A-Z health support Articles

Alaria is a subgroup of brown algae (Phaeophyceae). People around the world eat this seaweed as a nutrient-rich dietary supplement. It remains especially popular throughout the British Isles.

What is Alaria?

Alaria is closely related to wakame and it's a rich source of a number of different vitamins and nutrients. It is approximately 45% fibre by weight, which provides it with a number of health benefits such as lowering cholesterol and helping to normalize blood sugar.

Alaria is also a rich source of calcium, magnesium, potassium, iodine, and it is also an extremely rich source of bioavailable iron. This can help to enrich the diets of those who are anemic or simply low in iron stores.

Iodine & Alaria Supplements

Because of depletion of iodine in the soil, it has become extremely difficult to get sufficient amounts from diet alone. Manufacturers add iodine to staple foods like table salt to prevent iodine deficiency. Iodized salt contains added inorganic iodine. Natural, organic sources, such as those derived from alaria are much more absorbable and easier for the thyroid gland to use than the inorganic (mined) sources found in enriched foods.

Hypothyroidism

Iodine deficiency can contribute to some cases of hypothyroidism. This deficiecy may cause an enlarged thyroid, known as a goiter. When there is insufficient iodine available to the thyroid gland, it is not able to produce sufficient thyroid hormone. Thus, it cannot properly regulate the body's metabolism, a condition known as hypothyroidism. Hypothyroid individuals experience many symptoms due to a lack of thyroid hormone including: fatigue, weight gain, hair loss, constipation, and frequent colds and flus.

Where Can I Buy Alaria Supplements?

Consumers can purchase alaria fresh or dried in many natural health food stores or supermarkets. Manufacturers also offer alaria in powder and tablet forms. Supplement companies typically source iodine from natural seaweed. They sell iodine supplements as liquids, capsules, or tablets. The standardized types of these supplements contain a higher level of iodine and a consistent amount in each tablet – usually about 150mcg (0.15mg). This is the preferred form for clinical use in low thyroid conditions, while the un-standardized alaria is suitable for people in need of a daily supplement for health maintenance. Often this is most easily achieved by simply incorporating either raw or dried alaria into your diet in soup or salad.

Phosphatidyl choline (PC) is used in the food industry as a food emulsifier. Emulsifying means that it makes fat-soluble in water. As a supplement, PC breaks down fats, builds the cellular membrane and synthesizes the neurochemical acetylcholine.

How Phosphatidyl Choline Works In The Body

PC’s emulsifying properties prevent fatty build-ups in the body, for example in the blood vessels, gallbladder and liver. Decreasing fatty build-up in arteries helps to regulate blood pressure. PC is a large component of all cell membranes because it regulates the passage of substances into and out of the cell. It can cross the blood-brain barrier to produce brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) that aid in memory - in particular acetylcholine.

The protective coating of the brain and nerve cells is also composed of choline. In this respect PC helps to make the sheath (myelin) that surrounds the nerves that conduct messages from the brain to the muscles and organs of your body, performing a similar function to the insulation sheathing of electrical wires. If this protective sheath degenerates (as in MS), a "shorting out" of the message that the nerve is carrying occurs. Natural health practitioners for alcoholic liver damage, Alzheimer’s disease, gallstones, hepatitis, atherosclerosis, memory loss, nerve degeneration and depression recommend PC.

Phosphatidyl Choline Supplement Varieties

PC supplements are made in capsules but lecithin is found in capsules or as granules. Lecithin granules should be refrigerated for freshness because the essential fatty acid component can go rancid. Lecithin contains 10-20% PC. Newer lecithin supplements, made from fresh egg yolk, contain a higher percentage of PC.

Key Considerations

Oral contraceptives, estrogen, sulfa drugs, food processing, coffee and alcohol deplete lecithin in the body, which contains PC. Do not use high doses of lecithin if you have manic-depressive disorder.