What are Sea Grapes?
Are you obsessed with coastal foods, especially Japanese cuisine? Then you must have heard about Sea grapes, the magic ninja of Japan. The magnificent ocean of Japan is the power house of sea grapes. The unique combination of stable water and temperature and salinity level gives birth to the most beautiful flora of Japan. The clear sunlight and high nutrients of sea beds helps to grow the sea grapes seamlessly. Throughout the year they keep growing under the sea like praying mantises.
Sea Grapes is also called Green Caviar. It is the nest super food. It has anti-aging properties that is making it popular. Sea Grapes are getting more attention of research labs across the world.
Let’s see basically what are sea grapes?
Sea grapes are scientifically called Caulerpa lentillifera from green algae family, because of their physical resemblance with green grapes they are called sea grapes. The colour range of them varied from light to dark green, sometimes also olive green to bluish tone. Because the scientific name is hard to pronounce, in Japan it goes by umi-budo ( 海ぶどう ).
They are also famous as green caviar. Not only in Japan, it is also famous in Philippines and Malaysia where it is referred as lato or latok.
Health Benefits of Sea Grapes (latok, umibudo)
Do you know why our coastal neighbours live longer than any other natives in the world? May be it is because of the rich nutrients of sea grapes. The International Heath Food Industry reported the benefits of sea grapes as it contain high nutrient value. Besides it has huge health benefits. Let’s take a look at the list below:
Improves eyesight
Sea grapes are rich in unsaturated fatty acids like DHA, EPA, AA, ALA and LA that helps to improve the eyesight and memory. It also helps in reducing cholesterol.
Used in treatment of heart disease
Reports suggest it has a potential to prevent certain vessel diseases like coronary-artery disease, stroke etc.
Nourish and strengthen bone
Because of its high protein, polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega 3 group’s DHA, EPA & ALA) it soothes inflammation. It also reduces some symptoms of arthritis to some extent.
Relieve constipation
Because of its low calorie and sugar content it enables the good bacteria to digest food thereby improves overall digestion system. It excretes rapidly the free radicals and wastes from the body and effectively prevents constipation.
Improves skin and hair
Many dermatologists throughout the world prescribe sea grape to improve skin and hair condition because it enhance the collagen
Effective in weight loss management
Anti-cancer properties
It contains Fucoidan a natural substance which is thought to be an anti-cancer substance.
Helps prevent goiter
One can prevent goiter or abnormal enlargement of the thyroid gland by consuming 100-150 gm of Sea grapes, because it contain 1.5-2 mg iodine. Doctors prescribe to consume 30-40 gm of sea grapes a day to fulfil the iodine deficiency which result in thyroid.
Sea grapes nutrition
Now that you know the health benefits of sea grapes let’s check its nutritional value, you will be drooled by its nutritional potential:
| Average quantity per serve | |
| Fat | 0. 15 mg |
| Carbohydrate | 1.70 mg |
| Sodium | 462 mg |
| Potassium | 55 mg |
| Calcium | 48 mg |
| Iron | 1.14 mg |
| Copper | 0.04 mg |
| Dietary fibre | 1.12 mg |
| Vitamin B2 | 0.01 mg |
| Protein | 0.8 mg |
Sea Grapes is Versatile
Let’s discover and eat them! What can be more exciting than this? Ready to thrill your taste buds with a new kind of taste? Find out some amazing sea grape recipes below!
- Sea grape salad– It can be consumed as salad along with other vegetables with a pinch of olive oil and salt.
- As jam and jelly– you can prepare delicious jam and jelly overnight, isn’t it amazing? Florida sea grapes are famous for jelly purpose because it is fleshier than the other varieties. You just require proper vessel, butter, sugar and lime juice to prepare sea grape jelly, boiling time is less than 10 minutes.
- Blinis with smoked salmon and sea grapes– another mouth-watering preparation of sea grapes is taking it with blinis and smoked salmon. You just need already prepared pan cake, lemon zest and drained sea grapes. The best way to assemble the dish is by placing blini topped with a thin piece of smoked salmon and garnishing with a hand full of sea grapes. It’s as tasty as it looks like. For enhanced taste you can add black pepper and oyster sauce.
- Sushi– you can enhance your sushi experience by adding sea grapes. This sea grape sushi is famous in Tokyo, the fish for this dish must be two weeks seasoned. The combined taste of seasoned fish along with sea grapes will give an exclusive texture when mixed with saliva
- Eat raw– you can eat raw sea grapes with a pinch of salt and soya sauce. You can mix it with rice vinegar and mustard as well.
Vitamins in Sea Grapes
| Vitamin | Amount |
| Vitamin A (Retinol Equivalent) | 10 micro gram |
| Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol) | 0.2 micro gram |
| Vitamin K | 35 micro gram |
| Vitamin B2 | 0.01 micro gram |
| Folate | 4 micro gram |
| Biotin | 0.1 micro gram |
Minerals in Sea Grapes
| Minerals | Amount |
| Sodium | 33 micro gram |
| Potassium | 39 micro gram |
| Calcium | 34 micro gram |
| Magnesium | 51 micro gram |
| Phosphorus | 10 micro gram |
| Iron | 0.8 micro gram |
| Manganese | 0.08 micro gram |
| Iron | 80 micro gram |
A few words before wrapping up!
Each and every person irrespective of their age and sex has to face some kinds of dermatological problem at some points of their life. There are many benefits of sea grapes on skin that we must know if we are talking about sea grapes. It has a potential to retain water loss and thereby absorb moisturizer. It nourishes the skin and tightens the pores thereby you can get glowing skin easily.