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Seaweed Benefits: Is This Salty Snack The New Kale?

Finally, something scientists actually want us to eat.
A delicious fresh seaweed salad.
Fudio via Getty Images
A delicious fresh seaweed salad.

Between the bad news we've been reading about bacon and sugar, it's nice to know there's still one salty snack scientists are encouraging us to enjoy.

According to a recent article in the New Yorker, kelp is the new kale. But the reason why might surprise you. Seaweed is so sustainable, it has a negative footprint on the environment, Grub Street reports.

Unlike most crops which impact their surrounding ecosystems during growth and harvest season, seaweed helps restore the sea by dissolving nitrogen, phosphorous, and carbon dioxide.

But with its sticky, slimy texture, seaweed might have an uphill battle in becoming a favoured green. Fortunately, its health benefits can help banish doubt. While seaweed isn't as nutritionally dense as spinach or kale, it is rich in iron, folate and vitamin K. The Washington Post also reports that seaweed contains cancer-fighting proteins, polyphenols and polysaccharides.

And if that doesn't make you want to grab a big bag of roasted seaweed snacks, maybe the fact that scientists have developed a type of seaweed that tastes like bacon will.

Do you like to snack on seaweed? Let us know how you like to eat the sea veggie in the comment section below.

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