Speaking of the anti-cancer effect of seaweed, what I want to emphasize here is the anti-cancer effect of vitamin A. We knew from a long time ago that if there is a lack of vitamin A, it will be susceptible to night blindness. For example, when we first entered the movie theater, we couldn't see anything at first because of the darkness, but after a while, our eyes would gradually adapt and we could find seats. This is physiologically called light and shade. Vitamin A is an indispensable material for us to have such a function of light and darkness.
However, vitamin A has recently received attention as a vitamin with anti-cancer effects. Previously, we only knew that vitamin A is an indispensable substance that promotes normal division and maturation of skin and mucous membrane cells. In the absence of vitamin A, the skin becomes as rough and ugly as sharkskin. This is due to the gradual maturation and aging of cells that divide in the stromal layer of the skin, which develops into an abnormal phenomenon (also known as keratinization of the skin) that covers the stratum corneum on the surface of the skin.
Through experiments, it has been shown that vitamin A not only maintains normal cell division but also has the function of converting the precancerous state of cells into a normal state, which has caused great concern. However, it is regrettable that the human body can not make heavy use of vitamin A, because vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin, only soluble in fat, insoluble in water, and therefore cannot be excreted with urine as other water-soluble vitamins. It is accumulated in the human body. If you ingest large amounts daily, you may be prone to hypertensive brain pressure and show symptoms such as headaches, nausea, and vomiting.
In order to effectively utilize the strengths of vitamin A and reduce its side effects, people are taking various ways to carry out research on improved vitamin A, but this has not been successful. Therefore, in order to effectively use the anti-cancer effect of vitamin A, the best method at present is to make use of food to make up for its deficiencies. For example, it is appropriate to eat more foods such as animal liver, eel and other foods rich in vitamin A. However, such animal foods are relatively unpalatable, and the fact that they are consumed in large quantities daily does not completely eliminate the possibility of vitamin A sequelae. One of the best ways is to get a lot of carotene from vegetables every day. Carotenoids are also called factories that produce vitamin A. After entering the body, carotene is immediately decomposed and one-third of the carotene is converted to vitamin A.
Although the conversion rate of vitamin A may be slightly lower, there is no need to worry about the residual symptoms caused by excessive intake of vitamin A. In addition, some experts also reported that carotene not only decomposes vitamin A that has the effect of preventing cancer, but also has a good effect in preventing cancer itself. It is well-known that carotene is usually present in large amounts in green and yellow vegetables such as spinach, but the content of carotene in wakame is also quite high. According to the determination, the content of carotene in each 100 g of raw spinach is 3100 mg, and the content of carotene in 100 g of raw wakame is 1,400 mg, and the content of carotene in 100 g of dry wakame is as high as 3300 mg. The content is not inferior to that of spinach.
Therefore, wakame is eaten with yellow-green vegetables to obtain enough carotene. In addition, carotene and vitamin A belong to the same class and all have the property of dissolving in oil. Therefore, if wakame is consumed together with oils and fats, its absorption rate can be increased by nearly three times. The use of carotenoids can be greatly enhanced by pouring salad oil and sauce on wakame salad or lightly frying with oil.