Health benefits of nori

Nori (laver, Porphyra yezoensis or Porphyra tenera) is red seaweed,mainly produced in Japan, China and Korea.

The algae are produced on the sea farms. Seaweed grows on the floating netsand farmers (seaweed farmers) work on these plantations from their boats. Norigrows really quick, it takes 45 days from the minute the plant is attached tothe net until the harvest, and one plant may be harvested several times.Machines are doing all the work, including harvesting and after that,processing and finalizing the product. When ready to go to the market, nori isin the form of a black dry sheet, 18x20 cm big, paper thin.

Nori is graded according to the quality and place of origin. Nori sheetsfrom China are the cheapest, 6 cents for a sheet, and the highest ranked isnori from Ariake Bay (Japan), costing 90cents/sheet.

Use

The most common use of nori algae is a wrap for sushi and onigiri, but itcould be used as a flavor in noodles and soups. Sometimes, Japanese toast nori before using it, calling the productyaki-nori, or toast and flavor it (ajitsuke-nori). This seaweed is also madeinto the paste and flavored, or just used in food decoration, important inJapanese cooking.

This seaweed contains three types of acid, glutamate-, inosinic- andguanil-acid, giving the special (“japanese”) taste to any food where nori isadded.

Benefits

This seaweed is said to contain the same amount of proteins as soybeans.These are quality proteins, and almost 70% of it easily digested by the humanintestines.

Nori is sometimes considered a super food and reservoir of vitamins, for itcontains more than 12 vitamins, more than many fruits or vegetables. Just twosheets of nori everyday will provide a daily dose of vitamin A. The same amountof nori has vitamins B1 and B2, in doses similar to 50 grams of pork meat. Thisalga has more vitamin C than tangerines, and its vitamin C is heat resistant. Two sheets of nori have as much iron as one egg or 3 cups of milk.

Fibers from this alga are reducing the risks of a colon cancer.

Nori is good for children, high cholesterol patients, and for peoplewatching their weight, because it’s rich in protein, vitamins and minerals andlow in cholesterol.

It has been said that nori has some anti-cancerous qualities and may preventor relieve stomach ulcers but these claims hadn't been proved yet.