Does Seaweed Have Healing Properties?

We absorb up to 60% of what is topically applied to our skin. Feeding your skin with the proper nutrients is essential to a healthy, balanced complexion. Seaweeds offer readily bioavailable superfood, which means high amounts of vitamins, minerals and key compounds you need for optimal health. Your skin absorbs these nutrients and your body knows what to do with them! Read on to discover the abundance of healing properties that come with raw, wild seaweed.

An Abundance of Vitamins

Using a Retinol A cream is a ridiculous waste of money! Why? Because your skin doesn’t need to be force-fed Retinol A. Ever notice the dryness, redness and other signs of irritated skin after a few days of using Retinol cream. Instead, feed your skin Vitamin A and other Carotenoids and your body will gladly turn into Retinol A!

Time will pass, but our cells continue to renew. Instead of going to battle without a weapon, let’s make a plan to age gracefully with good nutrition to help you battle the signs of aging, naturally. We choose raw, organic seaweed because it’s perfect cell food and your body utilizes almost every aspect of awesome these ancient life forms offer. Below, in the list provided, are all the essential nutrients that are naturally present in Seaflora products.

Readily Bioavailable Nutrition Found in Seaweed

• Vitamin A “Retinol”: an antioxidant that aids in the function of repairing skin cells, and reduces the signs of aging.
• Beta-Carotene: converts to Vitamin A, an antioxidant, in the body. Helps even the skin tone by increasing cellular turnover.
• Vitamin B1 “Thiamine”: this is essential for the nervous system and metabolizing carbohydrates. This vitamin also assists other B Vitamins.
• Vitamin B2 “Riboflavin”: provides antioxidant protection to cells.
• Vitamin B3 “Niacin”: boosts fatty acids, stimulates new fibroblasts (plays a critical role in wound healing) and collagen productions as well as inhibiting pigmentation production.
• Vitamin B6 “Pyridoxine”: aids in the production of serotonin and myelin, a protein layer that forms around nerve cells.
• Vitamin B12 “Cobalamin”: improves balance, texture and moisture levels in skin and will help even out pigmentation. Aids in the formation of healthy cells, and is extra beneficial for those suffering with Eczema and Psoriasis.
• Vitamin C “Ascorbic Acid”: a potent antioxidant that evens skin tones, improves hydration and revitalizes the skin. This is also excellent at repairing tissue and for collagen production.
• Vitamin D: a fat soluble vitamin with antioxidant abilities and skin smoothing benefits.
• Vitamin E “Tocopherol”: blocks free radicals (unstable atoms that can damage cells) from the body. Excellent moisturizing properties, wound and scar healing as well as anti-inflammatory action.
• Vitamin K: increases energy in cells, and inhibits the calcification of skin tissue (Glycation) by activating the protein in the skin cell. This vitamin may also help in reducing the appearance of bruising and dark circles.

All the Minerals Your Body Needs for Optimal Health

Seaweeds offer 65 detoxifying minerals. Everything works together in the body. Just like Beta Carotene and Vitamin A work together to create Retinol A. It’s important to be aware of what minerals you could be deficient in to recognize the root of any of your skin worries! Seaweed bathes in mineral-rich ocean water and they are eco-engineers that filter the water and globally provide more oxygen than all the forests on land combined. Seaflora harvests their seaweeds off the West Coast of Vancouver Island, one of the cleanest coasts in the world. Many of us are not able to find all the nutrition we need in diet alone. Sea Salt Soaks and Seaflora Skincare are a great way to absorb the missing minerals your body needs for optimal health and performance.

Magnesium and Vitamin D deficiencies are widespread. Ever wake up with a Charlie Horse? That’s usually a potassium deficiency. Seaweed superfood has 30-40x more minerals than any other herb, vegetable or fruit. Seaflora products offer so much readily bioavailable nutrition, all the minerals your body needs and natural trace elements that are extremely hard to get enough of in diet alone. If you want to take it a step further, eating seaweed and incorporating it into your diet can help your gut health! Our skin flora works together with our gut. To further aide in balancing and protecting the skin, you can add this natural superfood into almost any aspect of your daily life. Read on to discover all the Bioavailable minerals in Seaflora Skincare’s natural products!

