Okinawa is located in the southernmost part of the Japanese archipelago and its inhabitants are traditionally considered to have the longest life expectancy in the world, in addition, the rate of cancer on this island is significantly lower than elsewhere in the world. It is one of the "blue zones" - places in the world where people live longer and have fewer age-related diseases.
Although the reasons for the long life expectancy of the inhabitants of this island are probably many and varied, the probability is quite high that their normally healthy diet plays a key role. This is very low in calories, low in fat and rich in complex carbohydrates. Meals consist mainly of fresh vegetables and legumes, especially soya.
Okinawans also eat a lot of seaweed in their traditional dishes like kombu, hijiki and mozuku. They are often served with noodles, in salads, fries and vegetables. Seaweed has a high content of iodine, folic acid, calcium, iron, magnesium and astaxanthin.
Seaweed in particular is rich in fucoidan, a long-chain polysaccharide with fucose (FCSP), which plays an important role in many biochemical processes in the body.
A group of Japanese researchers found out in experiments on mice that fucoidan has an anti-cancer effect and effectively activates the process of natural cell death. Fucoidan causes cell cycle arrest or apoptosis and tumor cell growth in different cell lines. Fucoidan has also been shown to strengthen the immune system and regulate cholesterol levels in the body. It also helps with digestion/intestinal problems and in the control of allergies, improves liver function, has a strong antioxidant effect, regulates cholesterol and blood pressure, stabilizes blood sugar and strengthens skin and hair.
ZeeQuest Nutrition has developed a product line based on the Aloxyl-7.4 ™ Phytocomplex. Fucoidan normally contains about 4% of the dry weight of seaweed, and the phytocomplex Aloxyl-7.4 ™, which is produced from pure Norwegian seaweed (Ascophyllum Nodosum), is of the highest quality, as it contains as much as 6 to 7.5% fucoidan.
Here you can learn more about the products.
