Two Mær box products with the one in front placed on hovering rock plate

Facts and Benefits

Seaweed has been a key part of the human diet for thousands of years and is possibly the most nutritious food in the world. At least we believe so.

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What is Seaweed?

Sugar Kelp is regarded one of the most delicate of the edible seaweeds because of their sweet taste and their natural content of glutamate, providing the rich and tasteful umami flavour.

Our products are made out of Sugar Kelp, a brown algae, known for its brown coulour, characteristic blade with wave shaped edges, and sweet taste. Sugar kelp occurs naturally along the Norwegian coastline from the intertidal zone down to 30 meters and can become until 5 meters long. Macroalgae are marine plants, and their nutritional content will vary depending on season, geographical location and temperature.

Seaweed (or macroalgae) is the common name of a diverse group of algae that lives in marine and freshwater environments. The seaweed family is huge and consists of hundreds of different species. Seaweed has been a key part of the human diet for thousands of years and is possibly the most nutritious food in the world. At least we believe so.

Fantastic reasons for eating more Seaweed

Food of the future

Seaweed is completely sustainable. We can expand production without a negative impact on the environment as seaweed doesn't need soil, freshwater, feed, fertiliser or big farming facilities. In fact, seaweed is probably the most sustainable and nutritious product for human consumption there is. By catching surplus nutrients and Co2, we reduce our environmental footprint. Seaweed absorbs carbon dioxide and releases oxygen. In fact, seaweed binds up to five times more Co2 than the Amazon rainforest per ton.

Umami - The fifth taste

The proteins in sugar kelp contains a lot of the amino acid, glutamate, which gives us the unique umami flavour. In Japanese, umami means tasty. Umami is the fifth taste, along side sweet, sour, bitter and salt. Umami and sweet taste we like from the day we are born. The other tastes must be learnt.

Mær box product in fog with dark background

Superfood

Seaweed gives you a boost of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Rich in a range of minerals like potassium, magnesium and sink in addition to vitamin A, B, C and E.

Mær Seaweed on an wooden plate with a dish in the background

Salty taste, but lower salt content

Due to the high mineral content seaweed tastes salty, but only contain a fraction (one eight for sugar kelp) of salt! And that’s good for you!

Three Mær box products standing in salty surroundings

Components

Antioxidants and bioactive components – (this becomes a bit technical, but bear with us) Fucoidan may have immune modulating effect anticoagulant -and anticancer properties in addition to prebiotic properties (a substance that encourages the growth of beneficial bacteria in the intestines). Laminarian may have antibacterial and anti-viral properties, reduce cholesterol++. Alginic acids - Rapports have shown that it leads to a decrease in the concentration of cholesterol, exerts an anti-hypertension effect, can prevent absorption of toxic chemical substances, and plays a major role as dietary fibre for the maintenance of animal and human health. To sum all this up – seaweed is superfood! By far!

High content of dietary fibres

Dietary fibre helps keep the gut healthy and is important in helping to reduce the risk of diseases such as diabetes, coronary heart disease and bowel cancer.

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