Is It Safe to Eat Sea Moss while Pregnant?

A Reader sent a message through to me that was about a Quora thread on the safety of eating sea moss while pregnant. This opened up some interesting conversation.

I completely agreed with the Writer's perspective on Quora where she stated that sea moss and carragenan are two different things.

Based on the research I've done over the years, and that of my Grandmother who was a Naturopath in the 1940′s, it's a marine vegetable that has provided sustenance for longer than any of us have been on the planet.

The only consideration that I'd suggest is made which hasn't here is the potential for active agents in sea moss to react with blood thinning medication.

I say this with a word of caution as many brands of sea moss are sundried and have dropped their natural color.

If your sea moss was of a brown variety before it was naturally sun bleached and dried, it's probably going to have these characteristics. If it was another color, then that's going to be much less likely.

If you're concerned about the effects of carragenan in your diet from sea moss, you're better off looking at the processed foods you eat that contain thickeners and emulsifiers like E 407. These are made with carragenan.

Seaweeds that are harvested for their carragenan content are safe to consume in their natural form (in moderation, like anything else). It's when they are processed to extract the carragenan that the problems begin.

Carragenan in the processed form is what causes gut issues, not sea moss.

In fact, the long chain polysaccharides in sea moss are an amazing prebiotic that supports gut health. Along with the mineral density and vitamins, in my opinion, you couldn't get a better vegetable.

If you're pregnant, you do need to take care. Speak with your Doctor or Dietitian. Don't just take my (or anyone else's) word online or otherwise without weighing it up for yourself.