![]() Contains many added ingredientsīecause most restaurants use premade seaweed salad, they do not get to decide which ingredients go into it. Opting for a homemade version instead can significantly reduce your sodium intake. While sodium is important for your health, consuming too much of it can lead to high blood pressure in people who are sensitive to its effects ( 6).Ĭonsidering that most Americans get too much sodium in their diets, it may be best to limit your intake of premade seaweed salad to special occasions. This comes mostly from added salts rather than the salt in the seaweed itself ( 1). High in saltĪ 100-gram serving of premade seaweed salad has 820 mg of sodium, which is equivalent to 36% of your daily needs. There are some potential downsides to seaweed salad, especially the premade versions found in many restaurants. You can make it even more nutritious if you make it at home instead of ordering it in a restaurant. ![]() ![]() Seaweed salad is low in calories and rich in important nutrients such as iodine. However, premade seaweed salad usually provides fewer nutrients since it’s often made with just wakame seaweed and various flavor enhancers. While wakame is its main ingredient, seaweed salad can also contain other nutrient-dense ingredients, such as sesame seeds, other types of seaweed, leafy greens, ginger, edamame, daikon radish, shredded carrots, and corn. Seaweed salad can be an excellent source of nutrition, especially when it’s homemade. In 2 tablespoons (10 grams) of wakame, you’ll get 280% of the RDI, which is more than enough ( 3). Though it’s rare in the Western world, iodine deficiency affects 2 billion people worldwide and can lead to health conditions such as goiter and hypothyroidism ( 5).įortunately, wakame and other seaweeds are some of the top sources of iodine, behind iodized salt. Wakame is an excellent source of iodine, an essential mineral that helps regulate your thyroid and produce thyroid hormones responsible for metabolism, growth, and cellular repair ( 4). ![]() Some premade seaweed salads may contain higher amounts of oils that can add up in calories, but if you make seaweed salad at home, it’s up to you how much oil it contains. Most of the ingredients in seaweed salad - such as wakame, agar agar, various vegetables, and small amounts of sesame oil - are low in calories but high in nutrients. Generally speaking, seaweed salad is low in calories, providing fewer than 100 calories per serving - regardless of whether it’s premade or homemade ( 1, 2). If you make your seaweed salad at home, you can significantly improve its nutritional profile and increase its benefits. That said, most premade versions contain high amounts of salt, sugar, food colorings, and flavorings, and are therefore less nutritious. Seaweed salad usually contains wakame, a highly nutritious seaweed that’s low in calories and high in various nutrients. Therefore, if you’re watching your calories, it may be best to make homemade seaweed salad, since you can decide which ingredients it contains. Plus, portions are usually larger when seaweed salad is premade than when it is homemade. In contrast, the additional ingredients found in premade seaweed salad - such as added salt, sugar, and oils - contribute greatly to its calorie content. Wakame seaweed on its own is quite low in calories, high in iodine, and a decent source of manganese and folate. A 2-tablespoon (10-gram) serving of raw wakame seaweed - the amount often used in homemade versions - contains ( 2, 3): Still, wakame seaweed on its own is a much better source of nutrition. ![]() Thus, there is some benefit to consuming a mixed seaweed salad. The dish’s high fiber content actually comes from agar agar, another type of seaweed that is sometimes added to seaweed salad. While there’s little data to suggest that these ingredients are inherently harmful, they provide little to no nutritional value. Many premade seaweed salads also contain added sugar, salt, high fructose corn syrup, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, and food colorings such as yellow #5 and blue #1. Sodium: 36% of the Reference Daily Intake (RDI).The seaweed salads you may find in most restaurants - the bright, neon-green side dishes - are often premade by another food manufacturer and may contain a long list of food additives, colorings, and flavorings.Ī 100-gram serving of seaweed salad provides ( 1): ![]()
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