Kelp
Parts Usually Used
Whole plant
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
Seaweed: many species are used: Kombu (L. japonica), L. angusta, L. cichorioides, L. religiosa, L. longpedalis, etc. All are varieties of edible seaweed.
Where Found
Thrives in the salty waters of the Atlantic Ocean along the rocky shores.
Medicinal Properties
Expectorant, demulcent, emollient, alterative, diuretic, nutritive, thyroid tonic, antirheumatic, anti-inflammatory, metabolic stimulant
Biochemical Information
Mucilage, volatile oil, iodine, biotin, bromine, choline, copper, inositol, PABA, selenium, sodium, calcium, iron, alginic acid, mannitol, carotene, protein, riboflavin, vitamins A, B1, B3, B5, B6, B9, B12, C and E and zinc.
Legends, Myths and Stories
Several varieties of the seaweed have been therapeutically used. In the 18th century, iodine was isolated by distilling the long ribbons, or thalli, and kelp was the main source of iodine for more than 50 years. The herb was used extensively to treat goiter, a swelling of the thyroid related to lack of iodine. In the 1860s it was claimed that kelp, as a thyroid stimulant, could counter obesity by increasing the metabolic rate.
Since then, it has been featured in numerous slimming remedies. In China, Shen-ung wrote in 3000 BC about the value of kelp. During the time of Confucius, a poem about a housewife cooking seaweed appeared in The Chinese Book of Poetry, written between 800 and 600 BC. In that time, kelp was regarded as such an exquisite delicacy that it was offered as a sacrificial food for the gods.
In the Pen Tsao Kang Mu, published in China in the 16th century, kelp is recommended for goiter. Harvesting marine crops in Japan is a thriving industry today; a practice since the ancient empire of Japan. The Japanese people refer to seaweed as “Heaven Grass,” highly regarded for its nutritional and medicinal value. Diving girls (ama) of coastal villages in Japan probe marine gardens of offshore lagoons in harvesting seaweed.
These young women are graceful, hardy divers with superb figures and have become a proud tradition in Japan. As far as known, kelp has no long range accumulative disadvantages; the body takes what it needs and discharges the rest. Minerals are not stored in the body. None of kelp’s natural store of elements are removed or lost from the time it is harvested to the time it is compressed into a tablet.
Kelp tablets are worthy of a trial. The Dutch use kelp for covering or packing lobsters and crabs, that are to be conveyed to a considerable distance; because it keeps them alive much longer than any other species of this plant; nor does it easily ferment, or become putrid. Kelp is excellent fertilizer; it is asserted, that the land will continue unexhausted for 7-8 years; an advantage which dung does not possess, as it requires to be renewed every second or third year.
In the Hebrides islands, kelp serves as a winter food for cattle, which regularly frequent the shores for it, after the tide has ebbed. The inhabitants of these isles dry their cheese without using any salt, by covering it with the ashes of this plant. Much of seawrack’s saline taste may be minimized by taking the powdered botanical in capsule or tablet form and following with a little red wine or flavorsome herb tea such as made with lemon grass, lemon verbena or sassafras.
Uses
Historically, herbalists employed this plant to soothe irritated throats, mucous membranes, and coughs. Traditional practitioners recommended it for goiter, enlarged thyroids, swollen lymph nodes, scrofula, and edema, as well as for enlarged prostate glands and testicular swelling. It was also utilized in folk traditions for hair loss, ulcers, obesity, rheumatism, and constipation, and was believed to support the arteries, nails, sensory nerves, spinal cord, and brain tissues.
Additionally, nineteenth-century sources noted its use among individuals with mineral deficiencies, and observers attributed the low incidence of obesity in Polynesian populations to the regular dietary consumption of seaweeds.
How Sold
Tablets
Warning
Generally contraindicated for patients with weak or deficient spleen or stomach. Like many sea creatures, kelp is at risk from heavy metal pollution. Do not collect kelp where levels of cadmium and/or mercury are known to be high. Chemical solutions of iodine or iodide enter the circulation almost instantaneously and larger amounts may cause allergic reactions unless used under close medical supervision.
Plant iodine is absorbed slowly with other elements and rarely (if at all) causes sensitizing reactions when taken in reasonable amounts.
Bibliography
The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974. , Loma Linda, CA 92354, Original copyright 1939, revised edition 1994 The Herbalist Almanac , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, copyright 1988, fifth printing, 1994 The Nature Doctor: A Manual of Traditional and Complementary Medicine , by Dr.
A. , 27 Pine Street (Box 876) New Canaan, CT. 06840-0876. Copyright Verlag A. , Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. , Copyright 1988, published 1992 American Folk Medicine , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1973 Prescription for Nutritional Healing, Fifth Edition: A Practical A-to-Z Reference to Drug-Free Remedies Using Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs & Food Supplements , by James F.
D. and Phyllis A. , West Nyack, NY, 1987. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023 Old Ways Rediscovered , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, published from 1954, print 1988 The Complete Medicinal Herbal , by Penelope Ody, Dorling Kindersley, Inc, 232 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, First American Edition, copyright 1993 The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine , by Dr.
David Frawley & Dr. Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Second edition, 1988. The Magic of Herbs in Daily Living , by Richard Lucas, Parker Publishing Co. (1988).