Dulse is a reddish-brown seaweed that people have harvested for hundreds of years as a food source, as a skin care and cosmetic ingredient and as a nutritional supplement. Available in most health food stores either fresh or dried, dulse is rich in nutrients like iron and magnesium and its high protein content makes it an important vegetable for people who cannot get their protein from animal products.
Protein Source
Red seaweeds like dulse can contain as much as 40 percent protein, according to Subhuti Dharmananda, Ph.D., director of the Institute for Traditional Medicine. This is considerably more than other vegetables and a benefit to people who cannot get their protein from animal sources due to religious or philosophical beliefs or dietary restrictions. Dulse is also lower in fat and calories than other protein sources. If you are on a calorie-restricted diet, dulse is a good way to get your required protein.
Nutrient Source
Dulse contains at least trace amounts of every dietary mineral, according to Eden Foods, a producer of organic dulse. It is also a rich source of vitamins A, C and E and B vitamins, calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, zinc and iodine. It also contains essential enzymes like pyruvate carboxylase, which helps produce energy from sugars. Including dulse in your daily diet is an excellent way to supplement your diet with whole foods instead of synthetic supplements.
Skin Care and Cosmetics
The same nutrients that benefit you internally can also benefit your skin when applied topically. Dulse is sometimes ground up into a fine powder and added to cosmetics and skin care products, or used on its own as an exfoliant. Vitamins, nutrients and trace minerals absorb into the skin, improving its condition and promoting a healthy complexion.
Uses
Dulse is available fresh and dried in most health food stores. Fresh dulse has a fairly strong odor and taste. You should rinse it well before using it in salads, in seafood dishes and stir fry. Dried dulse is more mild and you can crumble it into flakes that are hardly noticeable in soups, stews and casseroles. Dried dulse flakes are available that you can sprinkle on foods as a condiment or nutritional supplement. You can make dried, ground dulse into a nutrient-rich exfoliating scrub by combining it with coconut, olive or other hydrating oils.
You can harvest dulse yourself from rocks in inter-tidal regions, just make sure of what you are harvesting and that it comes from a clean water source.
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