BUT I'M NOT A TURNIP...why do I need a seaweed supplement
"Knowledge of the oceans is more important than just a
matter of curiosity. Our very survival may hinge upon it."
President John Kennedy, 1961
The answer to this question will open a fascinating window
with new respect for what Mother Nature has truly provided
in the richest biome on Earth, the ocean. This article is
about amazing research on how liquid seaweed extracts help
plants to grow strong and stay healthier longer. Your
appreciation will also grow tenfold for the whole value of
the amazing gardens of the sea and their place in the total
ecology of the earth including human biology…
Two main questions surface of elemental importance both to
plants and humans:
1. What do you know about the valuable features of seaweed
extracts for plants?
2. What do you know about the benefits of seaweed
supplementation for people?
So, what is the connection between any plant food and our
body? Of course, you can argue that you're not a turnip, a
cucumber, a tomato or any other plant…the point is the
balance of elements outside and inside your body is crucial
to cellular structure and optimal health. First, the turnip
starts off absorbing all the essential nutrients from soil
and second, when you eat it, the nutrients are integrated
into your body's cells. If you never eat a turnip, of
course, you'll never have turnip biochemicals in you, but
if you do eat turnips, then your cells will contain turnip
molecules. Our bodies can only be constructed by what we
eat (or drink). As humans we cannot produce primary food
biochemically through photosynthesis, water and minerals
from the soil. Our bodies rely totally on the nutrient
database found in soil, unless by chance we could grow
roots for direct absorption. Unfortunately, for decades,
our mass agricultural soil has successively become more
depleted and lacking in total nutrients. Hence, the need
for ways to supplement soil, plants and our bodies becomes
integral to whole health.
Always remember there is a one to one relationship between
plant health and human health. Healthy plants will give us
healthy cells. Undernourished plants will give us
undernourished cells.
Here's the amazing window of knowledge, once opened, can't
close on old thoughts
Liquid seaweed extracts, safe and non-toxic, applied to
plants are very beneficial to their growth. Decades of
field observation and practical experiences are short of
breathtaking in noting how liquid seaweed extracts benefit
plants. Plants treated with seaweed extract show the
following benefits…
Plants tend to develop a resistance to pests and disease
(such as red spider mites, aphids, scabs, mildew and fungi)
In fact, disease controlling qualities of seaweed came as a
complete surprise to many agricultural scientists.
Seaweed helps plants produce special hormones (specialized
chemical substances) which are the main internal factors
controlling growth and development known as auxins
gibberlins, cytokins, indoles. This is one way to explain
the daily rapid growth of two feet a day for certain seaweed
Seaweed stimulates beneficial soil microbial activity.
Plants grow substantially larger root masses. Healthier
roots make more nutrients available to the plant and resist
root diseases. It is a known fact that soil fungi and
bacteria produce natural antibiotics which hold down the
population of plant pathogens. The higher organic matter in
soil produces more antibiotics. In plant physiology the
subject of controlling plant disease by introducing
substances into the plant itself is known as
chemotherapy..an interesting correlation to our human
application. .
Seaweed treated plants have stronger and hardier vascular
systems. For example, tomatoes increase their size by 37%
more and cucumbers by 41%.
Seaweed helps plants to better withstand stressful
conditions such as improved cold tolerance. Seaweed sprays
are the best treatment to prevent threat of frost damage.
Plants delay senescense or deterioration of cells and
tissues that result in rotting and help to increase shelf
life.
Seeds soaked in seaweed extract germinate more rapidly,
have larger root masses, and more rapid stem and shoot
development
Plants absorb nutrients through their leaf and stem tissues
as well as by root intake. Seaweed extract can be absorbed
equally effectively through roots by soil drench or foliar
spraying. In contrast, little benefit has been
demonstrated by spraying highly concentrated NPK fertilizer
on the leaves directly or other chemicals. It is
interesting to note that soils supported by synthetic
fertilizers comprise over 90% of agricultural land in
America. Plant scientists have even developed hybrid grains
and vegetables that can grow in fertilizer alone. However,
it's clear, NPK fertilizers can not possible contain all
the microelements and growth regulators needed for maximum
development. This makes you wonder whether synthetic
supplements for humans have about the same effect.
