Treasures of the Sea and Land - By Hiroshi Ito, Ph.D.
Fucoidan
What is Fucoidan?
The island of Okinawa, in Japan, is the best place
on earth for healthy aging.
The Okinawans have:
•more people over 100 years old per 100,000 populat
ion than anywhere else in
the world
•the lowest death rates from cancer, heart disease
and stroke (the top three
killers in the US)
•the highest life expectancy for both males and fem
ales over 65
•females in Okinawa have the highest life expectanc
y in all age groups
Added to their healthy diet, Okinawans have the hig
hest per capita
consumption of sea vegetables as mozuku, kombu, waka
me etc.
What is Mekabu?
Wakame is a variety of seaweed that has been consu
med in Japanese homes
since ancient times in soups as miso soup, salads a
nd stews.
Immunity related studies found that regions in Japa
n where highest amount of
wakame are consumed had the lowest stroke rate in
the population.
Mekabu is the flowering part of wakame seaweed. The
ruffled, flowering sprout
of wakame just above the root It has a sticky feel
to it and has a mellow sweet
flavor.
For the longest time, this part of Wakame seaweed w
as ignored as a less
favored food ingredient but eventually, it was foun
d that Mekabu is indeed a
treasure chest of nutrients, extremely rich in a fu
nctional compound called
Fucoidan.
Fucoidan is a sulfated polysaccharide found mainly
in various species of brown
algae and brown seaweed such as wakame, mozuku and
kombu amongst other
varieties of sea vegetables. In the seaweed, Fucoid
an is the slimy substance
that serves to restore and protect the plant from u
nwanted microorganisms as
well as preventing moisture loss to the elements.
With over 900 studies found on Pub Med and interest
from the pharmaceutical
industry, Fucoidan is one of the most intriguing an
d powerful supplements on
the market.
