Buying Real Sea Moss Or Irish Moss – Know The Difference

Buying Real Sea Moss Or Irish Moss – Knowing The Difference

There are a few things you should know wen looking to purchase real sea moss. Some producers of sea moss grow sea moss in salt pools which changes its composition drastically.

Producers of sea moss also grow it in sea moss farms in the ocean. This doesn’t change its composition as drastically, but it still not grown under totally normal conditions.

How Does Sea Moss Normally Grow?

The botanical name for sea moss or Irish moss is Chondrus crispus.  Sea moss grows in constantly moving water on rocks along the coastal areas of the Atlantic ocean.

The natural color of sea moss varies from greenish-yellow, to red, to dark purple, to purplish-brown.

Different Colors of Sea Moss – Irish Moss

Natural sea moss is thinner and has less salt than the processed pool sea moss. You can see difference in size and color in the picture above.

Wildcrafted Sea Moss

It is better to buy wildcrafted sea moss,  it is naturally grown and harvested in an eco-friendly way. Wildcrafting sea moss means harvested directly from its natural habitat, therefore it bypasses human intervention.

Ideally, harvesters only take parts of the sea moss plant, so the plant can regrow and support its ecosystem.  

Wildcrafted sea moss is a better option than “organic” sea moss.  You can grow organic sea moss in salt pools, so organic doesn’t necessarily make it better.

In comparison to pool made sea moss, wildcrafted sea moss retains its natural color and will be thinner and less salty than pool made sea moss.

Pool Grown Processed Sea Moss

Dr. Sebi spoke about how growing sea moss in brine pools. He said it changes the composition of the sea moss and negatively affects it nutrient content.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so-osSg8S9k

Producers take sea moss from the ocean and grow it in pool farms. The farms try to replicate the properties of the ocean by supplying constant back and forth motion of the ocean, but they can’t totally replicate all of he ocean’s properties.

Sea moss develops in a specific way through its interaction with all the properties of the ocean it grows in.

The environment includes the nutrients the sea moss absorbs from the rocks it grows on, air, sunshine, the amount of salt and other nutrients in the water, the movement of the water, and other natural factors.

Producers grown sea moss successfully in pools filled with very salty moving water, but the environment doesn’t totally replicate its natural environment.

This results in the sea moss growing very quickly. It also grows to nearly three times the thickness of naturally grown or wildcrafted sea moss.

Pool grown salt also contains much more salt on it, and is less nutrient dense.

The nutrient makeup of the pool grown sea moss doesn’t turn out to be the same as wildcrafted sea moss, and it develops with much more mucilage than the wildcrafted sea moss.

Sea Moss Grown In Ocean Farms

Sea moss producers also grow sea moss in sea farms to make harvesting easier. Though the sea moss grows in the ocean it doesn’t grow in exactly the same way as wildcrafted sea moss does because it grows from ropes instead of rocks.

The sea farmed sea moss does grow to more closely resemble the wildcrafted sea moss, but in composition it isn’t the same.

Wildcrafted sea moss offers nutrients in the ratio nature intended, and therefore has more chemical affinity with the body.

Comparison Between Wild Crafted Sea Moss And Pool Grown Sea Moss

Many people break down the sea moss by boiling it to make it a gel. This breaks down the cell walls and allows more of the nutrients to become bioavailable, or digestible by the body.

I use a high speed blender to blend the sea moss which achieves the same thing. This comparison uses 56 grams of dry wildcrafted and pool made sea moss, which is then soaked and blended.

The pool grown sea moss is much denser and takes up less volume than the wildcrafted sea moss. The pool grown sea moss contains much more salt from being grown in brine water, and it is much lighter.

It is lighter because of the way it is grown, and because the popular practice of drying sea moss in the sun to remove its color is often applied.

56 grams each of dried wildcrafted sea moss and pool grown sea moss

Sea moss soaked in water for an equal amount of time. The wildcrafted sea moss gained much more water and volume.

Using a 2 to 1 ratio of sea moss to water the wildcrafted yielded twice the amount of blended sea moss gel. You get more bang for your buck using wildcrafted sea moss.

Some people use a 1 to 1 ratio, which results is in thick gelatin like substance when refrigerated. It is used as a thickening agent.

I add sea moss to my vegetable juices and fruit smoothies, but I also like to drink it by itself and need to use more water to keep it as a gel water instead of a gelatin substance.

Sea Moss – Irish Moss Benefits

Sea moss is a nutrient dense seaweed and excellent source of minerals. It contains bromine, calcium, iodine, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and selenium.

The mucilage properties of sea moss is excellent in strengthening connective tissues and supporting joint health. Its mucilage properties also help to sooth the mucous membrane throughout the body, and supports skin health.

Sources: [1] The Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Algae-Derived Lipid Extracts on Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-Stimulated Human THP-1 Macrophages. [2] Neuroprotective effects of the cultivated Chondrus crispus [3] Chlorophyta and Rhodophyta macroalgae: a source of health promoting phytochemicals.

About Author: Aqiyl Aniys Aqiyl Aniys is the author of the books Alkaline Herbal Medicine, Alkaline Plant Based Diet and the children's book, Faith and Justice eat an Alkaline Plant Based Diet." He received a certificate in plant-based nutrition from Cornell University, a BA in Organizational Behavior and Communications from NYU, worked as an elementary school teacher, and studied social work. He enjoys boxing, kick boxing, cycling, power walking, and basically anything challenging, and his alkaline plant-based diet supports all that he does. Learn more about transitioning to an alkaline vegan diet using the Dr. Sebi nutritional guide.