Not heard of duckweed? It might be the most potent superfood yet

Duckweed is a popular food is Asian countries. Research suggests it may be the next, and perhaps the most powerful, superfood.

Israeli scientists have been tinkering with the Mediterranean diet in a bid to improve its already impressive health-boosting properties.

The Mediterranean diet typically includes large amounts of olive oil, fish, fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and a minimal amount of red meat and chicken.

Researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have now developed a “green” Mediterranean diet.

Why? It’s even more effective at shrinking belly fat, losing weight, boosting the microbiome and managing glycemic control after eating carbohydrates.

These benefits were persuasively demonstrated in a number of studies.

Visceral fat loss

In their latest study, published this week, the researchers advise that their green diet “can help people shed twice as much visceral fat than a standard version of the (Mediterranean) diet”.

For even greater weight loss, swap the steak for duckweed. Photo: Getty

It was actually four times more effective than a diet following health guidelines.

Visceral body fat is stored inside the belly and is wrapped around the organs, including the liver and intestines.

It produces toxic chemicals and hormones that are linked to heart disease, diabetes and premature death.

The truth about visceral fat

There’s a common misconception that visceral fat is harder to lose than subcutaneous fat, the fat we have under our skin.

In fact, visceral fat, nasty as it is, is easier to lose than subcutaneous fat.

Visceral fat metabolises quicker and makes a quick exit as sweat or pee. If you start regularly exercising and eating a healthy diet, it will begin to shift in a matter of weeks.

So what happened in the new study?

In the large-scale clinical trial 294 participants, all with obesity, were assigned either the standard Mediterranean diet, the green Mediterranean diet or a healthy diet based on government guidelines.

The diets were followed for 18 months in combination with regular exercise.

Both Mediterranean diet groups consumed 28 grams of walnuts a day.

The results

The participants who followed the green version of the Mediterranean diet reduced visceral fat by 14 per cent, compared to 7 per cent for those eating a standard Mediterranean diet.

Participants sticking to a normal, healthy diet only lost 4.5 per cent of their visceral fat.

“A 14 per cent reduction in visceral fat is a dramatic achievement for making simple changes to your diet and lifestyle,” said co-author Dr Hila Zelicha.

“Weight loss is an important goal only if it is accompanied by impressive results in reducing adipose tissue.”

Which is a pompous way of saying: Healthy weight loss should be targeted at fat, not muscle.

What’s the magic in going green?

The green Mediterranean diet further reduces the intake of red meat and boosts polyphenols – these are the plant-based compounds high in antioxidants.

And they’re pretty tasty: Grapes, apples, pears, cherries and berries, red wine, tea and dark chocolate. No great sacrifice there.

Duckweed has been eaten in South East Asia for hundreds of years. Photo: Getty

The greener diet also requires, every day, that you eat those 28 grams of walnuts (see here why you should follow suit), consume three to four cups of green tea, and – here’s the secret weapon – drink 100 grams of duckweed in a shake.

What the duck is duckweed?

Duckweeds are fast-growing tiny, free-floating, aquatic green plants commonly found in slowly moving water bodies or ponds. They include the smallest flowering plants on Earth.

They are an important nutrient source for birds and aquatic animals and they help control algae in ponds.

There has been a lot of research into duckweeds as a potential farm animal feed.

In fact, duckweed has been eaten for hundreds of years by people in South East Asia, usually in soups and salads as a cheap source of protein and Omega-3.

The Ben Gurion University researchers are part of a small movement that, in the past five years, has recognised duckweed as a superfood. Their focus has been a strain of duckweed called Mankai.

Some of its benefits:

• It’s the only plant that is a whole protein, like a chicken egg. Except a chicken egg has just under 13 per cent protein. Duckweed, dry weight, has 30-45 per cent protein, containing all nine essential and six conditional amino acids.
• Importantly, the protein is bio-available. This makes duckweed a viable substitute for meat.
• It’s high in Omega-3.
• A good source of iron. A Mediterranean diet with Mankai elevated iron and folic acid levels, despite low quantities of red meat, according to a previous study.
• It is a good source of polyphenols and flavonoids.
• The mineral content can be easily curated and boosted in the growing medium.
• It’s a unique plant source of vitamin B12, and solves a problem facing vegetarians and vegans who can only access B12 via supplements.
• When grown in a closed environment, as it is in Israel, duckweed is highly environmentally sustainable. It requires a fraction of the amount of water to produce each gram of protein compared to soy, kale or spinach.