are a variety of ways that seaweed positively impacts health.

• Seaweed is low in calories and fat, which of course makes it an attractive food for healthy eating and losing excess weight. For example, the seaweed wakame has a pigmentation known as fucoxanthin, which burns fat and aids in insulin resistance.

• The magnesium in seaweed flushes excess fluid, as it is a natural diuretic which also reduces bloating.

• Seaweed helps to maintain healthy blood pressure levels through its high potassium content and controls cholesterol levels through taurine.

• It can also combat depression and fatigue through its high vitamin B1 content while aiding in cognitive functioning through the vitamin B12 it offers.

• Seaweed contains essential fatty acids as well as multiple vitamins and it is particularly high in vitamins B12, C, D, E and K. Seaweed also contains many minerals, including potassium, selenium, calcium, iodine, nickel, bromine, chromium, copper, zinc, nitrogen, boron, sulfur, soluble fiber and more.

How to eat seaweeds-

Those who appreciate sushi already know how one can enjoy seaweed through Japanese cuisine, but there are many ways to add seaweed to your diet, from gel capsules to putting it in a salt shaker in powder form, making it easy to sprinkle on your food.

In addition, there are seaweed rice cakes and seaweed chips; it is easily added into soups and casseroles as well. The recipes for integrating seaweed are vast, and there are two wonderful cookbooks that provide some creative ideas for tasty seaweed recipes:

The New Seaweed Cookbook: A Complete Guide to Discovering the Deep Flavors of the Sea by Crystal June Maderia and Josephine K. Spilka.

Seaweed: Nature's Secret to Balancing Your Metabolism, Fighting Disease, and Revitalizing Body and Soul by Valerie Gennari Cooksley.

Sources used in this article include:

http://www.holisticwisdom.com

http://www.susunweed.com

http://www.eatsomethingsexy.com

http://www.biomedcentral.com

http://science.naturalnews.com