Healing with Food Update

Agar -- for Weight Loss and Good Health

Accompanying recipe: Better than Jell-O

Contrary to popular belief, gelatin is not made from cattle hooves and horns. Commercial gelatin is extracted from the dregs (the cartilage, ligaments, tendons, bones and hides) of cattle, horses and swine. This information gives agar -- a nutritious, seaweed gelling agent -- extra appeal.
 
Now a well-known weight reduction aid, you may remember agar from school days as the growth medium found in petri dishes. White and semi-translucent, it is processed from several varieties of red marine algae known as agarophytes (agar-yielding). These algae grow as deep as 200 feet in stunning purplish-red fronds. Their color pigments enable them to absorb what little light penetrates their deeply dark wet and mineral-dense environment.

Healthful agar gel not only enhances the flavors of other foods, but it has remarkable medicinal properties. If taken as a supplement, it aids weight-reduction as agar’s indigestible fiber absorbs and retains water resulting in a feeling of fullness. This remarkable fiber also soothes the digestive tract and chelates with (and then dispels from the body) toxic and radioactive pollutants. Agar is an excellent invalid and infant food as it is light, nourishing and easy to digest.

Agar contains absolutely no calories. Two tablespoons of powdered agar provide two percent of the daily need of folate, magnesium and manganese. As a kitchen remedy to soothe inflamed bronchia or for a non-productive cough, make the accompanying "Jell-O" recipe with only the fruit and juice of apples and/or pears.

Use agar to gel fruit deserts and aspics as well as to thicken soups and jellies. Or simply stir in a ½ teaspoonful of powdered agar into a glass of fruit or vegetable juice. As it requires heat to gel, adding it to a cold beverage will go unnoticed (no need to tell the kids they’re eating seaweed) and it will slow down the absorption of simple sugars thus helping regulate blood sugar as well as boosting nutrition and flavor. Plus, the juice will now be more filling.

Caution  If you use dry agar powder, granules or capsules as a weight reduction aid, stir into (or swallow) with adequate fluid. Should agar become stuck in your throat or esophagus, it can swell rapidly and may cause choking.  Do not take as a dry supplement if you have trouble swallowing.

May you be well nourished!

Rebecca Wood