Q&A on fucoidan

▼Frequently Asked Questions and Answers

“Frequently Asked Questions and Answers” are listed below. If you still have a question after reading this Q&A, click here to post your question.

Q.What is fucoidan?
A.Fucoidan is the source of sliminess in mozuku, mekabu and other seaweeds (brown algae). It is a type of dietary fiber and belongs to the polysaccharide family. Fucoidan is drawing keen attention of the medical community as a substance that can boost the natural healing power of our body and effectively prevent/treat cancer and other adult lifestyle-related diseases.

Q.What are the actions of fucoidan?
A.Fucoidan has been shown to be effective in preventing/treating diabetes, hypertension and other adult lifestyle-related diseases, gastric ulcer, and allergy (including atopic dermatitis and pollinosis).

Q.Is fucoidan effective on cancer?
A.The key anti-cancer actions of fucoidan include inducing apoptosis or natural death of cancer cells, boosting the natural immunity of our body to enhance the immune power needed to attack cancer cells, and inhibiting the generation of new blood vessels (angiogenesis) and thereby cutting off the supply of oxygen/nutrients needed by cancer cells to grow or preventing them from metastasizing. These actions are considered key weapons of fucoidan to fight against cancer.

Q.Can I take fucoidan together with medication?
A.Of course you can. Fucoidan is the source of sliminess in mozuku, mekabu and other brown algae, which mean that taking fucoidan is the same as eating mozuku and mekabu. There are no adverse effects from taking fucoidan together with anti-cancer drug or other medication. On the contrary, some studies suggest that taking fucoidan with anti-cancer drug suppresses loss of appetite, nausea, hair loss and other side effects normally associated with anti-cancer drug.

Q.If fucoidan is so beneficial, couldn't I just eat a lot of mozuku instead?
A.Mozuku,mekabu and kombu(Laminaria japonica) are rich sources of fucoidan. However, you couldn't get enough fucoidan simply by eating them. Even with Okinawa mozuku, which contains more fucoidan than other kinds of seaweed, one kilogram of raw seaweed contains just one gram of fucoidan. It is believed that three to six grams of fucoidan are needed daily to maintain health, prevent lifestyle-related diseases and/or fight cancer and other serious illnesses. Even if you love mozuku, you couldn't continue to eat in excess of three kilograms of it each day!

Q.What is the effective dosage of fucoidan?
A.Based on the results of various research conducted by the Foundation Research Lab, we recommend that you take at least 1 to 2 g of fucoidan to fight adult lifestyle-related diseases, or at least 3 to 6 g to fight cancer and other malignant diseases. Since the activity of immune cells that control immunity increases in the active period (daytime) and decreases in the inactive period (nighttime), taking fucoidan four times a day (morning, noon, night, before sleep) should boost the immune cells more effectively.

Q.I have a thyroid disease and have been told to avoid eating seaweed and other foods with iodine. Can I take fucoidan, a seaweed ingredient?
A.Thyroid diseases include hyperthyroidism (Graves' disease), hypothyroidism, chronic thyroiditis (Hashimoto's disease), and thyroid cancer. These all require limitation or control of iodine intake.
Fucoidan is an ingredient extracted from seaweed, and iodine may remain in the extraction process. If you purchase fucoidan products, please make sure to check with the distributor whether they do not contain iodine.

Q.Fucoidan is known to have blood thinning effect, so is there any risk of blood thinning or bleeding not stopping? In addition, is it safe for a hemophilia patient to take fucoidan?
A.Since fucoidan does not affect platelets, which are responsible for stopping bleeding, there is no effect on the platelet loss or clotting functions. In addition, anticoagulants and antiplatelet drugs such as warfarin and biaaspirin are safe to take with fucoidan.

Today, active research is conducted on fucoidan and various bioactive functions of fucoidan, such as “anti-cancer action,” “cholesterol-lowering action,” “blood-pressure lowering action” and “anti-virus action,” have been revealed.