IS ALGAE VEGAN?

“Please let me know if I as a raw vegan can eat spirulina and seaweeds (wakame, arame, nori, dulse etc.) because I am not sure if the are plants or animals and if you recommend them for good health.” - Andrzej

ANSWER: Dear Andrzej,

Seaweed (includes wakame, dulse, nori), is a plant. Blue-green algae is classified by biologist in the group of "prokaryotae" -- apart from other groups: animalia (animals), fungi, plantae (plants) and protista (protists) -- although some also consider it to be part of either the protist or plant kingdom. So blue-green algae is not an animal, but not quite a plant either.

Some people like algae, but I find it to be a stimulating food -- not a real source of nutrients. Instead of consuming algae, I encourage people to consume green vegetables, which are our true source of minerals.

As for seaweed — I do not recommend them on a daily basis, although I do consume some occasionally (nori, dulse, or kelp). The problem with seaweed is that it contains a lot of salt, and as anything that comes from the sea, is likely to contain some contamination from heavy metals, mercury, etc.