Seaweed

[dasanipure]

Could anyone explain to me why seaweed products are not allowed on Paleo? I've been enjoying Dried Seaweed (no additives...just the Nori) to snack on lately and I'm worried about whether or not my ancestors would have access to Seaweed...Thanks.

[arcticslug]

Seaweed IS Paleo.....Native Indians in Canada have been eating it for thousands of years...

Red Laver Porphyra perforata
(Red Algae) (Rhodophyceae)

BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION - This marine plant consists of a thin membranous
blade, which is broad and irregularly
shaped. When fresh, it is reddish-purple or greenish, having the
consistence of cellophane. When dry, it is black
and brittle. The blades are only one to two cell layers thick. The young
plants, when ready for harvesting, are
about 10 cm (4 in.) long, but mature specimens can attain a height of 15 dm
(60 in.).
HABITAT - On rocks in the lower intertidal zone, in sheltered waters.
DISTRIBUTION IN BRITISH COLUMBIA - Along the entire Coast, from
Vancouver Island to Alaska.
INDIAN USE - This alga was widely employed as food by the Coastal
Indians of the Province, particularly the
middle and northern groups. The young plants were gathered from the rocks
at low tide in spring, usually in May.
An "old" method of curing them, used by both Kwakiutl and Haida, was to
partially dry them, allowing them to
ferment slightly, and to press them into tall cedar boxes in layers
interspersed with red cedar boughs (Thuja
plicata) to add flavouring. Sometimes an additional flavouring made from
the juice of chewed rock chitons (marine
shellfish) was added. The packed boxes were weighted with rocks and left
for about a month, then unpacked, and the
entire process repeated, up to three times. The finished seaweed cakes,
about 2.5 cm (1 in.) thick, were stored in
boxes for winter. To use, they were torn into strips, chopped into small
pieces with an adze, chewed by the person
preparing them, soaked in water, boiled, and served in small dishes with
eulachon grease, boiled dog salmon, or
boiled clams. According to Kwakiutl etiquette, one could drink water after
eating seaweed at a feast, but not
before,
Another method used by the Kwakiutl to prepare this seaweed was to hang
individual blades over a drying-rack
above a fire, allowing them to brown lightly, and then pound them into a
fine powder. This was mixed with water
and boiled, or whipped up into a frothy substance, and eaten as a desert.
The simplest method of curing the seaweed, commonly used at present, is
to spread it out on rocks in the sun.
When dry, it is broken into small popcorn-sized pieces which can be stored
in buckets or 4-gallon cans. It can be
eaten dried, as a confection, or boiled with eulachon grease, halibut
heads, clams, or creamed corn. It is a good
laxative and "health" food.
Edible seaweed is still a common trading item. Interior groups such as
the Carrier and Chilcotin used it as a
medicine for goitre, a affliction caused by iodine deficiency. The Salish
of the Victoria and Vancouver areas used
to sell it to the Chinese and Japanese in the early part of the century.
Today, a 2-1/4 kilogram (5-pound) pail of
dried seaweed costs about $5.
Several other kinds of seaweed were eaten by the North Coast Indians,
but red laver was the most commonly used
type.

[dasanipure]

Thanks Arctic Slug! This is GREAT news. (I love snacking on nori) The only problem is the 'fermented' part - would this worsen Candida? Ah - I've got so much to worry about sometimes I wonder if it'd be better if I just stopped eating (jk - of course!)...Does anyone know anything about this?

[DianneH]

Er, well, um... actually, it probably isn't, technically speaking "paleo" except in highly isolated areas. "Thousands of years" is far more recent than "10 thousand years +" which would be roughly the beginning of wider spread uses of grains and early domestication of plants/animals... Probably fits the same general category as "new world" foods (not that seaweed is only to be found outside of the relatively limited area humans evolved and hung out in, but in the sense of how one approaches including them). IOW, not technicallly paleo, but certainly a heckuvalot better for you than wheat.

Personally, I love tomatoes and include them, in a moderate sense, almost daily. They're definitely "new world" - in every sense! Part of the problem is that by now, next to nothing that we eat is anything like it was then--we've engineered pretty much everything to some degree or another, so every choice you make is a little iffy; we just do the best we can with what we have available (and can afford!). If you like seaweed and it has a positive effect on you, I say go for it, but make sure it's good for *you*. That's, IMnsHO, a far lighter shade of gray than a lot of things folks reguarly eat--than I eat; I still have diet coke some days at work... when it's hot in the warehouse and I have a choice of tepid tap water and ice cold diet coke; no contest. I don't always remember to bring water. Then there's the occasional bag of bar-b-que flavored sun flower seeds. No sharp sticks involved there, but it's way better than the same flavor of potato chip. It's a matter of degree sometimes; the idea is to strive for a better way of eating and living; purity is for the religious zealot, or the very sick in need of extreme measures.

And yes, my soap box has an elevator/lift built in :)

[arcticslug]

Er, well, um... actually, it probably isn't, technically speaking "paleo" except in highly isolated areas. "Thousands of years" is far more recent than "10 thousand years +" which would be roughly the beginning of wider spread uses of grains and early domestication of plants/animals... Probably fits the same general category as "new world" foods (not that seaweed is only to be found outside of the relatively limited area humans evolved and hung out in, but in the sense of how one approaches including them). IOW, not technicallly paleo, but certainly a heckuvalot better for you than wheat.

Dianne, I have to disagree with you on this. Paleolithic peoples have lived next to the ocean since the beginning of homo sapien's evolution. Therefore I see seaweed as a paleo food. However I do agree with you that a person should eat things that make them feel good, and if seaweed doesn't agree with you, don't eat it. However I would eat it if put in front of me because I like it!

[MichaelG]

I agree with Arcticslug, as far as I am concerned Paleo means anything you can catch, gather, pick of a plant or dig out of the ground. I suspect that when there were only a few million humans on the whole planet it would be possible to live near one of the massive seabird rookeries which still exist now, let alone then, and base most of your diet on birds and eggs. By its very location the clan would also be exposed to seals, shellfish, fish , crabs and ... seaweed.

Cheers
Michael Gardner

[bevbme]

bump

Seaweed seems as original food source as you can get-