The Untapped Potential – Seaweed Remedies in Homeopathy
- Brainz Magazine
- 6 days ago
- 7 min read
Written by Jessica Almonte, The Seaweed Homeopath
Jessica Almonte, The Seaweed Homeopath, is a homeschooling mother and practitioner who combines her love of the ocean with expertise in homeopathy, kinesiology and seaweed therapeutics. Living by the sea on Vancouver Island, she forages seaweed, cares for patients at Intuitive Movement Clinic, and advocates for the healing potential of seaweed.
I live on Vancouver Island’s west coast, where I forage seaweed, consult with patients at Intuitive Movement Clinic, and research seaweed’s therapeutic potential. Recently, I presented this very topic at the British Columbia Association of Homeopaths conference at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, where I shared how seaweed remedies may represent one of the most underexplored frontiers in homeopathy.
There are approximately 10,500 species of seaweed worldwide,[1] yet only Fucus vesiculosus (bladderwrack) and Laminaria digitata (kelp) have been adopted into our homeopathic materia medica. Their biological signatures reveal both the promise and the gaps in our understanding of ocean remedies.
“With thousands of species of seaweed in the ocean, why are only two used in homeopathy?”
A pharmacy beneath the waves
Homeopathy has long embraced ocean remedies. Sepia (cuttlefish ink) addresses hormonal cycles. Spongia tosta (roasted sea sponge) supports thyroid and respiratory conditions. Corallium rubrum (red coral) relieves spasmodic coughs. Ambra grisea (ambergris) soothes sensitivity and anxiety, and Murex addresses sexual and emotional imbalance.[2] [3] [4]
Oceanic remedies also resonate with the mineral realm. Natrum muriaticum speaks to grief, tears, and silent suffering, while Calcarea carbonica embodies protection, stability, and the struggle against overwhelm.[2] [3]
Our materia medica is a living body that is growing, evolving, and waiting for new remedies to be added. The ocean, holding plants, minerals, and animals alike, remains vastly underrepresented.
Mineral richness: Nature’s multivitamin
Modern soils are depleted, and our vegetables and grains no longer hold the same mineral density. Seaweed bypasses this limitation by drawing directly from seawater, concentrating minerals at levels far beyond land plants.[8]
Iodine supports thyroid regulation, metabolism, anchoring, and fear of betrayal. Some seaweed contains 20,000 times more iodine than seawater.[8]
Calcium supports bone strength, security, and stability. Laminaria species contain more calcium than milk.[8]
Sodium supports fluid balance, grief, and emotional boundaries.
Magnesium supports relaxation, resilience, and nervous system calm.
Phosphorus supports vitality, sensitivity, and light.
Vitamin C and B vitamins support immunity and recovery. Nori species contain more vitamin C than oranges.[8]
Traditionally, seaweed has been used for obesity, thyroid dysfunction, arthritis, and gallstones.[8] Beyond nutrition, its role as a trophorestorative gives it deeper significance in homeopathy.
Bioactives: Three colors, three medicines
Seaweeds fall into three color families, each with distinct compounds and profound effects on human health.
Browns (Phaeophyceae) contain fucoidan, which is immunomodulating, anti-cancer, and anti-allergy. They also contain fucoxanthin, which supports antioxidant activity and fat metabolism, laminarin for prebiotic gut support, alginates for toxin binding, including heavy metals and radiation, and iodine for thyroid and brain health.[8]
Reds (Rhodophyta) contain galactans, which are antiviral and supportive in STI prevention, and phycobilins, which support immune, neurological, and liver protection. They also have naturally lower iodine levels, which can be useful in hyperthyroid states.[8]
Greens (Chlorophyta) contain ulvans, which support anti-tumor, antiviral, and cardiovascular health, chlorophyll for detoxification and wound healing, and abundant minerals that are 10 to 20 times higher than land plants.[8]
Systems benefitting from seaweed
Seaweed’s influence spans nearly every bodily system.[8]
Nervous system: magnesium, iodine, essential fatty acids, which support calm, focus, mood
Cardiovascular: antioxidants, lignans, potassium improve circulation and blood pressure
Digestive: prebiotics, laminarins, alginates regulate elimination and protect the colon
Endocrine: iodine balances thyroid and metabolism, minerals support adrenal and reproductive glands.
