Seaweed vs. Seamoss

(vs. Irish Moss, etc)

It’s been the word on every health guru’s lips for the past year with new suppliers popping up on TikTok, Instagram & Facebook every day. But just how sustainable is this new superfood? And what other algae should we be adding to our plate?

Whether they call it sea-moss, Irish moss, carrageen, or any of the other terms it’s garnered over the years, it seems like every glass-skinned health and beauty influencer now credits their inner glow to a single sea-faring superfood. TikTok’s abound of green-juice girls dropping globs of transparent jelly into their Vitamixes, spouting the health benefits they’ve experienced since adding it to their morning routine. Sea-moss is by no means a new product, but it is experiencing the surge in popularity that only appointment as a ‘superfood’ can provide. The new food of the moment, odds are, you’ve heard the name sea moss — its distant relative, though, may only be making its way into blenders in Belize.

Though some in Belize might say they’re the same, this might just be a matter of semantics. The fact is there are much more ‘mosses’ and ‘weeds’ in the sea than we have names for. Found everywhere from your favorite coffeeshop's menu to the beverage fridge of your nearest grocery — the Seaweed Shake is a Belizean tradition. But with so little information to go on, it’s not hard to wonder about the nutmeg-laden vanilla smoothie and its ingredient list. What kind of seaweed is in Seaweed Punch? Where does it come from? And perhaps, most importantly, is it good for me?

Irish Moss a.k.a. Carrageen

Irish moss, botanically Chondrus crispus, much like Belizean seaweed, is neither moss nor weed, but a form of red algae. It grows abundantly along the shores of both North America and Europe (in particular the Irish coast) where it is both wild foraged and cultivated. Carrageen, one of the algae’s oldest recorded name comes from Carrigan Head, a cape near Northern Ireland. “Carraigín” is the Gaeilge word for “little rocks” – the preferred environment of red algae. Carrageen was so popular in Ireland, it was believed to cure both human ailments and livestock, and was used as a thickener in desserts and alcoholic drinks. During the Irish Potato Famine, it was a life-saving food source, and the ingredient is still used today in many Irish recipes.

Chondrus crispus sea-moss is high in lambda-carrageenan, a polysaccharide common in packaged foods and makeup. (Carrageenans also take their name from the Gaeilge word for "little rock".) Nutritionally neutral, carrageenan is extremely high in indigestible fiber. Chondrus crispus is also high in iodine, calcium, magnesium, and iron, vitamins that support thyroid function, bone health, muscle building, and oxygen transportation throughout the body.

Irish Moss a.k.a. Kkosiraegi a.k.a. Ogonori a.k.a. Gulaman

It may come as a surprise, but Chondrus crispus, is not the algae commonly described as “Irish Moss” throughout the Caribbean (nor the one used to create the Jamaican Irish Moss beverage with many similarities to the Belizean Seaweed Shake). That algae would be Gracilaria, another kind of red algae entirely. Though primarily cultivated in Asia, South America, Africa, and Oceania, Gracilaria. are found in warm waters across the globe year-round and in colder climates during warmer months.

Although it’s known in Jamaica as Irish Moss, in Japanese cuisine, Gracilaria is called ogonori or ogo, kkosiraegi in Korean and gulaman in the Philippines. Rich in glutamic acid, aspartic acid, leucine, arginine, alanine, serine, and lysine, Gracilaria’s nutritional profile is much more complex than the other Irish Moss. Glutamic acid is crucial for memory recall, helping nerve cells in the brain send and receive information from other cells while lysine helps the body absorb calcium, playing an important role in collagen formation. Leucine, arginine, alanine, and serine contribute to improved muscle mass, help control blood sugar, and help strengthen the immune system while aspartic acid supports increased stamina. Most impressively, serine is used to treat schizophrenia and Parkinson disease thanks to its positive effect on cognitive function.

The interchangeable usage of the terms “sea-moss” and “Irish-moss” make it so that it’s difficult to know for sure which species of red algae is being referenced especially in countries where both are common, but this is more than likely the algae referred to in Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean – except for Belize.

Belizean Seaweed

The algae most often eaten (or drunk) in Belize is Eucheuma Isoforme, once again an entirely different genus. Eucheuma cottonii, the species cultivated in the Phillipines, parts of Indonesia, and Malaysia is commonly known as gusô, though many species, including Eucheuma denticulatum, Eucheuma gelatiformia, and Eucheuma anaxifera are cultivated in the area. Because many species of Eucheuma are visually and nutritionally similar, I.D.ing species without lab testing is typically difficult. While some eighteen to twenty species alone exist within the genus Eucheuma, Eucheuma Isoforme seems to be primarily consumed in Belize, where we simply call it “seaweed”.

All species of Eucheuma are, like Chondrus crispus extremely high in indigestible fiber (by way of carrageenan), supporting proper waste elimination in the body. Unlike Irish moss, a whopping 30-40% of Eucheuma isoforme’s total mass is protein. (For context, an equal amount of powdered milk contains around 25% protein.) Another 37% is made up of trace minerals like iron, zinc, copper, and selenium. Iron is necessary for a whole host of the body’s vital functions, affecting energy levels and focus, the immune and gastrointestinal systems. Selenium and copper act as cofactors in many biochemical reactions and have been shown to improve the immune response. Zinc, on the other hand, plays an enormous role not only in healing damaged tissue and supporting a healthy immune system but in the literal creation of DNA and birth of new cells.

The Dark Side of Superfoods

Every red algae listed (and every red algae period) fall into the same division, Rhodophyta, one of the oldest groups of algae with 7,000 currently recognized species and constantly changing taxonomies. Any one of them could be called seaweed or sea-moss, though not a single one is a weed or a moss. Although how they look, taste, and what they’re good for differ, they’re all good for you. The most important thing when purchasing your sea-supplements is to make sure that they’re produced ethically and sustainably.

Wild-foraged products aren’t good for the environment, even if they’re good for your body, and ethical producers won’t deplete wild numbers just to sell you a jar. That means the ethically foraged sea-moss you bought from a vague page on Instagram likely isn’t as conscious as you’d like to think. So if wild-grown is better, but we don’t want to wipe out native populations, what’s the solution? Many farmers across the communities these algae grow in have already found it: Wild Cultivation; planting and growing the organism in the environment it would naturally grow in. The truly ethical cultivators make sure that they’re not only cultivating a product in the environment, but they’re also putting something back, boosting local populations of not only the algae but the sea life who live in and off of them.

Now that you understand the difference between the weeds and mosses, explore the Belizean seaweed products we have in our shop. We source all our Eucheuma isoforme sea-moss through the Belize Women’s Seaweed Farmer’s Association, an ethical, sustainable, women-run organization focused on replenishing ecosystems and uplifting women in the community.