Bladderwrack Profile
Also known as- Fucus vesiculosus, Kelp, Ascophyllum nodosum, Black Tang, Bladder Fucus, Bladder Wrack, Blasentang, Cutweed, Fucus, Kelpware, Kelp-Ware, Knotted Wrack, Marine Oak, Meereiche, Quercus Marina, Rockweed, Rockwrack, Schweintang, Seawrack, Tang, Varech.
Introduction
Bladderwrack is a brown seaweed harvested from cool ocean waters around world, easily recognized by its air-filled thalli or "bladders" that keep the plant afloat.
Constituents
Alginic acid, iodine.
Parts Used
Entire plant.
Typical Preparations
Added to soups and stocks, taken as tablets, as an extract, or drunk as a tea 2-3 times a day.
Summary
Modern research reveals that bladderwrack can be an alternative to soy is supporting women's health. A study published in BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine in 2004 reported that women who consume bladderwrack can experience normalization of short menstrual cycles and relief from severe PMS. Bladderwrack seems to encourage production of progesterone when there is excess production of estrogen.
Ellingwood's American Materia Medica (1919) describes bladderwrack in considerable detail: "This agent is used for the specific purpose of reducing unhealthy fat in excessive adiposity. If given in doses of from 1/2 to 2 drams, 3 or 4 times daily, it has reduced excessively fat patients in a satisfactory manner without interfering in anyway with the normal health functions. "It is in the obesity of individuals of the lymphatic temperament that the beneficial effects of this drug are the most marked. It has little or no influence in the reduction of the fleshiness of persons of active habits or of those of the sanguine temperament. In these cases strict regulation of the diet affords the only prospects of relief, but owing to the keenness of the appetite usually present, this regulation is rarely enforced. Fucus shows its most decided influence upon women in whom there exist menstrual derangements, as menorrhagia and leucorrhoea, owing to a general a tonic and flabby condition of the uterine tissues. In such cases an improvement in the local derangements usually precedes the general reduction of fat and the improved tonicity of the general system. Fucus is advised as a specific remedy in the treatment of both exophthalmic and simple goitre. It is especially successful in patients not above 30 years of age. It is also suggested in the treatment of fatty degeneration of the heart. It is of service in desquamative nephritis and in irritation and inflammation of the bladder. When general muscular relaxation is present, it is of service in the treatment of menstrual derangements."
Precautions
Don't use bladderwrack on a daily basis for more than 2 weeks at a time, taking a 2 week break before using the supplement again. This will prevent you from overdosing iodine with potential imbalance in thyroid function. The alginic acid in bladderwrack creates a feeling of fullness that helps you eat less, but also interferes with the absorption of iron. Make sure your brand is certified free of heavy metals. Not to be used while pregnant.
