Is Sea Moss Effective Against Covid-19 & Other Viruses?
Last updated on October 12, 2022
Sea moss has gained popularity recently, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Besides being an incredible health supplement, Irish moss is known to boost the immune system, have antiviral properties, and improve respiratory health. This powerful package is obviously very attractive when it comes to fighting one of the biggest viral pandemics that’s ever happened.
So, how efficient of a weapon is sea moss against Coronavirus? How can it help prevent and fight SARS-CoV-2 viral infections?
Not only can sea moss act as a preventive treatment for Covid infections by reinforcing the immune system, but it also has antiviral properties and helps relieve coronavirus symptoms like cough and other respiratory problems.
Related article: Does sea moss help with mucus and phlegm?
Sea Moss Boosts the Immune System to Prevent Covid Attacks
The first way sea moss can help with Covid is by preventing the SARS-CoV-19 virus from attacking in the first place. The algae and its numerous nutrients are indeed known to help boost the immune system and its ability to fight Coronavirus attacks. Understanding how immunity works is essential to understand how sea moss can help you fight coronavirus and stay healthy during the pandemic.
What’s the immune system?
The immune system is a large and complex network of organs, cells, glands, tissues, proteins, and chemicals in the body that fights outside invaders called antigens. Antigens can be microbes, viruses, bacteria, fungi, allergens, toxins, chemicals, or others.
In other words, the role of the immune system is to keep you healthy. When a virus attacks and enters the body, a strong and healthy immune system triggers an immediate response. It either kills the virus or at least considerably lower its impact on your health and symptoms.
A deficient immune system does not have that same ability. A person with a weaker immune system is more likely to get infected by viruses like SARS-CoV-19 (Covid). That's why boosting your immunity is essential, especially during winter, the flu season, or a pandemic like the Coronavirus one.
Several factors can weaken your immune system, including certain diseases, viruses like HIV, mononucleosis, or the flu, medicines like chemotherapy for cancers, and others. But many healthy persons also have lower immunity simply because of their lifestyle. Smoking, alcohol, and poor nutrition are the main causes.
Nutritional deficiencies are the first reasons why your body's natural defense mechanisms may not be working properly. Eating immune-boosting foods like beans, nuts, berries, leafy greens, seaweeds, grains, and others is essential to fight viruses and other undesired invaders.
What you're looking for is a high content of vitamins, fibers, antioxidants, and minerals like zinc for example. Well, guess what? Sea moss is one of the richest foods to boost the immune system!
Sea moss for the immune system
Sea moss, also known as Irish moss or Chondrus Crispus, is a red alga that grows along the Atlantic coasts. It’s an edible seaweed similar to kelp and nori. It's highly nutritious and contains 92 of the 102 minerals that your body needs to function.
Among its numerous benefits for health, consuming sea moss regularly strengthens the immune system. It’s been used by the Irish and British as a preventive natural remedy for flu-like viruses for centuries.
Unfortunately, apart from compelling users’ testimonials and ancient traditional medicine books, there’s very little study on the effects of sea moss on the immune system yet. The only study available was conducted on Atlantic salmons[1] to confirm that fishes that eat sea moss have a stronger immune system than fishes that don't.
Regarding Covid-19 more specifically, one study is particularly interesting. Tamama K. from the International Life Sciences Institute published her fantastic results about the potential benefits of dietary seaweeds as protection against COVID-19 in 2021[2]. Although not specific to sea moss, the study clearly shows that the seaweed-rich diet in Japan helps prevent Covid.
The evidence lies in seaweed's nutrients and numerous vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals like zinc or iron with powerful immunity-boosting properties. We find the same compounds in sea moss, sometimes with even higher levels.
While we're still lacking precise scientific data on sea moss and Covid-19, the above studies, traditional uses, nutritious facts, and users' testimonials leave very little doubt that consuming sea moss regularly reinforces the immune system and ultimately helps prevent Covid infections.
But that’s not it. If you have coronavirus, sea moss may also be a great natural remedy for its symptoms.
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Sea Moss Helps Treat Covid-like Viral Infections
Irish moss also has powerful antiviral properties that besides preventing viruses from attacking in the first place, also help treat viral infections you may already have caught. Traditional Irish doctors would prescribe antiviral concoctions prepared with sea moss, lemon, honey, (and whiskey!) to treat flu-like symptoms similar to the ones you suffer from with the SARS-Cov-19 virus.