Immune: polysaccharides modulate immunity like medicinal mushrooms
Integumentary & Musculoskeletal: minerals, chlorophyll, laminarins aid skin healing, bone strength, muscle recovery
Respiratory: moistening polysaccharides soothes the lungs and resists infection
Cancer & Detoxification: fucoidan and pigments are chemoprotective, alginates and iodine bind and eliminate heavy metals, radiation, and xenoestrogens
Other uses: diabetes, STIs, stress recovery, vegan diets, deficiency states
You can see why I have passionately built my practice around seaweed, as it is nutritive, protective, balancing, and restorative across nearly every system.
Introduction to homeopathy: From similia to nanomedicine
Homeopathy is a therapeutic system founded in the late 18th century by Samuel Hahnemann. It is built on two core principles, like cures like, meaning a substance that produces symptoms in healthy individuals can, in highly diluted form, treat similar symptoms in the sick, and potentization, which involves serial dilution combined with succussion, or shaking.
While skeptics often question how remedies work when diluted beyond Avogadro’s number, meaning no molecules of the original substance remain, recent scientific inquiry offers plausible models rooted in nanoscience, hormesis, and adaptive network theory.[10] [11] [12] [13]
Nanoparticles and homeopathic remedies
Studies have shown that homeopathic preparations can contain source nanoparticles or silica nanoparticles with adsorbed source material, even at high dilutions.[10]
The NPCAS model proposes that these nanoparticles act as low-level stressors that stimulate adaptive networks via hormesis and cross-adaptation.[11]
Another model, the Nanoparticle Exclusion Zone Shell model, suggests that water structuring around nanoparticles retains information from the source substance.[12]
Recent reviews propose that homeopathy may be understood as a form of nanopharmacology.[13]
Biological mechanisms and adaptive response
Unlike conventional drugs that act locally, homeopathic nanoparticles appear to engage system-wide regulatory networks.[11] [13]
Effects are nonlinear and biphasic, meaning very low doses can trigger amplified adaptive responses.[13] Two individuals may respond differently due to differing sensitivities and histories.[11]
In summary, modern scientific models suggest that homeopathic remedies behave like nanoparticles. They may activate endogenous regulatory systems and provoke self-correcting responses across the body’s networks. For newcomers, think of homeopathy not as microdose drugs, but as a subtle nanoscale signal inviting the body to heal itself.
Fucus vesiculosus (bladderwrack)
The homeopathic understanding of Fucus vesiculosus begins with its formal proving conducted in 1995 by Schwabe Germany. Under the direction of David Riley, 24 healthy provers took Fucus vesiculosus 12CH to document its full symptom profile. This proving remains the primary foundation for its therapeutic picture in modern materia medica.[7]
Proving findings (1995)
Appetite fluctuations, increase or decrease
Exhaustion and morning weakness
Headaches in the temples radiating into the neck, sore, pressing, or shooting, better with moist heat or brushing the hair
Evening sore throat, scratchy pain, mucus sensitivity
Gastrointestinal disturbances, nausea, cramping, vomiting, alternating constipation and diarrhea, flatulence, bloating
Female system, heavy menses with clots, yellow leucorrhea, uterine and ovarian pain, premenstrual distension
Male system, increased sexual desire
Emotional symptoms, irritability, rudeness, sudden tears, impulses to bite, dreams of violence, betrayal, or bears
Back pain in the scapular and lumbar regions, worse when bending forward.
Classical materia medica
Boericke: obesity, non-toxic goitre, sluggish digestion, and iron band headache.[4]
Clarke: tissue remedy comparable to iodine, useful for corpulence, dyspepsia, and thyroid enlargement.[3]
Anshutz: obesity with flabby fat, young women with goitre, vascular tone support, and urinary relief.[3]
Modern science
Extracts inhibit alpha amylase and alpha glucosidase, reducing carbohydrate absorption.[9]
Animal studies show improved lipid profiles, improved insulin sensitivity, and reduced inflammation.[9]
Cellular studies demonstrate modulation of cholesterol transport proteins, supporting cholesterol-lowering potential.[9]
Laminaria digitata (kelp)
Though less proven, Laminaria digitata offers a striking remedy profile.
