Why is some ice cream made with seaweed? Isn't there a better ingredient?

Well, I have never heard of this, & am really surprised. I know gums are used in various foods, but didn't think it would be used in icecream. I am going to have a lok at our Aussie icecream ingredients. Interesting news.

Very interesting, but not disturbing. Probably the most ancient of foods, the composition of sea vegetables is like a mirror of the blood and body fluids of a person in good health. Our blood contains all one hundred or so minerals and trace elements that exist in the ocean. Seaweeds contain these in the most assimilable form because their minerals and elements are integrated into living plant tissue. As a result of chemical usage and depletion of our soil by modern agricultural methods, food grown today contains fewer minerals and nutrients. Seaweeds can supply many of these missing nutrients. In fact, as a group they contain the greatest amount and broadest range of minerals of any organism and hence make superb mineral-rich foods. http://www.curezone.com/foods/ocean_vegetables.htm Health Benefits of Seaweed Sea vegetables are virtually fat-free, low calorie and one of the richest sources of minerals in the vegetable kingdom as they have ready access to the abundance of minerals found in the ocean. Sea water & human blood contain many of the same minerals in very similar concentrations. Sea vegetables contain high amounts of calcium and phosphorous and are extremely high in magnesium, iron, iodine and sodium. For example, 1/4 cup of cooked hijiki contains over half the calcium found in a cup of milk and more iron than in an egg, important concerns for vegans, those who refrain from eating any animal-based products. They also contain vitamins A, B1, C and E, as well as protein and carbohydrates. One of seaweed's most prominent health benefits is its ability to remove radioactive strontium and other heavy metals from our bodies. Whole brown seaweeds (not granulated) such as kelp contain alginic acid which binds with the toxins in the intestines rendering them indigestible and carries them out of the system. http://www.efn.org/~sundance/Seaweed.html

Hmmm that's interesting. I guess it does make sense that it would have gum of some kind in it when you buy it, since it's texture is so much different than homemade. :) I'll tell my husband about it later and see what he says. He's definitely addicted to ice cream!