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Skip the Sea Kelp Supplements (2024)
Sea kelp, otherwise known as bladderwrack, has become a trendy superfood. But the modern hype doesn’t hold up.
“Bladderwrack is a brown seaweed in the genus Fucus that grows in the intertidal regions of temperate areas,” says Loretta Roberson, an associate scientist at the University of Chicago’s Marine Biological Laboratory. Bethany Marie Doerfler, a gastrointestinal specialist at Northwestern Medicine, says the touted health benefits are tied to bladderwrack’s antioxidant properties, but there have been very few studies evaluating its efficacy or safety in humans. Algae-derived products can accumulate heavy metals like arsenic and mercury from polluted waters, and even low concentrations over time can lead to serious health problems such as nerve damage or kidney dysfunction.
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