Antiviral properties of Irish moss
While modern medicine uses pharmaceutical medications to treat viral infections, there are plenty of powerful antiviral ingredients to be found in nature. Sea moss is one of them.
Antivirals help fight off viruses. They inhibit their progression and decrease the symptoms. Sea moss is a broad-spectrum antiviral. Unlike virus-specific antivirals, it’s effective against a wide range of viruses, including Covid-19.
The antiviral properties of sea moss come from several of its natural compounds like Omega-3 fatty acids, flavonoids, vitamins, and minerals. Sea moss’s exceptional content in sulfur, zinc, and iron also highly participates to its powerful antiviral properties.
Sea Moss Improves Respiratory Health and Lung Function
In ancient times when the concept of viruses wasn’t even discovered yet, Irish doctors used to prescribe sea moss to help cure colds, flu, coughs, as well as many respiratory conditions.
Sea vegetables in general, and Chondrus Crispus in particular, contain large amounts of Omega-3, chlorophyll, and potassium. These three compounds are known to help cleanse the lungs, soothe the bronchial system, and get rid of cough and mucus.
Consuming sea moss regularly helps improve lung function and breathing capacity for heavy smokers, people with asthma and respiratory allergies, as well as for people with flu or Covid-19 infections.
Its high iodine content is also recommended for certain types of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) as well as some chronic respiratory conditions[3] in children.
FAQ About the Use of Sea Moss for Covid-19 and Viruses
Here are frequently asked questions about sea moss for viruses. If we've left yours unanswered, do not hesitate and place a comment below!
Related article: Should you take sea moss at night or in the evening?
Does sea moss kill viruses?
No, sea moss alone does not have the strength to kill viruses, especially strong ones like the SARS-CoV-19. We do not intend to claim that seaweeds alone are sufficient remedies to fight a worldwide pandemic. However, as we’ve explained above, regular consumption of sea moss can help prevent the virus from infecting your body by boosting your immune system. Besides, once you've caught up a viral infection, sea moss can help inhibit its growth and fight off a pathogenic virus, which considerably helps decrease the symptoms too.
What other natural remedies help fight Covid-19?
Natural remedies are everywhere, and nature is extremely resourceful when it comes to fighting viruses, Covid-19, flu, or colds. Vitamin C, zinc supplements, elderberry, medicinal plants, and essential oils are often cited as the best natural ingredients for viruses. Most of them work great in synergy with sea moss. Always ask for your doctor’s or a naturopathic doctor’s advice before taking natural remedies.
Can taking sea moss with Covid be dangerous?
If taken in a reasonable amount, sea moss is considered a very safe ingredient with few side effects. You can safely take sea moss even if you have Covid-19. However, we do recommend you ask for your doctor’s advice first, especially if you have any specific health condition or are taking any medication.
Always stick to the recommended dosage on the label. Excessive consumption of sea moss could cause iodine poisoning.
Related article: How much sea moss can you take daily?
Sea moss is a potent natural medicine that's effective in many fields. While its capacity to prevent and fight the SARS-CoV-19 coronavirus still needs scientific back-up, it's very promising. Its natural immune-boosting, antiviral, and respiratory properties make it a powerful ingredient to add to your routine during the pandemic. It's even on top of this list of the 10 must-haves during the Covid pandemic.
Sources cited in this article:
[1] Palstra AP, Kals J, Blanco Garcia A, Dirks RP, Poelman M. Immunomodulatory Effects of Dietary Seaweeds in LPS Challenged Atlantic Salmon Salmo salar as Determined by Deep RNA Sequencing of the Head Kidney Transcriptome. Front Physiol. 2018 Jun 1;9:625. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2018.00625. PMID: 29910738; PMCID: PMC5992350.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5992350/
[2] Tamama K. Potential benefits of dietary seaweeds as protection against COVID-19. Nutr Rev. 2021 Jun 4;79(7):814-823. doi: 10.1093/nutrit/nuaa126. PMID: 33341894; PMCID: PMC7798825. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33341894/
[3] Chronic nonspecific diseases of lungs (CNDL) and iodine deficiency diseases in children. Turdikul Bobomuratov, Gulchekhra Isakova, Dilshoda Akramova, Alimardon Kuziev European Respiratory Journal Sep 2011, 38 (Suppl 55) p1164; https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/38/Suppl_55/p1164