Readily Bioavailable Essential Minerals in Seaweed

• Calcium: regulates normal skin colour by stimulating melanocytes at the same time. Calcium will regulate the skin’s lipid barrier. It is essential for healthy growth within the body.
• Iodine: according to Healthline, “Kombu kelp offers the highest amount of iodine, with some varieties containing nearly 2,000% of the daily value in one gram.” The lowest Iodine count in a seaweed is Nori, the type of seaweed used for sushi, at about 11–29% of the daily value per gram.
• Phosphorous: the second most abundant element in the body. Vital for energy production and regeneration of cells and tissue. It keeps our metabolism functioning and boosts energy due to the production of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP), the body’s source of energy.
• Potassium: works with Sodium to balance water in cells, combines with Sodium, Calcium and Magnesium to help regulate blood pressure and helps reduce muscle cramps and spasms.
• Magnesium: is the fourth most prevalent mineral found in cells, after Calcium, Phosphorus and Potassium. Eczema can be a sign of a Magnesium deficiency. When levels are low, the body produces histamines which create itchy skin and red blotches. Magnesium is important as it helps maintain the fatty acids in skin, keeping it moist and elastic.
• Iron: Kelp contains more iron than any land based plants. It aids in transporting blood and is an energy producer.
• Selenium: linked to enzyme function of Vitamin A, E and Beta Carotene. It is an antioxidant that protects cells from free-radicals and assists in reducing inflammation.
• Sodium-Chloride: is essential to biological organisms and is found in most tissue and bodily fluid. It transports nutrients and waste, assists the nervous system and its functions as well as keeping water and electrolytes in balance.
• Sulfur: beneficial for those suffering from Eczema, Psoriasis and Acne. It also plays an important role in the connective tissue and assists in shedding of excess skin and fighting bacteria on the skin.
• Vanadium: its properties are similar to iron, Vanadium regulates insulin, glucose and cholesterol. Promotes growth in cells and tissues.
• Zinc: acts as an astringent, anti inflammatory and healing agent. Deficiencies in Zinc can lead to hair loss, skin lesions and at times, fatigue. Zinc aids in healing the skin and preventing acne by regulating the activity of oil glands.

Key Compounds of Superfood Seaweed

Below is a list of key compounds found in the natural seaweed that we all need for excellent health and optimal cellular performance that help us defy aging. Check out our blog on 7 Ways Seaweed helps in Skin Repair for even more benefits of superfood Seaweed!

• Amino Acids: these are the building blocks of proteins and the basis of many tissues including collagen, elastin and muscles. They are a water binding agent that will strengthen and maintain the elasticity of tissue.
• Fatty Acids: these acids are anti-inflammatory. They reduce redness and dryness, relieve pain and itching as well as speeding up the healing process.
• Furanone: stimulates the release of dopamine which improves sleep and emotions. It also aids immunity and reduces infections.
• Lignins: are a powerful antioxidant. A common example of a lignin are flaxseeds! They are recognized as a phytoestrogen, a dietary estrogen found in plants. These will significantly help those with acne.
• Alginate: a viscous gel polysaccharide that coats and protects the skin. It is hydrating, soothing and calming to the skin. This is also the unique compound found in seaweed that opens the skin barrier, readying it for further applications. It is used frequently in trans-dermal patches.
• Carrageenan: a hydrocolloid (a gel-forming substance) that supports and strengthens the body systems. It is a water-binding agent.
• Fucoidan: stimulates immune cells and improves protection against bacteria. It is used to treat burns and heal scar tissues. Known to regenerate cells, and may protect the skin against UBV (type B ultraviolet light). Excellent for wrinkles/fine lines and will help lighten skin tone.
• Mannitol: a polysaccharide that enables cells to hold moisture better (a humectant).
• Laminarin: a carbohydrate that aids in moisture retention.

All found in Seaflora’s raw, wild seaweed naturally, each has its own unique benefits when applied topically and when added into the diet. Seaweed is a natural superfood that has been used for hundreds of years for many different things. Take a look at our blog on the Ancient Thalasso Healing Practices of the First Nations People of Vancouver Island for more interesting facts and information!

The Overall Importance of Superfood Seaweed for Optimal Health

Too often these days, our diets are leaving us vitamin and mineral dificient. This leaves us vulnerable to poor health and eventual health complications. Our plasma is less than one molecule different from ocean water. Our embryonic fluid, blood, sweat and tears are all liken to ocean water. Seaweeds bathe in mineral rich water all day, making them the most highly mineralized plant form on Earth.

Magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral in the body. It is needed to activate Vitamin D. It is actually needed to activate more than 600 enzymes and also influences extracellular calcium levels, helping to build strong, healthy bones, muscles and teeth. And this is just Magnesium! The skin is like a report card of how well our internal systems and organs are doing. It is so important to make sure your body has all the proper vitamins, nutrients and essential minerals to do its job! You can’t only give it half the puzzle pieces. What better way is there to cover all your bases, than with seaweed?

Seaflora Holistic Nutritionist, Researcher, General Manager at Seaflora Skincare Inc.

Vancouver Island is a Gift wrapped in Seaweed!

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