Page 28 - Food&Drink magazine July 2021

HEALTH & FUNCTIONAL FOODS
The weed we need
When dietician Sarah Leung was running her own private practice, she realised the potential role seaweed could play in addressing Australia’s silent epidemic of thyroid disease. Kim Berry talks to Leung about her food company Alg Seaweed and the growing Australian industry.
THROUGHOUT her 10
years in private practice
as a dietician, Alg Seaweed founder Sarah Leung saw many patients seeking to lose weight. While they
came in with some medical history, many had underlying undiagnosed health issues related to thyroid function.
“Around 68 per cent of women in Australia have a thyroid issue and more than one million Australians have a thyroid condition without knowing it,” Leung says.
Iodine is vital for thyroid function but Leung says people are not aware of its importance for our health.
“We all know about the importance of vitamin C, folate, and calcium, but iodine flies under the radar.
“In pregnancy, a woman’s iodine requirement increases by 70 per cent for her health and the baby’s brain development.”
We know that iodine deficiency is a major cause of preventable brain damage, lower IQ, and thyroid conditions, and yet 68 per cent of women in Australia don’t get enough iodine in their pregnancy, Leung says.
“While iodine supplements are recommended to women during pregnancy, we hope our products assist with increasing iodine intake
in more Australians.”
As a dietician, Leung loved
empowering people through cooking and education. She decided to find a way to get more iodine into people’s diets by turning to something she had been eating every
day of her life since she was a child growing up in Singapore – seaweed.
Seaweed has the highest level of iodine of any food and is also rich in iron, vitamin C, B12, vitamin K, antioxidants and fibre.
ABOVE: Alg Seaweed’s Sarah Leung is determined to solve the silent epidemic of thyroid disease.
28 | Food&Drink business | July 2021 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au