Key themes: depletion, chronic exhaustion, glandular fatigue.[8]
Energetics: better by sea, evening, darkness
Mental/emotional: exhausted, insecure, seeking anchoring
Clinical indications: hypothyroidism, menopausal depletion, eczema by the sea, insomnia, anxiety.[8] Historical use for cervical dilation suggests uterine affinity.[8]
Energetics and miasmatic links
Seaweed remedies mirror human experiences of being rootless yet anchored. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, seaweed has been used since at least 659 AD, known as Kun Bu.[8] Classified as cooling and moistening, it dissolves phlegm, clears accumulations, softens hardness, and supports the stomach, liver, and kidney meridians.[8]
Miasmatically, seaweed aligns with the radiation miasm, offering protection from radioactive strontium and electromagnetic fields, and the syco syphilitic miasm, reflecting fixation, vulnerability, and degeneration.[1]
The case for research
Seaweed remedies align with modern epidemics and ecological urgency. Challenges include limited funding for proving and sustainability. However, collaboration could open a new chapter in integrative medicine.
Closing reflection
“Seaweeds live at the margins, between sea and land, continually adapting to the tides. In this, they symbolize the human soul’s struggle to find anchoring while surrendering to the greater rhythms of life”.[2]
By listening to the ocean, homeopathy can rediscover not only remedies for the body, but also medicine for the human soul.
Read more from Jessica Almonte
Jessica Almonte, The Seaweed Homeopath
Jessica Almonte founded "The Seaweed Homeopath" out of her passion for the ocean and her desire to create unique, nature-centered healing experiences. As a homeschooling mother, she integrates the nourishment and ancient wisdom of seaweed into both her work and personal life, supporting hormonal balance, digestive health and overall vitality. Based in Sooke, BC, Jessica enjoys snorkelling, harvesting seaweed, teaching cyanotype art and treating patients at Intuitive Movement Clinic. She holds a Homeopathy and Health Sciences Diploma, Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology, Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training, and Seaweed Therapeutics Certification. She presented at the 2025 International Seaweed Symposium on the therapeutic potential of seaweed.
References:
[1] Adam, G. (n.d.). Sea Remedies Project.
[2] Berkowsky, B. (2006). Synthesis Materia Medica Spiritualis of Essential Oils. Joseph Ben Hil Meyer Research.
[3] Clarke, J.H., and Allen, T.F. (n.d.). Anshutz, E.P. (1913). Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica, New, Old, and Forgotten Remedies.
[4] Boericke, W. (1927). Pocket Manual of Homoeopathic Materia Medica.
[5] Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine. (2021). Case series: Fucus vesiculosus and hypertriglyceridemia.
[6] Pandey, D., and Rahman, F.J. (2024). A comparative study of Fucus vesiculosus and Phytolacca berry mother tincture in the management of obesity. International Journal of Homoeopathic Sciences, 8(1), 101 to 106.
[7] Riley, D. (2012). Materia Medica of New and Old Homoeopathic Medicines. Springer Verlag GmbH, pp. 77 to 79.
[8] Seaweed Therapeutics Course. Harmonic Arts.
[9] Scientific reviews. Extracts of Fucus vesiculosus and Ascophyllum nodosum inhibit alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase and are supportive in metabolic syndrome. NCBI and PMC, 2020 to 2023.
[10] Chikramane, P.S., Suresh, A.K., Bellare, J.R., and Kane, S.G. (2012). Extreme homeopathic dilutions retain starting materials, a nanoparticulate perspective. Homeopathy, 101(3), 165 to 170.
[11] Bell, I.R., and Koithan, M. (2012). A model for homeopathic remedy effects, nanoparticle allostatic cross adaptation sensitization. Integrative Medicine Insights, 7, 25 to 35.
[12] Bell, I.R., Schwartz, G.E., Boyer, N.N., and Koithan, M. (2021). Nanoparticle Exclusion Zone Shell model, a new model for ultra high dilutions and homeopathy. Dose Response, 19(3), 1 to 15.
[13] Souter, K., and Bell, I.R. (2021). Exploring possible mechanisms of hormesis and homeopathy in the light of nanopharmacology and ultra high dilutions. Homeopathy, 110(3), 172 to 182.
