are you just trying to figure out which kind of sea moss you really want to try first
or is it that you're just not sure if there's a benefit to irish sea moss over regular sea moss
and why the heck does irish sea moss get a really cool name when other sea moss is just kind of like
generally mossy you know what i'm going to call regular sea moss major
general sea moss give it a little power and prestige
yes yes i am a major general papa not now darling i'm on
let's get into all the differences right now on eccentric nature
what are sea mosses really so the first question you might have
is how is sea moss different from seaweed well sea mosses are actually a type of seaweed all sea moss
falls under the category of rotophytes which is the largest group of algae in the seaweed world
another interesting distinction is that true land moss or bryophyta are not related at all
to sea moss what about kelp is kelp different kelps are fail fights and oddly they're not
related to sea moss either which is tough because a lot of people often call kelp seaweed see why
this is all so confusing etymology in other words what the heck are these two sea moss is called now
the easiest way to distinguish irish sea moss from major general sea moss is the biological names
while there are various subspecies of these major general sea moss is better known as genus
gracilaria and irish sea moss chondrus crispus chondrus crispus is called iris sea moss because
it was the irish who first took advantage of its amazing properties in the late 1700s not only
medicinally but to save lives during the irish potato famine according to folklore Irish sea
moss was carried on trips to ensure your safety placed beneath rugs to increase your luck and
also used to ensure a steady flow of money into your household well i kind of reckon the potato
famine destroyed that myth part of the reason it doesn't have a cool name is genus gracilaria
is much more straightforward gracilaria is simply a genus of about 190 species of sea moss that was
first established by D.K. Metcalf no wait he's a wide receiver for the seattle seahawks genus
gracilaria was established in 1830 by english botanist Dr. R.K. Greville in the algae britannica
where do they grow no surprise really irish sea moss can be found in abundance around the coast
of ireland but you can also find chondrus crispus around many of the north atlantic coastlines in
cooler water and the only place it can grow is on rocks major general sea moss on the other hand
sprawls around the globe genus gracillaria grows in many different places and climates across the
world it comprises around 80 percent of the worldwide market it can be grown not only on
rocks but various cultures like bottom culture raft steak rope and even pond cultures it even
grows in various types of waters how do they look different so how can you tell the difference just
by looking at the two the fact is it ain't always easy as both species can come in different colors
so you can't really use that as a distinguishing factor and once it's turned into a powder
forget about it you'd have to have it analyzed in a lab to really know which species it is for sure
the main distinguishing factor is that irish sea moss is more of a flat
fan-like shape major general gracillaria on the other hand tends to look more like strands
or thin stringy noodles in its appearance maybe an angel hair pasta while color is not a definitive
way to distinguish the two irish sea moss is predominantly darker and tends to be more in
the red to purple range of color gracillaria on the other hand is often pale or straw colored
due to the fact that is often found in areas exposed to much more sunlight like the tropics
are there different benefits irish sea moss is the only one that has carrageenan
an expectorant or demulcent that helps with sore throats coughs colds and various chest problems
now it's very important to note that natural carrageenan found in irish sea moss isn't nearly
the same thing as the industrial byproduct that is found in processed carrageenan which isn't
nearly as healthy to take processed carrageenan is a product that's used as a thickener for various
products from pate toothpaste and fire fighting foam it's also used to help add clarity to beer
increase the viscosity of sauces and even enhance diet soda texture the nutrients of irish sea moss
are supposedly higher than genus gracilaria as some research claims that chondrus crispus
contains as many as 92 different trace minerals however this is really where more research is
needed as current research shows that the minerals amino acids and other various nutritional levels
can vary according to season but at the end of the day there aren't many known differences
between the two both have lots of vitamins and minerals both have great amino acids including
omega-3 fatty acids they're also both loaded with antioxidants and phenolic compounds that are just
plain good for you if you want to know more about it then watch my video on the benefits of sea moss
final thoughts irish sea moss is rather more expensive than major general c-mops and this
is partially because its nutritional benefits are considered higher it's just plain harder to grow
and find and the fact that it's much harder to be farmed or faked gracilaria on the other hand is
much more susceptible to the attack of fraudsters there have been stories of people charging as much
as 10 dollars per ounce of general seamoss ouch somebody call the moss police and sadly even those
who aren't fraudsters are often just really bad at labelling what the product is i just did a quick
search but i found tons of different product labels that had a genus gracilaria listed as
irish sea moss wrong fix your products people come on when it comes down to it both irish sea moss
and major general sea moss have amazing health benefits and really it's a matter of which one you
like best and works best with your body so have you tried sea moss before or are you going to try
it now that you know more about it let me know in the comments down below if you want to learn more
about the benefits of sea moss then watch this video right here or if you want some good herby
history then watch this puppy please be kind take care of each other and if you haven't already go
out there and try some good quality sea moss for yourself