The answer to the first question is plants grow bigger and
stronger with seaweed extracts probably because of better
nutrition. From a personal perspective, it was wonderful to
ascribe healthier plants to seaweed extracts as "visible"
tangible objects produced in a season. How else can we
actually see the effects of total nutrients on living
organisms? Certainly not on complex human long term cycles
where we use supplements in blind faith hoping they produce
some results.
Now even a basic understanding that plant and human
physiology are inter-related at the cellular level begs the
second question: Can people receive benefits by using
liquid seaweed extracts as dietary supplements?
Your own research will more fully answer this question. But
as a start, here are a few points to consider. People have
used seaweed traditionally for millennia for food, medicine
and other restorative benefits. Ocean water contains
quantities of all known elements (replenished from run offs
and leaching). It can even be said that ocean water is
becoming more enriched as land soils become more depleted.
Seaweed has an exceptional nutrient-rich matrix with no
major nutritional deficiencies. It thrives in this rich
solution of sea water containing at least 70
micronutrients) including several not found in land based
plants. These micronutrients are micro in the sense that
only very small amounts are required for enzymatic activity.
Brown seaweed contain vitamins common to land plants,
thirteen in all, including the vitamin B family, Vitamin C,
betacarotene, Vitamin E (as a tocopherol) pantothenic acid,
folic acid, and Vitamin K. The most complex of seaweed
constituents are nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium,
magnesium and sulfur. It contains all known minerals and
trace elements such as iodine, sodium, iron, zinc, copper,
molybdenum, cobalt, boron manganese, magnesium in its
natural state. Trace elements are made available by natural
chelation or combining a mineral atom with an organic
molecule Seaweed has 20 highly bioavaible amino acids. It
contains exceptional saccharides in the form of
glyconutrients, complex sugars and starches, but is
extremely low in fat and calories. Other key components
include chlorophyll, laminarin, fucoidan, furanone and
lignans.
No wonder vegetables and fruits do so well when sprayed
with seaweed from seeds to maturity to senescence!
Can we look to seaweed then as a source of supplementation
for humans and even pharmaceutical benefits through medical
botany? Scientific curiosity and research are turning again
to the sea and are discovering some exciting results.
The answer that counts at the end is a personal choice of a
dietary supplement, perhaps one of the most important
choices for everyone's health. Modern bioscience now shows
that the body requires at least a 100 nutrients daily for
maximum structure, function, defense and repair. Are a
handful of manufactured pills less expensive and sufficient
to best supply this vital synergy of nutrients? Or do we
look at the bounty of what Mother Nature has provided in
evolutionary wisdom. Do we think egocentrically, like
children, how can we act on it or improve it? Or do we let
Nature work her mastery on us and improve us--- as it has
done inherently, immemorially, through the connection of
air, water, soil, plants, food, nutrients, cells,
well-being, and freedom from disease.
So, I'm not a turnip but my body and health are inclusive
of everything I eat, fortunately mostly plants, including
turnip which I enjoy.
My personal reverence for seaweed has increased so much as
valuable gardens of the sea after learning and seeing the
benefits of seaweed extracts on plants. It is another way
of validating my personal good fortune to have discovered a
unique liquid seaweed extract used as a dietary
supplement…exactly what I believe can help to provide total
nutrients at the same time in the right ratio with innate
immune support ingredients. The body has amazing innate
healing abilities if provided with total nutrition…and, I
believe, the ocean's nutrients are in a bottle in my fridge
and delicious. Your requests for resources, scientific
studies, questions and comments are appreciated.
----------------------------------------------------
Anne-Marie Berukoff is a certified Nutritional Supplement
Distributor. She took early retirement from a 24 year
teaching career to pursue her interest in WELLNESS based on
using natural whole foods for preventative health. She has
compiled two workshops with CD's and an e-booklet: 101
Reasons to Plug Into Powerful Phytonutrients for Powerful
Health. She welcomes all questions and comments.
annemarie7@telus.net
1 866 866 3611
http://www.4healthlimu.com
